5 Week Itinerary for Brazil: Rio de Janeiro to Foz do Iguaçu

Here is our 5 week backpackers travel itinerary for Brazil. This only covers from Rio de Janeiro south along the coast to Floianopolis and then up to Foz do Iguaçu and we stress that you need much, MUCH more time to do the entire country! Well to do it properly at least!

Any questions shoot us an email or contact us on Facebook at Facebook.com/looktheworldintheeye.




Itinerary:

Rio de Janeiro - Ipanema (4 nights)
Armaçao dos Buzios (4 nights)
Arraial do Cabo (4 nights)
Rio de Janeiro - Lapa (4 nights)
Ilha Grande (6 nights)
Trindade (2 nights)
Paraty (3 nights)
Florianopolis (7 nights)
Foz do Iguaçu (1 night)

One major city missing from this list is Sao Paulo. We did go to Sao Paulo, but only as a stop over to swap buses, many people include this is their travels, if you want to pop it in between Paraty and Florianopolis!

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RIO DE JANEIRO - IPANEMA (4 nights) & LAPA (4 nights)
We loved Rio! We stayed there twice, once in Ipanema and the 2nd time in Lapa. We liked doing it this way as you get to explore more of the city and get a feel for how people actually live. 4 nights in Ipanema was great, and we'd definitely do it again. 4 nights in Lapa was also good but as it is further from the beach and we were there in the middle of summer we'd stay closer to the beach next time. That being said Lapa was fun to go out and attend the famous Friday night street party!

Where We Stayed:
Che Lagarto Ipanema
- Good location, friendly staff, 2 minute walk to the beach
- Don't stay in the 10 bed dorm, it is REALLY cramped and the common area is LOUD

Books Hostel, Lapa
- Close to the Lapa Arches (where the street party is) and the beautiful Lapa streps
- Definitely a party hostel, do not stay here unless you want to go out!

What to do in Rio:
- Christ the Redeemer & Corcovado Mountain
- Sugarloaf Mountain (go in late afternoon to take in the view and then watch the beautiful sunset!)
- Ipanema Beach
- Copacabana Beach
- Sunset at Aproadar Rocks
- Football match at the Maracana
- Chinese Viewpoint (hike up and down!)
- Lapa Street Party (Friday night!)
- Lapa Steps
- Hire a bike or skateboard on a Sunday and ride up and down the main road along Ipanema and Copacabana beach, it's closed to traffic in the morning!

ARMAÇAO DOS BUZIOS (4 NIGHTS)
This was a little too much time here. It's nice to relax and go to the beach but other than that there isn't heaps to do. If we had our time again we'd probably skip Buzios or only spend 2 nights here. That being said we still enjoyed it here, there are just other places that in our opinion have nicer beaches and more to do.

Where We Stayed:
Lagoon Backpackers
- Relaxed and quiet location overlooking the Lagoa!
- Need to get a minivan to the busy/main area of town
- Plenty of beaches in walking distance

To Do:
- Beaches, lots around depending where you stay
- Bridget Bardot Boardwalk

ARRAIAL DO CABO (4 NIGHTS)
Close to Buzios. Nicer beaches. Again you could probably just do 2 or 3 nights here and be satisfied.

Where We Stayed:
We rented an apartment off booking.com which was great as there was 4 of us, and it was right on the beach! Let us know if you want the contact details!

To do:
- Beaches
- Hike to Praia do Atalaia (Our favourite beach by far! In picture on the right below!)

ILHA GRANDE (6 NIGHTS)
We LOVED Ilha Grande, and you CAN NOT leave it off your to do list whilst in Brazil. We stayed 6 days and this did not seem like too much, however you could also get away with only doing 3 or 4 if necessary.

Where We Stayed:
Che Lagarto
- Located right on the water with a great deck what more can you ask for (photo from on deck bottom right)

To do:
- Hike to Lopes Mendes Beach (1.5+ hours from main town)
- Day trip with Jeronimo's Tours. Enjoy great BBQ lunch, snorkelling, kayaking and exploring beautiful beaches and coves! (Boat pictured on the top left)
- Circuit do Abraao
- Hike to waterfall (Cachoeira) from Circuit do Abraao

TRINDADE (2 NIGHTS)
A cute, small town close to Paraty. We enjoyed it here however it was not a necessary stop. Not much to do again other than laze about at the beach.

Where We Stayed:
Che Lagarto
- Clean, good breakfast, good service (same as all Che Lagarto's)

To Do:
- Beach
- Cachadaço Natural Pools
- Pedra que Engole "The rock that swallows" - slip in through a small gap (don't worry you won't get stuck!!) under a little waterfall and slide onto a big smooth rock! (ask at your hostel!)

PARATY (3 NIGHTS)
We enjoyed Paraty but you could probably just do 2 nights here!

Where We Stayed:
Che Lagarto
- Clean, good breakfast, good service (same as all Che Lagarto's)

To Do:
- Explore town, beautiful cobblestone streets with brightly coloured windows and doors
- JEEP TOUR (one day) includes 4 locations listed below:
Paratiana Cachaca distillery
Pedra Branca waterfalls
Toboga - big slippery rock you can slide down!
Poco do Tarzan (a 12 m jump rock, do it!

FLORIANOPOLIS (7 NIGHTS)
We stayed in Barra da Lagoa on Florianopolis for 7 nights. Even though we enjoyed it here this was too much time for us, this was in part due to it being very difficult to go anywhere else on the island due to the traffic at Christmas/New Years Eve.

Where We Stayed:
Barra Surf Hostel
- Small family run hostel 
- Close to the beach
- Free tasty breakfast

To Do:
- Beaches
- Visit the turtle sanctuary
- Sand-boarding
There is much, much more to do here however as stated above there was LOTS of traffic whilst we were here making it virtually impossible to go anywhere without it taking months!

FOZ DO IGUAÇU (1 NIGHT)
Obviously we were here to see Iguazu Falls. They were all we hoped for and more. Absolutely beautiful!

Where We Stayed:
Che Lagarto
- As usual great service, breakfast, clean rooms etc.
- Amazing rooftop bar for sunset (see bottom right picture)

To Do:
- Iguazu Falls (Brazilian side)
- Parque Das Aves (Bird Park) Note.. I didn't really like it here, although it is a bird sanctuary (or at least started as one) it seemed to much like a zoo for me, lots of animals with not enough room to fly.

We hope this helps a little with planning your Brazilian getaway!

And again, if you have any questions shoot us an email, leave a comment or contact us on Facebook at Facebook.com/looktheworldintheeye and we'll get back to you ASAP!