Rio Carnaval Package Original Trip Notes

Bem-Vindos! Welcome to Brazil.

The first day of Rio Carnival is free time, as everyone will be arriving at various times throughout the day to start the package. Hotel check in is from midday and Dragoman crew will be on hand all day to give you any assistance. There will be a joining meeting in the afternoon. In past years there have been two meetings - one at 4pm and one at 6pm. Please check the Carnival noticeboard in the hotel reception for further details on arrival.

The locals like to say that 'God made the world in six days, the seventh he devoted to Rio'. In this heaving metropolis, set against the luminescent green of Guanabara Bay and surrounded by the slopes of Sugar Loaf Mountain and Corcovado, it's hard not to be caught up in the Cariocas' (residents) passion. The French were the first to settle here as they logged wood along the Brazilian coast, but they were soon driven out by the Portuguese, who built a fortified town, naming it Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro and quickly amassed wealth in the gold rush of Minas Gerais. In the 19th century, the Portuguese monarchy fled from the threat of Napoleon in Europe to Rio where they built grand buildings, still in existence today. These days Rio is known best for its contrasting images of favelas (shanty towns) and the glitz and glamour of Carnaval. Rio is deservedly famous for its live music scene, which encompasses myriad styles such as samba, jazz, bossa nova, hip hop, reggae, rock and many other fusions of regional styles. The neighbourhood of Lapa offers great dance halls where you can join locals in doing some serious dancing - or just soak up the vibe.For some seriously eye-popping people watching, head down to the white sand beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema - skimpy bathing suits optional.

Rio is particularly famous for it's huge annual party - Carnival. The celebration of Mardi Gras 6 weeks before Easter is a great Brazilian tradition - the whole city goes wild for a full 7 days in a whirlwind of music and colour. Samba schools compete with ever more awe-inspiring dance displays and costumes putting on marathon performances in the Sambadrome, street parties are held all over the city and friends and families take to the beach.

The day is free for you to get your bearings, explore the city or laze on the beach. Alternatively this morning there is an optional trip to a favela to visit a community project we support.

Morrinho is the name used by the youth of the Pereira da Silva favela for their scale model of a favela made basically with bricks. The "Morrinho" began in 1998, when Nelcirlan (14 years old at that time) starting building the Morrinho, together with his brother Maycon. Both were impressed with the view of favela's, high on the hillside, and decided literally to bring it closer. The "toy" became a construction and attracted other boys like Rodrigo, Naldão, Júnior, Paulo Vítor, Luciano and Raniere, and became a part of the community. Today, the "Morrinho model", occupies an area of 300 square metres in the community "Pereira da Silva", with wealth of details such as: funk clubs, police, drugs sales points, alleys, staircases, small bars etc. The colours are strong and vibrant, the constructions are unusual and unique, and the vegetation is integrated with the "bonsais" wisdom. Miniature vehicles and motorcycles fill out the streets. In the interiors of the residences you can see beds, dressing tables and closets. All the details show the creative imagination of the guys that constructed the Morrinho. They drew streets, built support walls to contain hillsides, distributed light posts etc. Their plastic universe reveals the aesthetic fullness of the favela, often portrayed by international artists, photographers and film directors. Trip includes transport and a donation to charity.

This afternoon is free for you to do as you wish or you may like to come and watch a football game we will be going to (optional).

During the Carnival period the Rio State Championship takes place. The Carioca Cup is fiercely fought out with the city’s
four big teams, Flamengo, Botafogo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama usually making the semi-finals and it will be one of the semi-finals that we go and watch.With the famous Maracanã stadium being refurbished for the 2014 World Cup, the games will take place at the new Estádio Olímpico João Havelange. The stadium is more commonly known by its nickname, Engenhão, and has become the home ground of Botafogo. Watching a football game in Brazil is a not to be missed opportunity. Even if you are not a massive fan of the sport, the amazing feeling of thousands of people singing, celebrating and cheering will make for a few hours that you will never forget.We will leave the hotel approximately two hours before the kick off and travel by coach to the match. We will be accompanied by our local English-speaking guide as well as Dragoman crew. Following the match we will return back to the hotel on the subway. The semi-final draw only takes place a few days before carnival starts & the teams playing will be added to the website. Our football trip, as well as all other optional activities must be booked in advance. The price for this activity will be available in October.

The morning we will head to Sugar Loaf mountain for a guided tour of this famous landmark that juts out into Guanabara bay.

We will take a half day tour to visit the iconic Sugar Loaf Mountain or Pao De Azucar as it is locally known, entrances are included. We leave from the hotel on our coach, accompanied by our local guide. The mountain gets its name from its shape, as the huge rounded incline looks like traditional cones of sugar. These sugar cones were made from raw sugar to make transportation easier. On arrival at the base of Sugar loaf mountain, we will board the cable car and head up to the mid way point and then up to the top station, the ride in itself is a fantastic experience skimming above the forested mountain peak with the sea and city spreading out below. At both stations there are incredible views of the city below and across to Corcovado. There will be plenty of time to wander around and take in the spectacular views, learn more about the construction of the cable car and enjoy a drink or snack at one of the restaurants. Just make sure you have plenty of space on your memory card for all your photos. Once we have taken our fill of the panoramic views we return to the bottom by cable car and back to the hotel on our waiting coach.

The afternoon is then free before we get to the main event of the week at the Sambadrome for the samba parade. The top samba schools parade their outrageous floats and costumes and we'll party well into the early hours. We'll be situated in sector 13, the most lively of the sectors, however alternatively you can upgrade to sector 11 for a closer view.

The Sambadrome was designed by Brazil's world-famous architect, the modernist Oscar Niemeyer. It was purpose-built for the Samba Parade and inaugurated in 1984. Being made of concrete, it seems a bit dated for the post-modern eyes of today and feels derelict if not ugly, surrounded only by favelas, serving only little cultural events, during the year. However it comes to life and is totally magnificent and overpowering being lit up with special effects on. Samba Parade nights, filled with thousands of cheering spectators and surrounded by other thousands of people who could not get in. It can seat around 70,000 people, which is already far too few for the ever growing Rio Carnival Parade. However, since it is under protection, it cannot be rebuilt or even extended. The Samba schools have prepared all year for their hour of glory on carnival night. The top 12 Samba schools parade on Sunday and Monday, six each night. The two nights are similar in terms of set-up, the only difference being the schools parading. These are the most glamorous parades, the ones which need to be seen. The best school is chosen by a hand-picked set of judges on the basis of many components including percussion, the theme song, harmony between percussion, song and dance, choreography, costume, storyline, floats and decorations. The championship is hotly contested, with the winner becoming the pride of both Rio and Brazil. Samba is a glitzy, lavish, vegas-style affair with beautiful, topless mulatas who make samba look easy in their feathered head-dresses, long flowing capes sparkling with sequins and rhinestone studded G-strings. The floats are also extremely lavish and some of them are technically quite amazing. The Brazilians harness sweat, noise and confusion and turn it into art, with the parades beginning in moderate mayhem then working themselves up to a higher plane of frenzy. The samba is driven by the drummers with between 200 and 400 per school. This samba is the loudest music you are ever likely to hear in your life. The parades head down the “run way” of the Sambadrome flanked by the tiers of spectators, singing, dancing and applauding their favourite schools. The parade continues on through the night and into the morning. Some of the best schools are always kept until last to make sure that the party continues until the very end.

On Sunday night we will be situated in sector 13 , this allows an overview of the whole event and a good chance to party with the locals. Sector 13 is at the end of the Sambadrome runway and is slightly set back however has the best atmosphere of all the stands. It is full of local Cariocas who really support their samba school with lots of singing and dancing. It is a wonderful local experience but can get very busy, reminiscent of a noisy football crowd. There are no fixed seats but concrete bleachers and people stand up as the samba schools pass by. We will travel to the Sambadrome in the early evening by metro and on foot with the Dragoman crew. It is up to you how long you stay but every year there are a few who make it through to the last parades and get back to the hotel for breakfast at 7am!

Sitting in sector 13 is not for everyone and for those of you who want a view which is less set back we offer you the chance to upgrade to sector 11. This sector neighbours sector 13 but is much closer to the action. The seating however is identical, being on concrete bleachers and can be equally busy but not quite so boisterous.

The day is free for you to recover from last night in the Sambadrome. A chance to hit the beach, explore the city, find a street party or simply have a lie in!

In the evening you have the chance to revisit the Sambadrome for a second big night or perhaps even take part in the parade itself by buying a costume and dancing your way down the Sambadrome runway, a once in a lifetime experience!

During Rio Carnival the top 12 Samba schools parade in the Sambadrome with 6 parading on the Sunday night and then 6 on the Monday night. This second visit will give you the opportunity to see all 12 of the schools so you can choose your own winner. You will be exhausted after a second visit but it’s a fantastic experience!

Watching the parade is one thing but actually taking part in the parade is a real thrill and an unparalleled experience. Yes it will be hot and sweaty and your feet will ache after an hour or more parading but it will make a talking point for years to come. Not many people can say they have actually taken part in a Sambadrome Parade. You will be a part of one of the ground wings or alas, parading behind the massive floats that make up the parade. Each school has between 65 and 80 minutes to parade and each ala/wing passes through the Sambadrome in about 30-40 minutes. It is exhausting but unforgettable! The alas provide a massive display of colour and movement, each school has about 25 alas; each one tells a part of the overall story/ theme of the Samba School. The alas get judged for their stamina throughout their parade, the singing of the whole parade, being able to Samba is not necessary; there is a kind of jumping, bouncing way that people parade to overall create the whole feeling of strength and happiness. You will be 1 of the approx 4,000 paraders in a school, each and every person must put their utmost energy into their performance for the School. This is the most important event of the year for Cariocas (the people from Rio) and you will be playing a part on the biggest stage in the world! It is an amazing once in a lifetime experience you will never forget.The cost of this activity includes your costume delivered to the hotel ready for the parade and the services of a guide to accompany you to the start point. Transport and entry into the Sambadrome is not included. You will need to meet your ala and school about 2 hours before the parade time (the first school will meet at 7pm and the last at 1am approx) the parade lasts about 1 hour.Info needed at time of booking: shoe and clothing size, please see the link for the appropriate sizing: www.rio-carnival.net/sizes.php. For shoe sizes it is advisable to order one size larger than usual as the shoes are often very tight.

The morning is free for you and then in the afternoon we will visit the landmark which represents Rio, the Christ the Redeemer statue atop of Corcovado mountain.

After taking a coach to the base of Corcovado with our local guide, we climb aboard the train carriages to begin our journey up to the Christ Statue. The train heads up through the Atlantic rainforest, which used to clothe all of the hillsides around the coastline, it is now protected to try and prevent further destruction for building and housing and provide corridors for birds and animals to pass through. It is a lovely journey in the cool shadow of the trees and there are some great views if the weather is clear. You may also be serenaded by musicians from one of the samba schools who will be getting us in the carnival mood and raising funds for their samba school. At the train station we will then disembark and climb the last steps or escalators to the base of the statue. You are free to wander around as you wish or you may like to listen to our guide who can tell you more about the history of the statue and the area.There are fantastic views across Rio in all directions but the clouds can decide to hide all of this from us at a moments notice, so take your photos as soon as you have the opportunity. There is also a restaurant and shop for drinks, snacks and gifts as well as toilet facilities. At a prearranged time we will all meet to return back down to the train station, catch our train back through the forests and to our waiting coach.

In the evening there's the option to glam up and go to the gay ball.

The Balls at Carnival are part of the whole experience and this has been the most popular Ball from past Dragoman visits. If you are going to visit just one ball then this is the one we recommend! Put aside any inhibitions you may have, get your costume sorted – plenty of glitter absolutely necessary - and get dancing with all the other party-goers. It is a fantastic experience and people are generally very friendly with loads of photo opportunities and some incredible sights! Music is a variety of Samba and more modern music, something for everyone and if dancing is really not your thing there is plenty of people watching to do. The Ball can startle some people and please be aware that in previous years you have had to parade down a red carpet when you enter usually whilst being filmed live on Brazilian TV but it really is a memorable event and one which you will talk about long after carnival has been and gone. Make sure you save a bit of energy for this climax to carnival. The ball goes from midnight on Tuesday until the early hours of Wednesday morning. You may be able to find cheaper tickets available and you could get them at the door of the ball but this cannot be guaranteed. In 2011 tickets sold out and were exchanging hands for twice the face value in the days leading up to the carnival.Transport is not included but it is easy to share a taxi there and back with fellow revellers.

There's free time in the morning and then in the afternoon if you wish to explore further then join our local guide on our Colonial Tour of the city.

This tour will give you an insight into another side of Rio from the one we see along the beaches and at the main tourist sites. Accompanied by our local guide we will travel in both private bus and on foot through the Cultural Corridor of Rio de Janeiro, visiting colonial buildings, centenary churches and Cultural Centres and discovering the heritage of Rio de Janeiro earlier days as a Portuguese colony. We will visit the area of Santa Teresa, the colourful Escadaria Selaron before heading to downtown Rio to view its stunning churches, cobbled street and wonderful architecture, both modern and historical. Cost includes entrances, transport by private bus, guide services.

In the late afternoon it's the culmination of the tour with a sunset boat cruise around Guanabarra Bay.

As the afternoon begins to draw to a close we will walk down to the marina and board one of the beautiful schooners moored in the Gloria Harbour. We spend about 3 hours cruising around Guanabara Bay, viewing the city from yet another angle giving us a chance to see the landmarks of Corcovado and Sugar Loaf Mountain once again, along with Oscar Niemeyer's spaceship style building that houses the Contemporary Art Museum. If the weather is kind to us there may be a chance for a swim and also great sunset views. This is a great way to end carnival in Rio a final chance to say goodbye to old travelling companions, meet new friends and enjoy a drink or two.

The final day of the Carnival package. Depart at any time or spend the day exploring further or relaxing.