Brazil

One of the world's most captivating places, Brazil is a country of powdery white-sand beaches, verdant rainforests and wild, rhythm-filled metropolises. Brazil's attractions extend from frozen-in-time colonial towns to otherworldly landscapes of red-rock canyons, thundering waterfalls and coral-fringed tropical islands. Then there's Brazil's biodiversity: legendary in scope, its diverse ecosystems boast the greatest collection of plant and animal species found anywhere on earth. There are countless places where you can spot iconic species in Brazil, including toucans, scarlet macaws, howler monkeys, capybara, pink dolphins, sea turtles and thousands of other living species.

Brazil offers big adventures for travelers with budgets large and small. There's horseback riding and wildlife-watching in the Pantanal, kayaking flooded forests in the Amazon, ascending rocky cliff tops to panoramic views, whale-watching off the coast, surfing stellar breaks off palm-fringed beaches and snorkeling crystal-clear rivers or coastal reefs – all are part of the great Brazilian experience. No less entrancing is the prospect of doing nothing, aside from sinking toes into warm sands and soaking up a glorious stretch of beach, with a caipirinha – Brazil's national cocktail – in hand. Brazil's most famous celebration, Carnaval, storms through the country's cities and towns with hip-shaking samba and frevo, dazzling costumes and parties that last until sun up, but Brazilians hardly limit their revelry to a few weeks of the year. Festas (festivals) happen throughout the year, and provide a window into Brazil's incredible diversity. Read more about Brazil;
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Like

Both Wiets and Sue thoroughly enjoyed Brazil. It was difficult initially to find our way around as just about everybody we met only spoke Portuguese and no English. But as we befriended the locals (especially Marcello Brochini in Salvador), mastered a few Portuguese words, found our way around - we ended up LOVING it in Brazil. Although the majority of people are poor and do not have wealth - virtually all of them were quite satisfied, friendly and happy people.

Dislike

There was very little to dislike about Brazil. However, what struck us was the vast numbers of people who live in virtual poverty and shanty towns (known as "Favela"). In Salvador, we also saw a number of destitute people openly peddling and using drugs. We were also not impressed with the variety and cuts of meat normally available. If on a yacht, there is a lot of red tape to check in and out of Brazil - perhaps more so as one have to visit various locations.

Overall Rating