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!

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!

Lately we've been receiving a few questions on what we've done in different countries and what we'd recommend. I know before we headed off I was constantly googling where to go, what to do, what not to miss and what to avoid; and I absolutely LOVED finding itineraries. So we're drawing up a few for you guys! 

These are just very basic overviews of what we did in each country and how long it took. Also giving information on whether we think you would need less or more time in each place. If you need or want any more information do not hesitate to contact us by email or on Facebook at facebook.com/looktheworldintheeye

Leaving Huanchaco and heading north to our last destination in Peru, Mancora (can you believe we've already been in Peru for 6 weeks!?!) we were slightly apprehensive. We’d met loads of travellers who said they’d hated Mancora as it was too busy, too full of people only wanting to party and just simply not that nice. However on the other hand we’d also met loads of people that loved it.

From the advice of a couple girls we met in Huanchaco we booked our accommodation at Kontiki Bungalows, and this may have been the best destination we've made in our 4 months travelling. Okay maybe not the best, but it was up there, this place is beautiful! I mean.. look at that view!

As well as the hostel being beautiful, having an amazing view, having our own balcony and hammock; the owner Jurg, is incredibly nice and super helpful. He picked us up from the bus station and even drove us to the hospital later that night so that Sean could get hooked up to an IV due to some serious dehydration after a very intense episode of food poisoning!

We enjoyed Mancora, there wasn't a lot going on but that's what we liked about it was a great place to just hang out, read, swim and surf. A nice place to spend our last few days in Peru.


Oh and don't worry, Sean's all good now!

Next up, Guayaquil, Ecuador and then the Galapaogs! Yippee!

Upon arriving in Huanchacho from Lima we had planned to stay a meagre 3 nights..
After 2 nights in Lima, we got an overnight bus North to Trujillo. We got in around 7am and jumped in a 20 minute and 18 sole cab to Huanchaco. Right on the coast, roughly halfway between Lima and Mancora, Huanchaco is a popular spot with surfers and not a bad little stopover for those on the "gringo trail".


Upon arriving in Huanchacho from Lima we had planned to stay a meagre 3 nights.. however due to the fact that Sean ordered a new board we ended up here for 8. No complaints from us. We were staying at Hostal Casa Fresh, a new (only 8 week old) hostel right across from the beach. Huanchaco has a long, left hand break we can see from our hostel balcony with some fairly consistent swell. 

Whilst obviously the main reason that most people come to Huanchaco is to surf, the lads running Casa Fresh do an awesome job at running a fun hostel with other fun things to do in this seaside fishing town.

On our first day here we had a football match with guys from the hostel against a crew of locals that was heaps of fun although pretty damn serious at times. We also got to celebrate St Patrick's Day here with a solid crew of Irish lads which involved beers, a few cheeky pints of Guinness, some sing-alongs, a guitar, a tin whistle and more beers. Needless to say, fun had by all. 

From Cusco we headed north west towards Ica, and the desert oasis of Huacachina. 

We caught a 16 hour bus to Ica with Cruz del Sur, and from Ica caught a 5-10 minute taxi to Huacachina.

The town of Huacachina (I’m not sure it actually constitutes as a town) is tiny, and famous for 2 things… dune buggy rides and sand boarding. And we did neither… oops.  Oh and it's obviously well known for the fact that it's an oasis....

On our first morning there we went in to town to find somewhere for Sean to have a skate, and as we searched he managed to step on a collapsed part of the gutter and cut the bottom of his foot. Not super badly, but bad enough that we didn’t want to risk it getting infected and sore before we headed further north to surf... And thus, we avoided the sand boarding… Which we’d already done in Floripa, so we weren’t too worried about.

We stayed at a place called Carola del Sur, which was nice enough but the guy that was on the front desk had a little attitude... (and tried to overcharge us when we left saying they had upgraded our room without telling us...) however they also had a pet tortoise, so that kind of made up for it.. maybe.

During our 2 days there we had a cruise around the town, climbed up the sand dunes, lay by the pool and ate plenty of hummus, guacamole and pita bread (Check out Bamboo Cafe if you go).

2 days was more than enough, but also a well needed rest for us after our crazy time in Cusco.

Next stop, Punta Hermosa, Lima and then the north coast of Peru for surfing, swimming and just all round fun in the sun.

Just over 3 months into our trip, the day finally arrived for us to commence the only thing we booked before leaving Australia - The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Now we had booked this a seriously long way in advance - like June 2014. Machu Picchu is one of the biggest tourist attractions in not just Peru but the whole continent, so needless to say after spending a week waiting in Cusco, we were pretty excited to begin.





We got picked up from our hostel a bit before 6am on the 2nd of March and then got to nap in the van for the 1.5 hour ride into the Sacred Valley to the town of Ollantaytambo for breakfast before our  trail would begin. 

After breakfast we were taken to the entrance of the national park and disembarked the bus with all of our belongings for the next 4 days. Here we had about 20 minutes to sort ourselves out before beginning the walk. In this 20 minutes we bought small straps from local ladies to tie our mattresses (included in the fee from the trek company) and our sleeping bags (our own from home) to the bottom of our backpacks to save some bag space. Our company “Peru Treks” provided plenty of porters who would carry all of our tents and food for the 4 days, as well as setting up camp and helping the 2 chefs to prepare meals for us every day. There was an option to hire an additional “personal porter” for $75 US more for the 4 days, who would carry 6kg of stuff for you. However, we went for the “less is more” option saving cash and just brought the bare minimum in clothes for 4 days in a small backpack each.

We took the obligatory photos under the sign that signifies the start of the trail before heading on to the park entrance. Here the security is really quite intensive, for not just tourists but also guides and porters. The Peruvian government only allocates a limited number of passes to the National Park per day, and they scrupulously check all of these passes alongside tourists passports to make sure people aren’t sneaking into the park. They also check that the porters aren’t being forced by companies to carry packs heavier than then allowed 20kg of company equipment each.

After checking all the boxes, we were finally off! The first day of walking was super easy. Like ridiculously easy due to the fact we have been at an altitude above 3000m for around a month, and the pace was set mostly for those who had come from sea level in the last week. We wound through farmland along the side of the Urubamba river without much incline, stopping for lunch provided by the trek company and having plenty of opportunities to buy snacks and drinks along the way from the local communities. We eventually arrived at Wayllabamba around 5pm where our porters had set up camp for the night, and the chefs were already prepping dinner. 

I bought a giant beer off a local lady and left it propped up in the small creek next to the campsite to cool down. I seriously don’t think I’ve seen a single refrigerator in about a month. We got called around by Raul the head guide into one big circle where one by one everybody introduced themselves to everyone, trekkers, guides, porters and chefs all included. This was really cool as some of the porters hardly spoke spanish (only Quechua - the local language and language of the Incas), and had to be translated. We also found that the oldest porter was 50 and had been doing the Inca trail for around 15 years, and one of our youngest porters was working on the inca trail for the first time! 

Back to the now cold beer, we all sat around chatting as the sun went down below the valley edge until dinner was ready. Every meal we had on the trail was awesome and had at least 3 courses. I seriously think I put on weight over the 4 days. We had a cup of tea and a briefing of the next days plan before getting into bed around 8pm. I slept pretty well considering camping at altitude on a super thin mat and only got woken up once by a donkey loudly chewing on the grass right next to my head.

We got woken up at 5am with coffee (or tea) being delivered to us in bed, pretty awesome! After we packed our things we had for breakkie  before heading off on day 2. Day 2 is the hardest walking day of the Inca trail, as you climb from around 3000m to the highest point - Dead Woman’s Pass - around 4200m. The guides let us go at our own pace but gave us 3 checkpoints to wait at as a group for everyone to catch up. The day was meant to take roughly 8 hours of hiking - hence the early wake up. We got to the first checkpoint in around 30 minutes and waited for the group. When everyone caught up, we were warned that the next section would be the hardest, and to wait at the 2nd checkpoint for “2nd breakfast”. Although hard, we didn’t find the 2nd section too bad and really enjoyed the uphill through some beautiful forests and along creeks. We actually got to chat to some of the porters along the way - spanish is improving!

We waited for an hour or so for everyone to catch up for second breakfast which was rolls, popcorn and more tea and coffee. Here I should probably mention how quick the temp can change in this area around Cusco and Machu Picchu. In 5 minutes you can seriously go from sweating and getting sunburnt to reaching for both jumper and raincoats. Combine this with slogging up steep hills and waiting around on exposed passes, you can imagine how many times a day you have to either add on or strip off layers. 

As we finished second breakfast and set off again to reach Dead Woman’s Pass, the wind picked up and it started to drizzle. Combine this with full tummies and the highest altitude we had hiked at yet, we found the 3rd uphill section of the day the hardest by far. We reached the top in the howling wind and sideways rain, took a quick snap of the signpost at the top (the view was obscured by clouds), and quickly headed back down the other side towards camp. Porters flew past us with their huge backpacks as we cautiously descended the dodgy wet path, eventually arriving at camp around 12:30pm. We only took about 3.5 hours of actual walking time, and considering this was meant to be the hardest day of walking, weren’t feeling too bad. Everyone had trickled in by around 2:00 when we had lunch, and then had several hours to kill before dinner. Some people had a nap and I tried to have a “bath” in the creek which can’t have been much above freezing - needless to say it was pretty short. 

Eventually dinner time came and we ate again before going to bed before another early night and wake up. The next morning’s wakeup routine was the same before heading off. The 3rd day is the longest in kilometres, but also has the most ruins and the most awesome scenery. Combine this with no long uphill slogs, it seemed to fly by. We saw plenty of ruins and had some awesome weather - sunshine combined with mist coming off the mountains. We had lunch on top of the 2nd pass of the day where Bec got chased by a Llama that didn’t appreciate her posing next to it. The day culminated at the campsite below Wiñay Wayna ruins - some huge agricultural terraces built into the hillside overlooking the valley and Urubamba River below.

Same routine for the 3rd and last night, except here before going to bed we said thanks and goodbye to the porters and chefs who would head down to Aguas Callientes town early the next morning to catch the train home whilst we went on to Machu Picchu. 

The last morning we woke up at 3am for a super quick breakfast before heading to the checkpoint for the last 5km of trail. Here the gates to the trail aren’t opened until 5:30am which is around first light to prevent accidents. Apparently most years people get too excited and whilst pushing past each other on the narrow path sometimes fall off the cliff. The gates finally opened after what seemed like an aeon, and we were off. We had to trudge super slow in single file as we weren’t just limited by the slowest person in our group but the slowest in every group due to the limited overtaking areas. Luckily the scenery was awesome and it was pretty easy to walk slowly. 

Eventually through rain we got to the Sun Gate and were treated to the view we had walked 4 days to see - Machu Picchu! We all took photos in the drizzle before the clouds came up about 5 minutes later and blocked out everything! Luckily we weren’t in the last group… Onwards downhill for 30 minutes with a few information breaks from Raul and we had arrived. It was about 7:30 at this stage, but we had to wait around until about 9:30 for the last member of the group to arrive before the tour could begin. Annoyingly we had to wait outside the ruins to enter as a group, which was made even more annoying due to the pouring rain and $7AUD coffees. Ronald the amazingly patient assistant guide eventually arrived with the last member of our team and the tour began. We got the shortened version due to everyone being wet and freezing, but Raul covered all of the most important and interesting sites in this beautiful ancient city. We then were able to explore the ruins on our own and take all the photos we wanted. 

Eventually we got tired of being wet and jumped on the bus down to Aguas Callientes, the town below Machu Picchu. We got a tasty pizza lunch and eventually headed off to the hot springs of which the town is named after for a well needed break and beer. We relaxed around town until jumping onto the 6pm train back to Ollantaytambo and got on the bus back to Cusco. We got back there around 10:30 and checked back into the hostel before sleeping like babies.

We had such an awesome time thanks to Peru Treks and met so many awesome people in our group that made it even more fun. Thanks to everyone! You know who you all are! La Familia!

1 day rest in Cusco before Sammy leaves us flying to Lima before the UK. 3 months has flown by.

Next stop - Huacachina