From the start, we planned to fly to South America in February, so Rio immediately topped the list of places to visit. You can’t miss the opportunity to experience the biggest carnival in the world!

Visiting Rio de Janeiro in this specific period has its positives and negatives, although, we can reveal right away that there’s more of the former.

Wonderful City - that’s what it’s called by the inhabitants - Cidade Maravilhosa.

We hitchhiked to the metro station in the north of Rio. By the way, on the route from the airport in São Paulo we met, among others, a doctor who looks after over ONE HUNDRED of dogs in her farm. Six of them travelled with us in her camper!

On the first day, the “wonderfulness” of the surroundings was not too visible, mainly because of the rainy weather. We dealt some important matters, rested on the beach, and in the evening we drove to the Maracana stadium, where we rented a room via Airbnb.

Over the next two days we wandered around the city, carefully avoiding the favelas - safety first. In the center, we admired skyscrapers more than monuments. We also visited the nearby district Lapa, known for its white viaduct and ubiquitous street art. We particularly liked Escadaria Selarón - stairs decorated with thousands of tiles from 60 countries around the world.

During our walks around the city, the first impression was intensified by the ever-present carnival. The sounds of samba coming from all sides, glitter in the air and wierdly dressed, laughing people create a really amazing atmosphere. We usually try to get away from the crowds, but this time we let ourselves be carried away!

A visit to Rio de Janeiro during the carnival would not be complete without seeing the samba school parades. Do you know those photos of dancers dressed in shiny suits and feathers? To view this spectacle, you need to buy a ticket for the Sambodrom, i.e. an arena designed specifically for this purpose by the famous architect Niemeyer. For four nights in a row, from Friday to Monday, tens of thousands of city residents and tourists gather in the stands.

We decided on a relatively wallet-friendly Saturday parade and we didn’t regret it! More about how to cheaply organize a trip to the carnival in Rio de Janeiro here!

We used Sunday, our only relatively sunny day, for a visit to the Urca mountain. Most tourists come here via cable car, but we can definitely recommend going by foot. The 40-minute walk leads through a humid Atlantic forest, where you can find a lot of exotic vegetation, and with a little luck some cute monkeys. From the top you can see the Sugar Loaf rising right next to it and the beautiful panorama of Rio de Janeiro, with the monument of Christ the Redeemer towering over it.

We also went for a romantic walk along Copacabana with the intention of reaching another famous beach - Ipamena. It went quite well to the point where, because of huge waves and a lack of balance, Wera fell into the water in her clothes. With this delightful accent we finished our tour of Rio de Janeiro.

We left satisfied but with a hunger for more. Three days is simply not enough for such a huge, attraction-rich city… In addition to that, some plans were ruined by the weather, some by Maciej’s sickness, and some, interestingly, by the carnival. We didn’t think or see any warnings online: many attractions stay closed for the carnival weekend. We couldn’t go into the cathedral, the Portuguese Royal Reading Room and the Museum of Tomorrow. Fortunately, all of them also made a great impression from the outside.

Due to rain and very cloudy weather, we gave up visiting several well-known viewpoints. Unfortunately, this weather is normal in February.

Practical information:

• You can comfortably get around Rio using the subway (4.6 BRL for a single trip, a little more for the SuperVia lines). Uber is also very popular.

• It is generally believed that accommodation costs a fortune during the Rio Carnival. We searched 3 months in advance and easily booked a room via Airbnb for 20 USD per night (for two people).

• During the carnival, the whole city parties at so-called blocos, or street parties. It is worth going to at least one of them.

• We don’t know if it’s only during the carnival or always, but Rio smells bad - just a warning.

all prices as of February 2020

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