Rio de Janeiro — Beaches, Mountains & Bossa Nova 🏖️
The Cidade Maravilhosa in full: Copacabana and Ipanema stretching out below granite peaks, samba spilling from every bar, and a genuinely electric energy day and night. Hand-picked stays and must-book experiences — every link takes you straight to Trip.com to check live prices and book.
🏨 Where to Stay
- Copacabana Palace, A Belmond Hotel ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — Brazil's most famous hotel, a 1923 icon directly on Copacabana Beach with a Michelin-starred restaurant, Mee, and a Hall of Fame of a century's worth of presidents and film stars. Rio's grandest, most storied address.
- Hotel Fasano Rio de Janeiro — smart pick — Philippe Starck's first Brazilian building, right on Ipanema Beach, with a marble infinity rooftop pool looking out over Arpoador, the Dois Irmãos mountains and Corcovado. Rio's most stylish, see-and-be-seen stay.
- Santa Teresa Hotel RJ — MGallery — hidden gem — ranked #1 of over 300 Rio hotels on Tripadvisor, a boutique retreat inside an 1850s coffee farm high in the bohemian Santa Teresa hills, with sweeping views over Guanabara Bay and a genuinely different, artsy side of the city.
- Fairmont Rio de Janeiro Copacabana ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — family-friendly — Fairmont's first South American property, 375 rooms on Copacabana Beach with two pools, a 1950s-glamour redesign, and easy walking distance to Ipanema.
- JW Marriott Hotel Rio de Janeiro — attainable pick — right on Copacabana Beach with a rooftop pool and bar looking out over the sand, complimentary beach chairs for guests, and a genuinely well-priced, dependable base for a first trip to Rio.
✈️ Flights
- Flights to Rio de Janeiro (GIG) — no direct route from Manchester; fly one-stop with Iberia via Madrid (around 13.5 hours total) or British Airways via London into Rio Galeão International Airport.
🎟️ Experiences
- Christ the Redeemer — one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, this Art Deco statue crowns Corcovado mountain at 710 metres, with a panoramic view over the entire city, its beaches and Guanabara Bay.
- Sugarloaf Mountain — a cable car ride up this granite peak at the mouth of Guanabara Bay delivers one of Rio's best panoramas, taking in Copacabana, Christ the Redeemer and the Atlantic — best timed for sunset.
🚗 Car Hire & Transfers