CARNAVAL WEEK IN RIO DE JANEIRO

Growing up , i have always been impressed by the RIO CARNAVAL , the beauty of the samba dancers , the costumes , the music … i would always sit in front of TV my mouth literally open daydreaming about this … it was a dream !!

2019 , i finally made that dream come true , i have attended the Final Championship of the carnaval in the SAMBODROME of RIO de JANEIRO, and it was even better than my dream .

i was shaken with emotions, mind blown by the beauty of every single detail of the show , but also moved by the power of all the messages behind every story a school had to tell … every school is associated to a certain neighborhood/ favela … and they are daily interwoven with the daily challenges of the community ! so they actually use Samba to tell their story …

During Carnaval , 14 schools parade every night until 7 am the long of sambodrome, with Jurys to select the final champions based on different criterias … which make the whole manifestation an incredible experience for the soul & Mind .

In this article i will try to give you few useful informations to plan your trip and make it a memorable one :

Book your flight at least 3 months before your trip : Carnaval is the highest season in BRAZIL , so flights get fully booked and quite expensive a bit early ,if you’re flying from Morocco : Royal Air MAROC has straight flights , otherwise you can fly through Lisboa with TAP airlines .
Book your hotel or Airbnb in Hipanema or Copacabana : the safest areas but also the closest to the most famous Beaches … if you want a fancier area you can try LEBLON .
Try to get to RIO on the first day of CARNAVAL so that you make the most of your week in terms of festivities : Get a schedule of the « BLOKOS » from your hotel , or ONLINE…. basically , everyday you have few street « concerts » happening around the blocs of all the city … so you can wear your party costume and follow the MUSIC. and PARTY ALL day and night long .
GET your ticket for CARNAVAL as soon as you land in RIO : most Hotels sell tickets at the reception … it’s the same price as the online ticket !! ( PRICES VARY on how well you are seated , it goes from 70 TO 200 EUROS )
for CARNAVAL : wear comfortable Shoes as you may stay on your feet all night long, and you walk a lot to get to the gates … it’s like going to a stadium for a BIG game night . ( best way to get to SAMBODROM is METRO )
on the rest of your time in RIO : you can enjoy the different beaches ( HIPANEMA / COPACABANA or LEBLON )
do the Mandatory visits ( CORCOVADO , PAO de ASUGAR , PARQUE LAGE , Botanical Gardens … )

and Most importantly, just ENJOY BEING in RIO de JANEIRO … it truly has an amazing UNIQUE energy .

ACCOMODATION recommandations :

- HOTELS :
  - Mercure COPACABANA
  - ATLANTIS COPACABANA ( great location, right between IPANEMA and COPABANA )
- if you are more into HOSTELS : this one looked good : CHE LAGARTO HOSTEL IPANEMA .