Brazil

Almost half of South America in one country. Rio for the setting, Iguaçu for the noise, and Salvador for the music — and you won't do all three in a week

Where to stay

Hotel das Cataratas, A Belmond Hotel

Iguaçu Falls · inside the national park

The only hotel inside the national park.

See if your Iguacu Falls dates are free

  • A pink colonial-style hotel inside Iguaçu National Park on the Brazilian side of the falls. Staying inside the park is the whole point: you can walk the trails at dawn and at dusk, when the day-trippers have gone and the coatis have the paths to themselves. Iguaçu has 275 individual drops and straddles the Brazil–Argentina border, and the Brazilian side gives you the panorama.

    • The only hotel inside Iguaçu National Park

    • Access to the falls trails outside public opening hours

    • Colonial-style building, a Belmond property

    • Pool, spa and restaurants on site

Hotel Fasano Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro · Ipanema · beachfront

A rooftop pool over Ipanema beach, designed by Philippe Starck.

See if your Rio dates are free

  • On the beachfront in Ipanema, with the rooftop pool that appears in most photographs of Rio hotels — the one looking straight down the beach to Dois Irmãos. Ipanema is the sensible base for a first trip to Rio: walkable, well-lit, and close to both Copacabana and the metro out to Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf.

    • Beachfront in Ipanema

    • Rooftop pool with beach and mountain views

    • Restaurant, bar and spa

    • Walkable to Copacabana and the metro

Casa do Amarelindo

Salvador · Pelourinho · near the Cathedral

A rooftop terrace over the bay, in the middle of Pelourinho.

See if your Salvador dates are free

  • A boutique hotel in Pelourinho, Salvador's historic centre, near the Terreiro de Jesus and the Cathedral. There's a rooftop terrace with ocean views, an outdoor pool, a poolside bar, the Pelo Bistro restaurant and an art gallery. Breakfast is included. Salvador is the centre of Afro-Brazilian culture and the most distinctive city in the country — it's the part of Brazil that stays with people.

    • In Pelourinho, Salvador's historic centre

    • Rooftop terrace with ocean views

    • Outdoor pool and poolside bar

    • Pelo Bistro restaurant and art gallery

    • Full breakfast included

10 of the best Brazilian Tours

Take a look

The best places to stay in Brazil

Take a look

    • Brazil covers almost half of South America and borders every country on the continent except Chile and Ecuador.

    • It has the greatest variety of animals of any country, including over 600 mammal species.

    • Iguaçu Falls has 275 individual drops and straddles the Brazil–Argentina border. The Brazilian side gives you the panorama; the Argentine side puts you in it.

    • The language is Portuguese, not Spanish — and Brazilians notice.

    • Distances are continental. Rio to Salvador is a two-hour flight; Rio to Iguaçu another two. Fly between regions.

  • Best time — Brazil is in the southern hemisphere, so December to March is summer: hot, humid and the season for Carnival and the beaches. May to September is cooler and drier, and better for the Pantanal and Iguaçu. Carnival moves each year — check the dates before booking anything, because prices treble.

    Getting around — Fly between regions; road distances are punishing. GOL, LATAM and Azul cover the domestic network. In cities use Uber or 99 rather than street taxis.

  • Brazil rewards solo travellers who apply city sense consistently. The practical version: carry a little cash and leave the rest in the safe, don't wear obvious jewellery or hold your phone out on the street, use Uber rather than walking unfamiliar areas after dark, and ask your hotel which streets to avoid — they'll tell you plainly. Beaches are safest when busy. A few words of Portuguese go a very long way, because far less English is spoken than people expect.

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