Bucket List / Experience Goals
Party At Rio Carnival
Ticked off in February 2016
Samba drums you feel in your ribcage, feathered dancers on towering floats and a city that parties without stopping.
The adventure
For five days before Lent, Rio de Janeiro gives itself over to Carnival. By day, hundreds of street parties called blocos roll through the neighbourhoods, from Santa Teresa's steep lanes to the beachfront at Copacabana, each with its own band, theme and crowd in glitter and fancy dress. Strangers become friends in seconds, and the music never seems to stop.
At night the action moves to the Sambadrome, Oscar Niemeyer's purpose-built parade avenue. One by one, the top samba schools spend over an hour each parading past the stands with thousands of dancers, enormous floats and a drum section hundreds strong. The beat of the bateria hits you in the chest, the costumes glitter under the lights, and the crowd sings every word of each school's song until long after sunrise.
Why it’s epic
- The Sambadrome parades, where the top samba schools compete for the championship on the Sunday and Monday nights.
- Free street blocos, some drawing hundreds of thousands of people.
- The Champions' Parade on the Saturday after Carnival, when the winning schools parade again.
- Rio itself, with Sugarloaf Mountain, Christ the Redeemer and Copacabana and Ipanema beaches.
What it is
Rio Carnival is the world's biggest party.
How to do it
Buy Sambadrome tickets in advance and join the blocos.
Top tip
Keep valuables to a minimum.
Need to know
- Carnival dates change each year with Easter, usually falling in February or early March.
- Sambadrome tickets range from cheap grandstand seats to boxes, and the best sectors sell out early.
- Pickpocketing is common at blocos, so carry a copy of your passport, a little cash and a cheap phone.
- Hotels require minimum stays and charge peak prices, so book months ahead.
Plan this trip
- Rough cost
- £2,000 to £5,000 per person, including flights from the UK
- Time needed
- 3 to 5 days
- Best time to go
- February or March
- Fly into
- GIG airport
Long-haul flights, Carnival-week hotel rates with minimum stays and Sambadrome tickets drive the cost.
Do it yourself
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How I ticked it off
The most iconic and largest carnival in the world. Often described as “The Greatest Show On Earth”.
Up to 2 million people per day line the streets of Rio from the Friday afternoon before Ash Wednesday to Ash Wednesday at noon, which marks the beginning of Lent, the forty-day period before Easter.
If you really want to understand the question what is Carnival, head off to the Sambodromo particularly on Carnival Sunday and Monday to experience first-hand why this annual tradition is visited by millions of people from all the part of the world.
The stadium can sit more than 80,000 visitors as well as accommodate 5,000 participants through the wide Marquês de Sapucaí Avenue. Now, what is Carnival without the samba parade? You can feel the resonance of the drums, cymbals and trumpets echo through the Sambodromo and brim over to the streets.
The top samba schools get the honour of performing in front of millions at the Sambodromo . It’s obvious by watching the performances at the Sambodromo the amount of preparation that goes into each dance step, the choice of song and the selection of dancers to represent each school.
There’s a panel of around 40 judges who sit at key points throughout the stadium watching every nuance of movement, appraising the thread and sequin of each costume, the significance of the song, the integrity to the samba. The energy is palpable throughout the stadium that spectators are known to dance along with the participants.
The judges will announce the champion on Ash Wednesday.
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