Rio de Janeiro Airfares

Take a bus tour of Rio, eat at the fine restaurants, but whatever you do, do not miss out on Carnaval, Carnaval, Carnaval! That’s Portuguese for Carnival, and it’s one of the main attractions in Rio.

Usually Carnaval takes place for 4 days in February or March, and Carnaval Sunday is 7 weeks before Easter. The two main aspects of the Carnaval are the Street Carnaval, which is free and spontaneous, as the people dress in costumes and dance in the streets, and the Samba Parade(or the Samba School Parade), not free, which involves neighborhood groups(schools) entering as many as 3000 - 5000 participants and 6 - 8 floats for a parade.

There is a complex structure to the Samba Parade, and participants dress in very elaborate costumes depending on their particular role in the parade. They are judged for their dance and performance routines, sometimes performed by professional dancers, so it’s a show and competition rolled into one.