My friend always told me that Brazil would be my favorite place in the world and BOY WAS SHE RIGHT! Great beaches, incredible food, a fun party atmosphere, and the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen. I ended up extending my weekend trip to 10 days (technically, it’s because I couldn’t get a standby flight out of Rio, but hey, I wasn’t mad), and honestly, I could have stayed for weeks.

During my time in Brazil I stayed in Rio de Janeiro, Paraty, Ubatuba, and São Paulo – 4 incredible spots that took soooo long to get to in between in each town, and somehow, I’ve only seen a sliver of Brazil. It’s crazy to think how big that country actually is.

If you’ve got a week or so to kill in Brazil, I definitely recommend stealing this itinerary. Don’t make the same mistake I did and come home, you definitely won’t want to leave.

This trip focuses on Rio, driving down Costa Verde, and ending in São Paulo, although you could reverse the trip as well. Choose your own adventure!!

Rio de Janeiro - 3-4 Nights

Start your trip off strong by landing in Rio for 3-4 nights of beach, party, and stranger-meeting. Rio is famous for a reason – there’s really no other place like it. It will be a great kick-off to your trip to get a sense of the country and really jolt you into learning some Portuguese phrases or dusting off your Google Translate.

Where to Stay in Rio

For Splurging

La Suite by Dussol - While there are great stay options right in Rio, I actually recommend staying in this incredible hotel. The views from the suites are magical and each one is named after a color. It’s about a 20 minute $15 Uber ride into town, but so worth it for us. We mostly ate our meals here and then street food when we were in Rio proper.

For Remote Work

Novotel Rio de Janeiro Leme - My friend stayed here and worked remotely and said the pool and the wifi were fantastic

For Convenience

Arena Ipamena - This one also has an incredible rooftop pool that within walking distance to everything you need, including my fave beach, Ipanema beach

Where to Beach Rot in Rio

Deciding where to go during your first beach jaunt in Rio can be overwhelming. Copacabana and Ipanema are the main beaches, and we chose Ipanema as that’s the more chill, upscale beach vs Copacabana which can be known to be a bit more touristy.

When you get to Ipanema, you’ll see tons of different “barracas” along the beach, which are beach shacks where you can rent chairs and umbrellas and be served drinks and food all day.

Barraca de Uruguay 80 at Posto 9 - My friend recommended we stop Posto 9 on the road and head to the Barraca de Uruguay 80 for good service and I’m glad we did! We got chairs and a table and umbrellas and had a few drinks.

Clássico Beach Club - However, we decided we wanted a more upscale beach club experience, so we went to Classico Beach Club, which was more our speed. There was a fee of around $30 USD and a wait, but the fee went to a bottle of wine once you sat down. There are DJs there around sunset and in general this was much more our speed.

You can also just find spots along the beach where there are no barracas and bring your own towels for the day! Just be aware that no matter where you decide to post up, there will be a lot of people coming up to you to sell you totes, scarves, food, drinks, cigarettes, all day. We didn’t find any of them to be too pushy, and I did end up buying a beach tote that I used for the rest of the trip.

Nightlife in Rio

We had a BLAST going out in Rio. In fact, I made a whole guide about how to party safely in Brazil. You can find all of those details HERE.

Is Rio de Janeiro Safe?

I felt safe the entire time I was in Brazil, including Rio. Just make sure to leave your jewelry at home, keep your phone away, and Uber everywhere you need to go. Bad things can happen anywhere, so just keep your wits about you.

After a few nights in Rio, I recommend either taking the bus or splitting an Uber to Paraty. I won’t lie, it’s a long drive at 4 hours, but the roads are nice and it’s along the coast so the views are great. We called a few car services and the price was over $200, but with Uber, we got it for around $80 (tip well!). You can also take a bus but I’m pretty sure the journey is 8+ hours and my old ass can’t handle that anymore.

You could also stop at Ilha Grande along the way if you wanted to break up your trip! We skipped this spot this time around, but if you have more time, I’ve had friends stay here and highly recommended it.

Paraty, Brazil - 2-3 Nights

Paraty is suuuuccch a cute little colonial town right on the coast. In the city center, you’ll find tons of shops, boutique hotels, restaurants, and bars lining the cobblestone streets.

Where to Stay in Paraty, Brazil

I recommend staying at any hotel or airbnb that is closest to the main colonial square in Paraty. We booked this airbnb and while we loved it, it was a bit of a walk to everywhere we wanted to eat and visit, which was the main square. I’d recommend booking your stay in this area in advance as options can run out here.

The crowd in Paraty varied from families to couples to groups of young backpackers. It’s definitely a good place to check off the list, but 2-3 nights here is plenty in my opinion.

What to do in Paraty, Brazil

Boat trips!! Paraty is known for having tons of islands to boat around in the bay. You can easily find boat tours in town, but we booked a private tour via Airbnb experiences. Our boy Daniel and his amazing dog, Cheech, were our companions for a fun day of exploring little beaches around Paraty. I almost lost my drone to the sea, but that’s another story.

Click HERE for all of the Airbnb Experiences Daniel offers!!

Where to Eat and Drink in Paraty, Brazil

Most of the food & drink scene is located in the central colonial area (which is why I recommend staying here!) and you’ll notice a lot of food items are centered around bananas, a fruit that thrives in the region. I recommend trying any dish that incorporates bananas because you’ll see them a lot.

Peró Restaurante - You HAVE to get the banana bacon gnocchi, it was SO GOOD! Make sure you get a reservation

Restaurante Banana da Terra - Another great place for dinner and specifically, the banana gnocchi. It sounds weird but trust me, if you’re a fan of banana flavors, you’ll like it

Zen Mongolian Hall - We stopped here for a drink on the street before dinner, good vibes!

La Rosencia Empanadas - If you’re in the area, it’s a great for empanadas! they run at their own hours and do run out so be prepared

Café Café Paraty – Stop here for coffee, snacks, and live music. They have a great outdoor space as well.

Ubatuba, Brazil - 2-3 Nights

About an hour further down Costa Verde, you’ll run into the town where residents of São Paulo go to vacation, Ubatuba. Saying the name isn’t just fun, the town itself is a fun, more lively beach town than Paraty with tons of bars, restaurants, hotels, airbnbs, hostels, beach clubs, etc.

Where to Stay in Ubatuba, Brazil

I’d say any stay that’s close to the beach is a good place to stay. In my opinion, the place you stay doesn’t really matter as long as you’re close to the beach, so you can save money on lodging here.

Green Haven Hostel - We stayed at Green Haven Hostel in a private room, because we are in our 30’s and this is the last hostel I will ever stay in. The hostel itself was great but I am far too old. Honestly, the best meal we had in Ubatuba was a shared meal we had at this hostel!

Where to Eat and Drink in Ubatuba, Brazil

Restaurante Terra Papagalli - This is a delicious seafood restaurant, great for a date, romantic or platonic

Quisoque de Mimi - A queer friendly kiosk right on the main beach in Ubatuba! Extremely welcoming and great ceviche :)

Where to Beach Rot in Ubatuba, Brazil

Ubatuba Praia Pereque Açu - Another beautiful perfect beach! Plenty of beach bars and room to lay out. Expect the crowd to be a mix of families and friends. Great vibes here!

HOU Beach Club Bar & Restaurant - About a 10 minute drive outside of Ubatuba is HOU Beach Club, one of the best in the area in my opinion. We were there for hours and somehow only spent $50 with beach chairs right front. It was a little slow when we were there in the off-season, but this place is huge and looks like it gets packed during high season. Get there early!

Praia Vermelha Do Norte - A gorgeous beach slightly out of town, lots of surfers and room to spread out as well

Similar to Paraty, I think 2-3 nights is okay for Ubatuba.

After this, you can make the drive inland to São Paulo. Heads up, this is a drive that’s over 3 hours long and through mountains, it’s beautiful but it takes awhile.

São Paulo, Brazil - 2-3 Nights

São Paulo is the most populated city in Brazil, so you KNOW there’s gonna be tons to do. I’ve been here twice now and despite it being a city that some tourists skip over to go to Rio, São Paulo itself should be a destination.

There’s tons of nightlife here, great food, amazing hotels, and some very friendly Brazilians looking to make friends or try to kiss you in a bar or both!

Where to Stay in São Paulo

For Splurging

Rosewood São Paulo– This is one of best hotels I’ve ever stayed in, period. It’s super expensive at around $700/night, but they have two pools, great food, celebrity sightings, and the opportunity to make new friends (hi, Amanda!). The key here is to check in early and get a late check out so you can stay one night but be there for almost 2 full days. Honestly, even if you can’t afford to stay here, go to the jazz bar or the restaurants or rooftop bar for a drink or food. It’s such a cool, unique property.

Hotel Fasano - I didn’t stay here, but I did eat a ton of beef tartar at the onsite restaurant, drank way too many espresso martinis at their jazz club, and took shots with Maroon 5 and Bruno Mars’ band in their lobby, so I’d say I had standard experience there.

For Less Splurging

Canopy by Hilton São Paulo- Located in the Jardins neighborhood, this hotel is perfect for people staying 1-2 nights in São Paulo. Great restaurant on site and the staff are super friendly. I got upgraded to a nicer room and they gave me a 2pm check out because I stayed out until 4 am at Club Crema with some Brazilians I had met earlier that night.

Speaking of clubs…

Where to Party in São Paulo

One of the main bar streets in São Paulo is R. Aspicuelta. Almost every bar had a Brazilian band playing and the energy was SO FUN.

The full guide to partying in Brazil is HERE.

Armazém Piola – This was our favorite bar on the strip! No cover, a live band, and a ton of fun, young people.

Crema Club - Come here for late night techno dancing. There is a cover but the venue is really cool, if not very loud. Maybe it’s because I’m 34 now, but I had to plug my ears when I was in there.

Patriarca Bar – Great vibes in this bar, there's a band playing music in the middle and everyone is dancing around them. Locals and tourists approved.

Boteco São Bento Vila Madalena - This is more of a large sit down sports bar, but it has outdoor seating and still a fun time, regardless of whether you care about sports or not (I do not).

Quitandinha Bar - Another bar with live music in the middle! We loved this place :)

D-Edge - A multi-story club that has great DJs that play late into the night; I think we left at 5am and it was still going

Bar Alto - Great cocktail bar with live music

Where to Eat in São Paulo

I won’t lie – both times I stayed in São Paulo, I mostly ate at the hotels I was staying in because the food was so good. Hopefully this list will evolve when I’m back in Brazil!

Skye - This was a rooftop restaurant on top of a hotel. Views of São Paulo are fantastic. Food was great for a hangover.

Helpful Tips for your Brazil Trip

Uber Everywhere – In the major cities, Uber is super safe and reliable and cheap. If you’re not walking down a main street, just take an uber. Better safe than sorry.
Learn SOME Portuguese –More often than not, most people in Brazil do NOT speak English. It was honestly great and humbling to be in a place that didn’t cater to English speakers, as it forced us to learn a few phrases and be more on our feet. While hotel and some restaurant staff will likely know English, almost no one else will. Learning a few phrases like “where’s the bathroom”, “check, please!”, and “I’m a dumb American who never learned another language outside of English”, will help you out a bit, but make sure you have service for Google Translate. It was our saving grace during our trip.
Credit Cards are Accepted Almost Everywhere – I recommend using the Chase Sapphire travel credit card for travel points and then a Charles Schwab checking account so you can withdraw cash when needed (they refund international transaction fees).
You CAN gesture your hand to get a server’s attention — in America, this is definitely considered rude, but it’s a bit expected in Brazil. We wouldn’t have gotten our checks or drink refills had we not known this!

Brazil is one of the best countries on the planet. I’ve been to over 50 and I think this cracks my top 3. Hopefully this guide was helpful to get started, but in case you need everything in a map:

SAVE MY BRAZIL GOOGLE MAP GUIDE HERE!

Have any recs that I missed? Any questions? Secrets to confess that are entirely unrelated to this blog post? Feel free to drop them in the comments below!

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10 Days in Brazil - Steal My Itinerary