1

Speak a bit of spanish if that helps?

Not really, I suppose it makes reading menus and the like marginally easier.

3 full days to do all the touristy stuff (sugar loaf, christ, ipanamea, favela etc...) - is 3 days enough?

Basically, yes but Rio has so much more to offer than that. I'd give the favela tour a miss if I was you. Tacky, tacky, tacky.

8 days in Salvador - I want to experience music, and the culture and also spend time on the nearby beaches - or are these separate trips (like Illha grande is from Rio??) is 8 days enough/too much?

For the average first time tourist, yes probably. Again, like Rio, Salvador has a wealth of interest to offer. I'd suggest yo look at day trips across to Itaparica another up teh coast to Gurajuba and maybe an overnighter in Cachoeira/ São Felix. Or you could consider spending a couple of days over on Morro de São Paulo to break things up.

Alternatively spend four days in and around Salvador and then head down to Arraial d'Ajuda, Trancoso and Caraiva.

8 full days in Jeri - everyone has written to give more time to Jeri than you think because everyone stays longer. 8 days enough/too much?

Never been but I suspect it is too long by a considerable margin. Vastly overhyped destination according to those I know who've been there. Your mileage may differ.

It's a workable outline now you need to research what it is you want to do and see and fill in the gaps.

Good luck!

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Thanks! sorry i should have been more clear

When I say time in RIO - i mean, time spent in actual RIO and then surrounding areas

and same with Salvador - time spent in Salvador the city and also the must see places in Bahia (islands, or other towns etc)

if I do 3 days RIO city, should i spend another 2-4 days staying somewhere nearby, like the islands or beaches or whatever - or is it overkill because ill be seeing as beautiful places in Bahia?

And Salvador/Bahia and surrounding islands and trips etc 8 days is enough or should i estimate to have many more days there?

Good point about Jeri, maybe i should just do a 5 day trip there (and from what i read it takes one day to get there from airport and one day back, so it will really be 7 days spent for that!)

any advise :-) thanks so much

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I agree that 8 days is too much for Jericoacoara. It is a really nice town, but it's very small - you could do everything on offer there in a couple of days. 5 days sounds fine for a relaxed visit.
Personally, I'd just spend 4 days in Rio (the city) before getting a good dose of beaches in Bahia and Ceara, but others may disagree. I guess it depends on how much you enjoy beaches.

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Thanks dammat89!!

Another suggestion is flying into Porto seguro from Rio (after spending 4 days there lets say doing all the touristy stuff) and then taking a week or so (? not sure how long to estimate) to bus to Salvador and stopping along the way in the coastal towns/islands/ that are must see's and then spending another week based in Salvador itself?

I think 5 days for Jeri will be the way to go then..! its 1 day travel from fortalez airport to jeri i understand? and buses run all day/afternoon?

sorry so many questions!

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if you land in Porto Seguro, I'd suggest basing yourself in Arraial d'Ajuda (just over the river from Porto Seguro).
It's an 11 hour bus trip direct from Porto Seguro to Salvador, but you could break it up with a couple of days in Itacare (an 8 hour bus ride north of Porto Seguro).
Alternatively, you could catch the daily bus from Porto Seguro to Valenca (a 9 hour trip), and from there take the passenger ferry to Morro de Sao Paulo. After a couple of days there, you could catch another boat direct to Salvador (a 2 hr trip).
Note that I've never caught any of these buses or boats, I'm getting my information from Lonely Planet. I have been to Porto Seguro, Arraial d'Ajuda and Itacare though (on a special tour), and enjoyed all 3 (especially Arraial d'Ajuda).

I don't know about bus schedules from Fortaleza airport to Jeri, but you could ask your accommodation in Jeri for that info.

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Thanks for the reply!!

I've done a bit more reading and I think Rio>Salvador>Jeri>Rio in one month will be too much time spent in airports and wasted time. Am i correct??

My revised plan might be

Rio for 3/4 days, flight to Porto Seguro and then explore the Bahia region for 3 weeks (including beautiful coastal towns or islands, or inland places that are not to be missed, morro de sao paulo, Salvador) and then flight from Salvador to Rio for a couple more days before flying home.

Is this a better idea?

In terms of Bahia region from Porto Seguro - i'll be travelling alone and happy to go where i hear or read is good, but will it be easy enough to meet other travellers?

and what are some definite places that I need to spend a couple days or a few days at!

I don't care so much for nightclub scene, i love the hippy/chilled beach scene, MUSIC, culture, also would be interested to see some sights inland if there are beautiful hikes or something.. (i realise it wont be the amazon, but something to give me a taste)

thanks so much for all the advise! :-)

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for inland sights, go to Chapada Diamantina. This thread has more info:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2166332

Afraid I've already told you about all the Bahian beach towns I'm familiar with, hopefully someone else with more knowledge will come along.

I agree that if you're already going to Bahia, Jeri alone is probably not worth the hassle of getting there and back.

Good luck!

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Hey AV,

During a tour of South America, I've been to Rio recently (I loved it so much I want to go back) and 3/4 days is cutting it a little short I'd say. Obviously there's Cristo, Sugarloaf, Santa Teresa (for the views, despite the tram being cancelled) and the beach, but there's a few less-known places too which could be cool.

I met some Dutch guys in a hostel and they told me that they'd done a motorbike tour around the city and that it was quicker, cheaper, more personalised and included more interesting, less-famous places, so as I'm one of those who kind of dislikes big tour groups and "party" hostel nights out, I thought I'd check it out too.

Basically, I just Facebooked this guy called Valter through a page on Facebook called Rio Backseat Motorbike Tours (https://www.facebook.com/RioMotoTours), and me and another guy from the hostel arranged a time and day to do a tour of what he called less known tourist spots.

All in all, it took most of the afternoon and we went to some really cool viewpoints, like in Leblon and Santa Teresa. We kinda just sped round the city on the back of motorbikes and just hopped on and off to check out places and take photos.

Now, someone above mentioned favela tours being tacky. I was always of that opinion, and still am as regards the big tours, like in Rocinha, where I hear you get ferried around in a jeep. But on this tour we went to the favela where Valter actually lived and another in Zona Sul - one was called Santa Marta, I remember. They are both occupied by the police, so there was no safety issue. And rather than it being tacky, it was really cool, as we were with people actually from there, and we even stopped and had something to eat and some beers inside the favela, and it was totally normal. It was really interesting to see the favelas as if you were a visiting friend rather than a tourist being led around.

So I'd say that if you want more of a "realistic feel" about favelas, or even just want to scoot around fast and take photos, this would certainly save you time and money. I think it's about 80 Reais to do all this and whatever you want on the tour.

Have a great time in Rio, I don't see how you can't really!

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"It was really interesting to see the favelas as if you were a visiting friend rather than a tourist being led around."

Except of course you weren't, you were just another tourist, this time on a bike. Smart guy that Valter, he knows there's a big market showing gringos those communities.

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Hi av1,
I'm also a solo female traveller and will be in Brazil 16 March to 6 April. Do get in touch if you want to buddy up.