Celebration Time in Brazil: Rio de Janeiro at New Year’s or Carnaval with Goway
In the mood to celebrate? Goway has your covered with two unforgettable trips to Brazil.
Be at or on or even in the waters off Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro to ring in 2019 with the vibrant party mad Brazilians and take advantage of the complimentary sunrise visit to Corcovado when staying at the Belmond Copacabana Palace Hotel.
Alternatively, head to Rio for Carnaval in February. Rio Carnaval is a wild celebration set 40 days before Easter. It officially starts on Saturday and finishes on Fat Tuesday with the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, after which, a pious person is supposed to abstain from all bodily pleasures.
Famous the world over, Carnaval has people dance, sing, party, and generally have tons of fun all across Rio. There are even many parties that take place before, during, and after Carnaval all day and all night. Goway’s 6-Day Rio Carnaval package, starting from US $1,879 / CA $2,424, allows travellers to see one of the world’s most remarkable events first-hand while also enjoying the many famous sites of Rio de Janeiro.
Experience the music, rhythms, costumes, and bright colours of Rio during one unforgettable week in February. A Rio vacation during Carnaval gives you the ultimate taste of this vibrant city and enjoy a complimentary dinner, wine and transfers.
Blessed with a wonderful natural setting, watched over by Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado Mountain, and surrounded by tropical forests, Rio is one of the world’s most beautiful cities. On New Year’s Eve, the city and Copacabana Beach are the central location for the celebrations.
Festivals, be they religious, cultural, or historical, will generally incorporate some aspect of celebration. So while New Year’s Eve celebrations are technically not a festival, we take creative license to present Rio at New Year’s as an “honourable mention” for a place to be on December 31st.
Rio is famous for its beaches and on New Year’s Eve, the locals—and we are talking up to a million locals—all flock to some of the world’s most famous beaches, including Copacabana and Ipanema. A gathering of such vast numbers mixed with the inevitable Caipirinhas, cocktails, and the favourite local beer, Brahma, would suggest a disaster in the making, but not in Rio! The multiplication of people out for a good and peaceful time results in a bundle of positive energy in one of the most picturesque cities in the world.
To traditionally celebrate New Year’s in Rio (Reveillon), you should dress in white. On the way to Copacabana Beach, where the majority of Goway hotels are located, including the Windsor Atlantica, Miramar, Plaza, Excelsior, and Winsdor Plaza, buy some lilies so you can sacrifice them to Yemanja, Goddess of the Sea (you actually get three wishes with this offering—Bonus!).
As you party on to the sounds of the beats of Samba with your travelling friends and the guaranteed new best Brazilian friends you have just met, several barges off shore that are loaded with fireworks go off at the same time. The effect is amazing. Notice how Cantagalo, the favela in Copacabana, also has fireworks that shoot off right after the official ones on the beach. It’s like they’re shouting out, “We live here as well!”
Goway is offering a complimentary sunrise visit to Corcovado when staying at the Belmond Copacabana Palace Hotel. This is an exclusive tour with only 12 people per day having the opportunity to have one of the city’s, and the world’s, most iconic landmarks all to themselves. All itineraries include Rio airport transfers, a private Rio city tour, a Corcovado and Sugar Loaf visit, private transfers to and from the Samba Parade, reserved seating in Sector 9 of Sambadrome, a favela tour, service fees, taxes, and all breakfasts.
New Year’s Eve is fun most anywhere in the world, but in Rio on the beach, it is truly unique and not soon forgotten.
Join Goway on one of our many Rio vacations and time your stay for New Year’s. You won’t be disappointed.
Feliz and Novo
Goway also offers a wide choice of pre- and post-Rio options such as Amazon cruises, visits to Iguassu Falls, as well as beach options on the beautiful and famous Brazilian coastline.
Goway’s Central & South America Division is staffed by experts who know the region inside and out. To order your copy of the Central & South America Travel Planner, please call 1-888-469-2955, email [email protected], or visit www.goway.com.
