Rio de Janeiro is a tropical city surrounded by the world’s largest urban rainforest, tall luscious mountains and a stunning coastline. There’s no wonder millions of tourists visit the city each year, all wanting to experience the magic that Rio offers.
The green, luscious nature definitely adds to the charm of Rio, it’s one of the most tropical cities we’ve visited. Aside from the tranquil nature, Rio has so much to offer, the famous Christ the Redeemer statue towers over the city, Sugarloaf mountain peaks by the ocean and the streets are alive with vibrant music and passion.
Samba is entwined in Brazil’s soul, Rio’s a hot spot to experience this traditional dance. Every year Rio host’s the world famous Carnival, it’s the biggest street party in the world and it captures the heart and soul of Brazil.
There are colourful markets and street vendors everywhere you look, you can pick up gifts, clothes, food, pretty much everything and anything. There’s always something to catch your attention in Rio and in this guide we’ll make sure you’re well prepared for your tropical city adventure!
Best Time to Visit
To experience the renowned Carnival festival you’d want to be in Rio during the end of February and early March. It marks the beginning of lent, the lead up to Easter. The weather around this time will be hot and humid, the perfect time to relax and swim in many of Rio’s beaches.
If you’d rather avoid the crowds then head over during Spring (October to November) or Autumn (July to June), the crowds will be much less but you’ll still get the city buzz and the weather will be milder but still enjoyable.
Whenever you decide to go each season brings its own uniqueness to the city, and the energy and buzz of Rio is electric and will capture your senses.
Weather and Climate
- Spring (October to November): Temperatures range from 19°C–29°C, the weather is warming up and so is the humidity, but compared to summer it’s much less. Chances of rain in the air. It’s a comfortable time of year to visit.
- Summer (December to March): Temperatures range from 22°C to 32°C, it’s the hottest and most humid time of year, so prepare to get your sweat on. It’s also the wettest time of year, the afternoons usually bring showers and thunderstorms. January is the rainiest month.
- Autumn (April to June): Temperatures range from 18°C to 28°C, this time of year is cooler and less humid. There’s a big drop in rainfall, a great time for hiking and exploring the city.
- Winter (July to September): Temperatures range from 16°C to 26°C, it’s a milder part of the year and the evenings are quite cooler. August is the driest month of the year. Winter brings less crowds and cheaper prices for accommodation, it’s the ideal time for budget travellers.
Getting to Rio De Janeiro
By Air
Rio de Janeiro has two main Airports:
- Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) found right in the city centre, it’s for domestic flights only.
- Galeão International Airport (GIG) is Rio’s main international airport located 20km from the city centre. Flights from North America, Central America, Africa and Europe fly into the GIG airport.
Both airports are well connected with the Metro, shuttle buses and local buses. Uber is popular in Rio and there are many drivers ready to pick you up. They also have the option to haggle the price with drivers, where drivers can send you an offer, but we prefer to have the fixed price option.
By Bus
There are buses coming into Rio from all over Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. The buses all arrive at Rio’s main bus terminal, Rodoviária Novo Rio. It’s a well connected city with different bus options, some more fancier than others, connecting you to Brazil and other neighbouring countries.
We got a bus with a lay down bed from Imbituba to Rio, our comfiest bus journey yet, you can read about this Executive bus journey here!
Where to Stay
Rio has an array of accommodations to choose from, sky rise hotels, boutique hotels, your own apartment, villas, beach front properties. It all comes down to your budget and where you want to be in the city.
The telegraph wrote an article on The Best Hotels in Rio De Janerio, have a butchers and see if any take your fancy.
We spent one night in the Hotel Nacional Rio de Janeiro, it was quite dated but the rooms are comfortable and the beds are massive. We had views of the beach and the Christ Redeemer!
After one night here, we found a gem on Airbnb, where we spent our next 3 nights in the city. Soulrebel Rio is located in the Santa Teresa area, high up on a hill, it overlooks the city. Surrounded by the urban rainforest, it’s home to all sorts of wildlife, the house has trees all around and it gives you the wild feels that soothe your soul.
The house was owned by an American Architect, he ran out of money and it was left for years, taken over by punks at one point. Until it was found by a lovely German couple who immediately fell in love, and it’s easy to see why.
The top floor has been converted into a bougie loft space, they’ve kept the original Portuguese tiles which gives it so much charm and character.
With a large private terrace overlooking the city, you’ll be visited by monkeys such as the small Marmosets and colourful birds like the incredible Toucans.
It has a yoga space and a communal pool, the hosts are vegan and offer delicious breakfasts and lunches for an extra fee, you can also do excursions with them to local markets.
This place is a retreat and it’s the perfect balance between city and solace. You can easily jump in an Uber to have your city fix, coming back to this house on the hill was just everything and more that we needed.
Be sure to read our article 7 Hacks to Save Money on Airbnb, there’s ways you can be saving money when booking through Airbnb so don’t miss out.
Things to See and Do in Rio De Janerio
Mirante Dona Marta
Christ the Redeemer is on everyone’s list when they come to Rio, it wasn’t something we were bothered about. We’re not religious and it’s just a giant Jesus on a mountain surrounded by huge crowds of tourists, it’s not really our cup of tea.
We were told about this viewpoint where you can enjoy the views of Christ the Redeemer without having to endure the big crowds.
We walked from our Airbnb which was quite the adventure, passing wild jackfruit trees and monkeys, when you arrive at the top you’ll be blown away by the fantastic views of Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf mountain, Copacabana and Ipanema beach.
The best time to visit would be for sunrise or sunset, the pink hues light up the city and mother nature put’s on a spectacular show.
Escadaria Selarón
These beautiful steps are the work of Chilean born artist Jorge Selarón, who decided to cover the stairs outside his house in colourful mosaics. It was a gift that he dedicated to the people of Brazil.
Jorge actually started with only the Brazilian flag colours, but he then realised he could buy colourful tiles representing countries from all over the world. In doing so, Jorge united all countries in his beautiful artwork and many visitors search for the colours of their country’s flag.
It’s a popular spot for photos and it’s certainly a photogenic set of stairs, the staircase connects Lapa and Santa Teresa. There are 215 steps and it’s 125 meters long, that’s a lot of tiles!
Many famous artists come to Rio and film at this location, remember “Beautiful” by Snoop and Pharrell, that was filmed around Rio and at the end of the video their chilling on the stairs.
Gay Beaches
As a married same sex couple we’re always looking for places where we can be accepted and prance around happily gay and free. Travelling around the world we’ve encountered places where we have to hide who we are as it’s illegal, being repressed can be hard but we only visit these places, our hearts go out to the people who are stuck in these countries.
Speaking of which we created a GoFundMe page for our Moroccan friend, she’s desperately trying to get to Europe and live a free life. Please donate if you can!
When we find places that celebrate sexuality and are gay friendly to another level, it feels like home. We found Ipanema Beach to be the most gay friendly beach we’ve ever experienced. Gay rainbow flags waving proudly along the beach, it was so lovely to be surrounded by so many same sex couples.
We don’t usually like to be overly affectionate in public, but here we felt comfortable and we were able to have kisses and cuddles and feel completely at ease, without fear of being judged.
Ipanema Beach has a particular gay section Farme Gay Beach, we were actually much further south and to be honest the whole beach was gay friendly. When we walked past the Farme Gay Beach it was an intense huddle of gay men and speedos.
We really enjoyed walking along the promenade and taking in all the queer love, but we were happy we found a quieter part of the beach where we were able to relax and have space to breath.