Carnival in Rio de Janeiro Travel

Carnival in Rio de Janeiro

4 or 5 Nights, 21-26 February 2020

Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is the very best time to visit the world's most exotic city. From samba in the streets during the day to the riot of dancers, drums and carnival floats of the most extravagant designs in the Sambodrome at night, you will experience the city at its exhuberant best. Daytime visits to Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain give you yet another perspective of Rio. As well as watching the Samba Carnival Parade, you can also participate in it! You receive your own colourful costume from one of the samba schools, and join their party as you parade the 700m along the Sambadrome in front of 80,000 spectators. This is generally best done on a separate night to watching the parade, as the organisation required to participate in costume means missing most of the parade night. Sunday night participating in costume and then Monday night watching the whole parade is what we recommend. 

Hotels in Rio de Janeiro for Carnival Weekend require a minimum of 4 nights, with most at 5 nights to cover the long weekend of Friday to Wednesday. Dates for the public holiday of Carnaval Weekend in Brazil differ every year. For 2020 the weekend begins on Friday 21 February and finishes on Wednesday 26 February.

As well as the official Carnival Parade, there are hundreds of Street Carnival block parties ('blocos') happening all across the city during the weekend, some with official routes and plenty of craziness, others unofficial, random and who-knows-where-they-will-end-up ridiculousness (one finishing at the airport terminal being an example of the madness). We include a schedule for the weekend's blocos (although some have been known to run a little late!) that you may wish to attend close to the beaches, in the city centre, and especially up in Santa Teresa. The district of Lapa also has its own special brand of insanity, with live samba under the iconic Lapa Arches, plus bars and clubs teeming with people the whole weekend through. We include a list of recommendations to help you plan ahead, and that way you can decide how to make the very best of your Carnival Weekend. 

The final part of the Rio Carnival Weekend are the Masked Balls. These famous (or perhaps 'notorious'!) festivals take place throughout the city, with different options every night. 

Whether you watch or participate in the Carnival Parade, attend as many blocos as you can, mask up and head to a ball, or just put your best fancy dress outfit on and walk the streets of Rio day and night, you can be sure to have a stupid amount of fun in Rio at carnival time, along with millions of others. 

This Rio de Janeiro Carnaval Tour can be combined with any of our other destinations in Brazil, either before or after New Year. Particular recommendations include a couple of days visiting one of the Natural Wonders of the World at Iguazu Falls, or spending some time on the beaches close to Rio de Janeiro such as Buzios, Paraty and Ilha Grande. Please bear in mind that the period immediately before and after Carnaval Weekend in Brazil is very busy. All flights and hotels will be reserved a long time in advance, so it is best to book as early as possible! Also, any coastal road journeys between Rio de Janeiro and the beaches will take a lot longer than usual, with heavy traffic as everyone heads away for the busiest holiday weekend of the year in Brazil.

Combines With: Buzios; Paraty & Ilha Grande; Iguazu Falls; Sao Paulo; Amazon; Pantanal & Bonito; Salvador, Lençois & Praia do Forte; even Buenos Aires and Peru.

Best Time to Visit: Rio Carnival Celebrations can be enjoyed all through that weekend, which falls before Lent (and Pancake Tuesday!), usually in February or early March then. The two weekends before Carnival can also see Rio at its exuberant best with the Street Carnival weekends, while the Champions Parade takes place the weekend following Carnival. These options can be cheaper than the main weekend.

from $ 2,075 USD

Carnival in Rio de Janeiro

4
or
5 Nights, 21-26 Feb
or
ua
or
y 2020


Destinations Visited

  • Rio de Janeiro

Trip Style

Events & Festivals

Activities Included

  • Beaches

Tailor Made Tours

All our Brazil and South America Tours, are completely flexible with regards to dates, duration or the tours, activities and accommodation that we can include. All the tours featured on our website are our recommendations based on our experience of how to make the very best of your time in South America. We can adjust these details in any way that you wish. We are here to organise a tour that suits you after all!

Itinerary

Day 1
Arrive in Rio for Carnival Weekend!

Destination: Rio de Janeiro

Friday 21 February 2020. Your Rio de Janeiro Carnival Tour begins as our guide meets you at the airport and describes the Marvellous City to you during the journey to your hotel. After checking in and some time for lunch, you head out for your first look at the city - from the cable car ride to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain, guarding the entrance to Guanabara Bay. The views over Rio, along the beaches and to the mountains behind are spectacular. After returning to your hotel late afternoon you can perhaps enjoy sunset from Arpoador, the headland between the two main beaches, and catch some of the building carnival atmosphere in the streets of Rio de Janeiro.
Day 2
Carnival Saturday in the Streets

Destination: Rio de Janeiro

Saturday 22 February 2020 - Carnival Saturday in Rio de Janeiro. The morning is free, perhaps for memorable activities such as tandem hang-gliding from the mountain to the beach. In the afternoon, the parties begin. The streets of Rio are taken over by various bands, who parade down the streets followed by hundreds of people dancing, dressing up and getting down. The street parades slowly work their way around their different routes, colouring the streets as they go, Banda de Ipanema and Simpatia é Quase Amor being amongst the best known. Celebrations continue into the night, later on in the samba clubs of Lapa and until dawn underneath the Lapa Arches...

Day 3
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro!

Destination: Rio de Janeiro

Sunday 23 February 2020 is free to relax around the beaches, enjoy the music and capoeira displays. In the evening, you transfer to the Sambodromo where the largest parade in the world takes place. From 9pm through until dawn on both Sunday & Monday night, 6 of the 12 main Rio samba schools compete with spectacular floats of costumed dancers and drums batteries. The parade is a riot of colours & costumes, feathers & flesh as each school has 80mins to impress judges with their hand-built, hand-powered floats. The scale of the spectacle of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro has to be seen to be appreciated, and seems to get wilder and more exotic every year!

Day 4
Carnival Recovery

Destination: Rio de Janeiro

Monday 24 February 2020. With the Rio Carnival Parade lasting until dawn an easy Monday is recommended! Fresh fruit juices from the colourful bars on every Rio corner help to replenish vitamins. The samba beats return to the streets in the afternoon and may begin to move your feet once more. Festivities continue in clubs and masked balls across the city, not just in the Sambodromo. The magic of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is that you can feel part of the spectacle in any part of the city. The atmosphere is as lively and colourful as the costumes, and dressing up is all part of the fun. Weird and wonderful sights are guaranteed on the streets of Rio during Carnival!

Day 5
Rio & Christ the Redeemer

Destination: Rio de Janeiro

Tuesday 25 February 2020. Your final day in Rio takes you to see the historic side of Rio, the Municipal Theatre and the grand buildings from the 19th Century. The modern Metropolitan Cathedral and the antique Arches of Lapa are two more Rio postcard sights before you climb up to Corcovado, the steep 710m mountain topped by the 31m statue of Christ The Redeemer. The views from the base across Rio, its beaches and mountains, the lagoon, Guanabara Bay and the Atlantic Ocean are as spectacular as city views can be. The afternoon and evening are free after returning to your hotel. Please remember that long queues are to be expected this busy weekend!

Day 6
Flying Home from Carnival in Rio

Destination: Rio de Janeiro

Wednesday 26 February 2020. With your flight home likely to be overnight, you have the day to relax, enjoy lunch and spend some final time on the beaches. In the late afternoon you transfer to the airport for your flight home. Your few days of Carnival celebrations in this exotic city should leave you with a love of Rio and a desire to return and explore more of the country with Brazil Adventure Tours. You may also like to extend your trip for another few days to visit Iguazu Falls, the beaches in Buzios or to enjoy the spectacular scenery of the Costa Verde. We can combine your Rio de Janeiro Carnival Tour with any of our other exotic destinations in Brazil.

Prices

* Domestic Flights Estimated Price
N/A
** Prices Per Adult based on two people travelling and sharing accommodation
Simple B&B
from $1,450 USD
3 Stars
from $2,075 USD
4 Stars
from $3,375 USD
5 Stars
from $5,400USD

* Prices vary depending on travel dates and flight availability. Peak periods in Brazil including Carnaval, public holidays and Christmas/New Year usually require a minimum number of nights, so in these cases itineraries may need to be changed.

** Domestic flight prices are estimated on typical values when reserved six months before travel. Prices can never be guaranteed until reservations are made, and do usually become more expensive closer to the travel period.


* Domestic Flights Estimated Price ** Prices Per Adult based on two people travelling and sharing accommodation
N/A
Simple 3 Stars 4 Stars Luxury

from

$1,450 USD

from

$2,075 USD

from

$3,375 USD

from

$5,400 USD
 

* Prices vary depending on travel dates and flight availability. Peak periods in Brazil including Carnaval, public holidays and Christmas/New Year usually require a minimum number of nights, so in these cases itineraries may need to be changed.

** Domestic flight prices are estimated on typical values when reserved six months before travel. Prices can never be guaranteed until reservations are made, and do usually become more expensive closer to the travel period.