Hi, Im travelling to Brazil and still debating whether to go to the Carnival in Rio in Feb 09.
Is all the hype worth the 60 dollar dorm rooms(at least), expensive flights, inflated prices(food,beer), overcrowding etc....???
So if you have been there any thoughts/recommendations would be appreciated....
Thanks.
Reply to this Hell yes! I've been to both Carnival in Rio and Salvador, and LOVED IT. Why not try couchsurfing to offset the cost? My partner and I managed to find cheap rooms during Carnaval in Salvador (but my bfriend was Brazilian, which helped).
If you do go in Rio, make sure you go to some blocos. These are percussion groups that play samba which start off in squares and parade a set route. It's sooo much fun - some people get dressed up. You drink beer, sing, cry, dance, snog....all while following the band. If you're really hard core you can go to several in a day. But if you don't decide to stay for carnaval you can go to the samba school rehearsals, which are very very fun too.
Reply to this I travelled to Salvador using www.toursgonewild.com, check it out they sell packages to carnival including guides and all that...
Reply to this You are going to miss big thing in your life if you miss Rio Carnival @Sambhadrome.
Reply to this I'm planning on going to carnaval for 2009 also, has anyone got any suggestions for accomadation? Websites? etc that i cn prebbok through?
Thanks!
Reply to this Hi Richard
I visited Rio and other parts of Brazil in year 2004. I book all my tours by http://www.brol.com/
Brol is good US based company.
-Gaurav
Reply to this However for RioCarnival @Sambhadrome, they might charge you for more.
I had a Cariocan (People from Rio) friends, he booked carnival tickets for us from Rio itself.
It costed us around 70 USD for 2 days. However travel agents were offering the same for 120 USD for 1 day.
Reply to this no way.. i like rio but not during carnival .. all you do is sit on a bleached cement and watch a parade go by instead of participating in a huge fun crowd like the ones in Salvador.. i suggest doing 5 days in salvador then go to rio for the winners parade because during carnival in rio the clubs are close and the ones opens are full of tourists and "Working Girls" .. believe me...
Reply to this Hi Richand ..
Tours Gone Wild
thats my suggestion.. private guides , round trip airfares, tours to the christ statue and stuff..
Regards
Reply to this Good idea TravelKing to do both (that's what I did), he's totally right about the difference between the carnivals in Rio and in Salvador-
Salvador is a HUGE street party, way more fun than I imagined, infectious music, yummy drinks, good vibes....though the blocos in Rio are awesome too.
For the champions parade in Rio, we bought tickets at the gate from scalpers for R$35, ($15US or something) half the price that our friends paid at agencies. You can take the subway there, so you don't need a van to get you there or anything. The carnaval parade goes ALL night, personally I wouldn't go to more than one night.
Other advice for Salvador for women- local girls wear denim shorts or regular shorts and sneakers- if you wear a skirt men will try to put their hands up it to grope your bum- wearing shorts you can avoid that.
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