We love everything about Brazil, and since it is a huge diverse continent in itself, it is very hard to do justice to its beauty and variety in just a few words, but here are our favorite places we have visited. 

Rio

Just a 2-hour non-stop flight from Buenos Aires, it should be your first choice in Brazil, if you can only pick one stop. 

There are so many things there to see and marvel at and visit, starting with the people, the music, the food, the beaches and its colorful stylish neighborhoods (legendary Copacabana, Ipanema, Lebrón, etc.), not to mention the Corcovado and the Pan de Azúcar. With five days there, you barely scratch the surface. 

There are many good hotels, but our favorites are the Fasano, in Ipanema, and the legendary Belmond, in Copacabana. 

São Paulo

Cosmopolitan, sophisticated, busy, elegant, Brazil’s New York (with Rio being LA). We love visiting Sao Paulo. The shopping is incredible, as are the restaurants all around the city. 

There are many amazing museums to visit, such as the MASP (Museo de Arte de Sao Paulo) is one of my favorites, or the MAM (Museum of Modern Art) in Ibirapuera park, which in itself is worth visiting. Our favorite neighborhoods are Jardins, Vila Madalena and Beco de Batman, and our favorite hotels: the Fasano (so classy), Hotel Unique (incredible architecture), and the new Rosewood (gorgeous), although there are a ton more to choose from.   

Buzios

A couple of hours drive from Rio, this beach town is fun, trendy and entertaining year-round. It is also full of Argentinians, so you won’t feel you have strayed very far! Brigitte Bardot made it famous in the 60s, and it is full of great beaches. Our choice of hotel here is Casas Brancas, a Greek-style boutique hotel in front of the beach in the middle of town. 

Bahía

Bahía is an entire state and it is far away (about a 4 hour plane ride from Buenos Aires, and 2 from Rio or Sao Paulo), but for those intrepid souls who are willing to go the extra mile, it is worth it. It is the heart of African- Brazil, and the birth place of Bossa Nova and the Tropicalia movement. 

Salvador de Bahía is its main city. Gorgeous pastel-colored churches and houses, although a bit sketchy; we didn’t feel super safe there. There are many beaches along Bahía’s coastline. They must all be superb, such as the trendy boho island of Fernando de Noronha, which I’ve heard a lot about, but Trancoso deserves a special mention; it’s a hidden gem. Only a couple hours drive from Porto Seguro, one of the most popular beach towns in Bahía, Trancoso is a tiny world in itself. There isn’t much there, just a square (Quadrado) surrounded by a church with a soccer field in the middle (of course), and tiny colorful structures surrounding it, mostly restaurants, boutiques and hotels (our favorite by far is Uxua), and the beach facing the warm waters of the Atlantic a few steps below. If you want to relax and lose track of time, this is the place to be. And June-July is a great time to go. The weather is perfect, not too hot or too cold.   

Amazonas

And of course Brazil owns most of the Amazon. There are cruises and small boat trips out of Manaos.