Brazil
Brazil Travel Guides
Written by the specialists who plan our trips to Brazil: where to go, when, and what is worth knowing before you book.
All Brazil Travel Guides
Showing 1–12 of 13
Brazil for First-Time Visitors: What to See and How to Plan It
Brazil is the fifth-largest country in the world, half the South American continent, and home to some of the most distinct regional cultures on earth. A first trip can feel overwhelming for that reason. Six different headline destinations would all justify a full week. None of them are quick to reach from each other. This guide is for travellers thinking about a first trip.
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Brazil for Repeat Visitors: Beyond Rio & Iguazu Falls
Once you’ve seen Rio and Iguazu Falls, Brazil opens up in a different way. The scale of the country starts to feel like an advantage rather than a challenge, with entire regions that reward a slower, more deliberate kind of travel. A second trip is less about ticking off landmarks and more about choosing a direction, whether that’s wildlife, coastline, or culture, and giving it the time it deserves.
ReadIs Brazil Easy to Travel Around? Planning a Multi-Stop Luxury Trip
Brazil is not a destination you can do casually. It is the fifth-largest country in the world, roughly the size of the continental United States, and it contains more variety per square kilometer than almost anywhere on earth. The question is not whether it is worth exploring beyond a single city. It obviously is.
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Plan Your Gay Honeymoon in Brazil
Brazil is one of the most LGBTQ+-friendly countries in Latin America, having legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2013. The country's constitution explicitly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. Rio and Sao Paulo host massive Pride celebrations, while beach destinations like Florianopolis attract many gay travellers. Read on to find out why Brazil is an unbeatable destination for a Latin American honeymoon. Rio de Janeiro Rio remains Brazil's most famous honeymoon destination.
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The Best Beaches in Brazil for Gay Travellers
Brazil is home to many of the best beaches in Latin America. Rio de Janeiro is, perhaps, the best capital city on the planet for beach culture. The iconic beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema have inspired many famous moments in pop culture, including The Girl from Ipanema. These beaches are associated with romance and adventure.
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Amazon vs Pantanal: Which Wildlife Experience Is Better?
The Amazon and the Pantanal are usually mentioned in the same breath, but the experiences are not really comparable. One is the largest tropical forest on earth, famous, and famously hard to see anything in. The other is the largest tropical wetland on earth, less than a third the size, and the best place in the world to see a jaguar. Most first-time Brazil travellers go to the Amazon for the name.
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Copacabana or Ipanema: Where to Stay in Rio?
Choosing between Copacabana and Ipanema is one of Rio's eternal travel dilemmas. These neighboring beaches, separated by just a 15-minute walk, have dramatically different vibes despite sharing the same spectacular Atlantic coastline. While both neighborhoods guarantee you'll wake up to crashing waves and endless beach culture, understanding their distinct personalities will help you choose the perfect base for your Rio adventure.
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How We Vet Hotels for LGBTQ+ Clients
At Out Of Office, we do not rely on brochures or generic reviews. Every hotel we recommend has been carefully considered through years of firsthand experience, client feedback, and trusted relationships on the ground. Finding the right hotel is about more than five-star ratings. For LGBTQ+ travellers, it is about feeling genuinely welcome. Here is how we vet every property before we recommend it. We see it for ourselves Whenever possible, we visit.
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Which Side of Iguazu Falls Is Better: Argentina or Brazil?
Iguazu Falls is one of those places that feels almost impossible to take in at once. Hundreds of cascades thunder through the rainforest on the border of Argentina and Brazil, sending mist high above the river and turning even a short walk into something cinematic. But the two sides offer surprisingly different experiences.
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São Paulo vs. Rio: Which City Should You Visit?
Brazil’s two greatest cities couldn’t be more different - and that’s exactly what makes visiting both so rewarding. Rio de Janeiro, framed by dramatic mountains, is the ultimate beach destination, with music, dance, and outdoor living at its heart. São Paulo, in contrast, is a vast, dynamic megacity that never stops moving - it’s condired to be the economic powerhouse of South America.
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A Gay Guide to Rio Carnival
Rio hosts the world's largest carnival, attracting around 2 million people every year, and while it's not officially a gay event, the festival's inherent flamboyance and celebration of diversity makes it feel like it was designed with the LGBTQ+ community in mind.
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Stephen Fry on his global travels
The actor Stephen Fry has spoken to Travel Gay, our sister site, about his global travels and encountering homophobia in some of the most difficult countries in the world for LGBT people. In an interview with our editor-in-chief, Darren Burn, Stephen Fry spoke of his time in Russia, Uganda and meeting the now president of Brazil Jair Bolsanaro when he was a senator.
ReadTrips through Brazil
Machu Picchu & Iguazu Falls: Luxury Peru & Brazil Tour
Tailor-made HolidayMachu Picchu and Iguazú are the two natural-and-cultural wonders that most travellers come to South America to see, and the case for putting them in the same trip is straightforward: both reward proper time, both have a single best hotel, and the long flights to either are easier to justify when you're seeing the other on the same ticket. This itinerary builds eleven days around them.
11 days tailor-made from £6,785 per person View trip
Rio Carnival: Luxury LGBTQ+ Tour & Iguaçu Falls
Tailor-made HolidayRio's Carnival is the largest annual gathering on the planet, and one of the most LGBTQ+-friendly parties in the world. The blocos are out, the Sambadrome runs through the night, and the city's gay calendar moves in parallel from Friday to Ash Wednesday. Banda de Ipanema sits at the heart of it, with the legendary Magic Ball at Belmond Copacabana Palace as its formal centrepiece.
8 days tailor-made from £5,565 per person View trip
Luxury Gay Honeymoon in Brazil: Rio & Trancoso
Tailor-made HolidayBrazil is one of the great honeymoon countries, and for same-sex couples it's among the most welcoming destinations anywhere in the world. Same-sex marriage has been legal nationwide since 2013, Rio hosts one of the largest Pride celebrations on the planet, and the warmth that defines Brazilian culture extends, almost without exception, to LGBTQ+ travellers.
10 days tailor-made from £5,675 per person View tripWe know where you will be welcome, and where to take more care.
Frequently asked questions
Travelling with Out Of Office
What does Out Of Office do?
Out Of Office is a luxury LGBTQ+ travel company specialising in tailor-made holidays and extraordinary journeys around the world. We create bespoke luxury holidays, LGBTQ+ honeymoons, safaris, cruises, beach escapes, private tours and group trips, with every itinerary designed around you. Our travel specialists combine global expertise, first-hand destination knowledge and trusted local partners to create seamless, highly personalised experiences.
Is Out Of Office a gay travel agency?
Out Of Office is an LGBTQ+ owned and run luxury travel specialist, with particular expertise in gay and LGBTQ+ travel. We understand the additional considerations that can come with travelling as an LGBTQ+ person or couple, from local laws and customs to finding genuinely welcoming hotels and experiences.
We welcome every traveller, including friends, families and allies. Many of our clients are not members of the LGBTQ+ community, but choose Out Of Office for our luxury travel expertise, personalised service and discretion.
Do you create tailor-made LGBTQ+ holidays?
Yes. Every tailor-made trip with Out Of Office is designed from scratch around your interests, travel style, budget and the way you want to experience a destination. We can arrange luxury hotels, private transfers, flights, guides, excursions, cruises and special experiences as part of one personalised itinerary. The journeys shown on our website are there to inspire you rather than restrict you; only clearly identified group departures operate as fixed itineraries.
How do you choose LGBTQ+ friendly hotels and destinations?
We combine first-hand destination knowledge with trusted local expertise to recommend luxury hotels, resorts and experiences where LGBTQ+ travellers can feel informed and welcome. We also consider the laws, customs and attitudes of each destination, because LGBTQ+ rights and experiences differ around the world. Our team regularly visit many of the properties we work with and where a destination requires greater awareness, we give you clear and considered advice so that you can make an informed decision about where and how you travel.
Our Experts
Brazil is a fantastic year-round travel destination thanks to a jam-packed calendar of cultural events and celebrations. Whenever you choose to travel you'll find a country bursting with colour.
Whatever my clients are looking for, I can always find it in stunning Brazil. From the sleekest of luxury resorts to off-the-beaten-track experiences, there is something for every traveller.
We plant trees for every booking
For every booking made with Out Of Office we commit to planting trees in your name to help reduce the impact of travel on future generations. You'll even get a link to see where your trees are planted in the world via our partner Ecologi.
We donate to Rainbow Railroad with every booking
Rainbow Railroad helps LGBTQ+ people escape state-sponsored violence and persecution. A donation goes with every trip we sell, funded by us and never added to your price.
Start Planning Your Trip
Tell us where you would love to go, when you are thinking of travelling and what kind of trip you have in mind. One of our LGBTQ+ travel specialists will create a tailor-made itinerary designed around your destination, style and preferences.
One named specialist, first enquiry to homecoming. No call centre, and nothing is charged until you decide to book.