| Starts: Rio de Janeiro | Ends: Rio de Janeiro |
| Trip type: Other tours | Operator: Tucan Travel |
| Feedback: No reviews yet | Itinerary: Fixed |
Trip Description:
Join the euphoric celebrations of Rio Carnival. On Sunday night you can watch samba schools in spectacular costumes as they drum and shimmy their way down the world-famous Sambadrome arena on magnificently decorated floats. Explore the city by day and revel in with the locals at street parties by night! Accommodation, comfort, in the Lapa District is included from Friday night until Tuesday morning. This package is also available in our Pleasant Plus and Superior level hotels.
Detailed Itinerary:
Day 1, Arrive Rio de Janeiro
The first day of your tour is simply an arrival day with no pre-organised activities. In order to allow time to relax and see some of the sights you may wish to add pre tour accommodation. On arrival please ask at the reception for information on when the pre departure meeting will be held.
Day 2 - 4, Rio de Janeiro – Carnival – Sambadrome ticket included
Enjoy the excitement of the world’s biggest party at Rio Carnival. Your time is free to explore Rio de Janeiro at your leisure.
Rio Carnival is a spectacular event that everyone should see at least once in their lifetime. The party starts on the Friday before Shrove Tuesday. All the main avenues are colourfully lit and full of people wearing fancy dress. Special bandstands are erected throughout the city and its suburbs for public dancing of the samba. Free street parties, also known as carnavalescos or blocos can be found everywhere, with local people dancing, drumming and singing late into the night – you are welcome to join in the festivities.
There are numerous samba schools in Rio which are divided into two leagues. Each school's position in the league determines whether they parade in the famous “Sambadrome” (the top schools) or in Avenida Rio Branco (not so spectacular but free!). Some schools have up to 5,000 people in them with as many as 30 floats. Each school chooses a theme, composes a samba song and designs the floats and costumes to fit the theme. Then there is a competition to choose the best schools in each league. They have up to 90 minutes to reach the other end of the Sambadrome (which is 600 metres long and holds up to 60,000 spectators) and they are judged for their costumes, designs, music, energy and dancing. The winning schools get a monetary prize which comes from the entrance fees and the lower schools are relegated to the lower league. Parades in the Sambadrome run from Thursday to Tuesday night, but the 2 most spectacular are on the Sunday and Monday evenings. A ticket to the famous Sambadrome parade is included for Sunday night.
Apart from the flamboyant parades and colourful street parties, Rio Carnival also has an extravagant side, with lavish fancy dress balls held throughout the city in famous nightclubs and hotels. The most famous balls are the Red & Black Ball (Friday) and the Gay Ball (Tuesday), both of which are held at the famous Scala in Leblon. These and all the other balls are a lot of fun and become more wild and raunchy as the night goes by! Carnival balls occur each evening and range in price from US$30 to significantly more expensive. Carnival balls are an exciting optional activity and are not included with this package.
Day 5, Depart Rio de Janeiro
Departure transfer with a driver speaking the local language or end of services.
Your adventure of a lifetime comes to an end today, please confirm with the reception the check out time. If you have a late flight or have lengthened your stay by adding post tour accommodation you will have more time to explore the sights.
