Brazil
Country: Brazil
Highlights: Gastronomy ★★★, Art / Museums ★, Historical sites ★, Natural Beauty ★★★★, Shopping ★; Sports/Adventure ★★, Geographic extremes 0, Glamour ★
When to go: Summer
Where to go: Rio de Janeiro, Petropolis, Buzios and Iguazu Falls
Downside: Lots of slum houses everywhere, some tourist traps and lots of bad services. The beaches are ok in Rio region but in Northeast Brazil they are not!. Greenish dark waters everywhere, except if you drive a boat away from the seashore. If you are looking for heavenly Beaches go to the Caribbean instead.
Our Experiences: Rio is a must go! ( We don´t say that because we are Brazilians ) The city chalenges the rough local geography and spreads in between the mountains, lagoons valleys and the sea. The neighbourhoods are connected by tunnels and there is even a huge forest between some of them. So unique. We have been to all major cities around the world and there is nothing similar. The famous city mountain Sugar Loaf emerges from the sea and overlooks downtown. The Christ-the-Redeemer statue ( One of the seven modern wonders) also overlooks the city and from there we have the best Rio´s view. There are nice restaurants in town, some of them listed in Guide Michelin and some even carrying 2 stars. Barzilian´s best restaurant is D.O.M, located in São Paulo. Unfortunatelly São Paulo is noisy and boring, with no tourist attractions. The second most important and worth place to visit in Brazil are the Iguazu Falls. It is the world´s largest waterfalls ( Not the highest, but the widest and the biggest water volume flow). It is astonishingly impressive.
Hotels we love and recommend: Fasano (Rio de Janeiro) and Copacabana Palace (Rio de Janeiro)
