Most of Brazil can be visited comfortably throughout the year, it's only the south - which can be unbearably sticky in summer (December-February) and non-stop rainy in winter (June-August) - that has large seasonal changes. The rest of the country experiences brief tropical rains throughout the year, which rarely affect travel plans.

During summer (December-February) many Brazilians are on vacation, making travel difficult and expensive, and from Rio to the south the humidity can be oppressive. Summer is also the most festive time of year, as Brazilians escape their apartments and take to the beaches and streets. School holidays begin in mid-December and go through to Carnaval, usually held in late February.

Getting There & Away

There are frequent flights to Rio from all major cities in South America and from a number of major airports in the USA and Europe . Other gateway airports in Brazil include São Paulo , Recife - popular with German package tourists - and Manaus , in the middle of the Amazon basin. Varig , Brazil 's national airline, flies to many major cities in the world. For international flights, the departure tax is a whopping US$36, but this is often included in the ticket cost.

Brazil has land borders with every other country in South America, with the exception of Ecuador and Chile, so while some travelers may bus in from Uruguay or Argentina in the south, others arrive via the trem da morte (death train) - named after the fate that befalls many who hitch a ride on the train's roof - from Bolivia. By river, many travelers take a slow boat along the Amazon from Iquitos in Peru or into the Pantanal via the Rio Paraguay from Asunçion , Paraguay.