Brazil Travel and Tourism

Brazil is the largest country in South America, offering an extremely diverse array of attractions for almost every kind of traveler. White sand beaches on the Atlantic coast, breathtaking rainforests, charming colonial cities, majestic waterfalls, and bustling cosmopolitan cities are just part of the brilliant mosaic of Brazil that entices visitors from all over the world. Adventure and eco-travelers can take advantage of the superb wildlife watching, canopy exploration, surfing, white water rafting, kayaking, trekking, and snorkeling opportunities available in almost every region of the country. The cities of Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Recife, and Olinda are famous for the annual Carnaval festivities, though these cities in addition to São Paulo, Pernambuco, and Bahia are certainly worth visiting year-round.

Perhaps the biggest draw of Brazil is the spectacular Amazon rainforest, chosen as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. Sixty percent of this enormous 1.7 billion-acre (688 million-hectare) expanse of tropical and subtropical forest is in Brazil. The Amazon has unparalleled biodiversity, constituting the largest collection of plant and animal species in the world. Between the Amazon and the Pantanal, one of the world’s largest wetlands, Brazil boasts some of the best wildlife watching in the world. The mighty Iguaçu Falls, also one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a spectacular semi circle of waterfalls that stretches for nearly two miles near the Argentine border.

The official language of Brazil is Portuguese; English is not widely spoken except in tourist areas, though Spanish speakers can sometimes get by due to the similarities with Portuguese. Climate in Brazil varies greatly by region—the Amazon is humid and hot year-round; the northeast is drier with temperatures from the low 80s and mid 90s Fahrenheit (upper 20s to mid 30s Celsius), while the south ranges from 95°F (35°C) in the summer to 59°F (15°C) in the winter.

Your Sustainable Vacation to Brazil

Currently, there are no sustainable tourism certification programs that follow the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria in Brazil, but there are still ample options for eco-friendly activities and accommodations.

Plan your Sustainable Trip to Brazil

SustainableTrip.org features businesses certified by the Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas and verified by the Rainforest Alliance.

Learn more about ecotourism and sustainable tourism in Brazil on the Rainforest Alliance’s Eco-Index Web site.