Florianópolis

Floripa was one of my favourite places. A surfer's paradise and a quiet, chill, beach city which was much needed after carnival. It's a 14-hour overnight bus away from São Paulo.

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Things to do:​

• Surfing for people of all (and no) experience

  • Multiple surf shops along Praia da Lagoa to rent gear or book lessons​

• Beautiful quiet beaches (Praia da Lagoa, Mole, Joaquina)

• Hiking trails

🛏️Where I stayed:

Tucano House Backpackers

• Easy to socialise as they have communal dinner every night (at a cost) - veggie/vegan options available

• Safe - needed a code to enter the hostel

• Good location, lots of restaurants and grocery shops nearby

• Has a pool, kitchen and an area to chill in hammock

• Short Uber away from beaches

🍴Where I ate:​

• KomTodos Restaurante Vegetariano (Vegetarian) - Buffet style, pay by plate weight, lots of delicious veggie & vegan options that change every day

• Spitfire Lagoa - Good pizzas and cervecer
   

• Guaquito Taqueria - The veggie tacos were rubbish and there was a piece of plastic inside one.

Helpful Tip:​

• Keep a driver's number handy for late nights as I struggled to get an Uber after nights out.

São Paulo

The city wasn't for me as I felt like there wasn't much to do, but I did enjoy carnival here. Within São Paulo state I attended a 10-day Vipassana course and the centre's location was beautiful and completely immersed in nature. From Rio it took a 7-hour bus to get to São Paulo City.

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Things to do:​

• Bars & clubs​

• Museums​

• Ibirapuera Park - great for running and the blocco here was really fun

🛏️Where I stayed:

Ô de Casa Hostel

• Best place to stay during carnival, but quiet otherwise

• Dorms weren't expensive

• Social party hostel - everyone goes out together most nights, including staff

• Has it's own pool, bar & restaurant

• Security at the door, after 10pm only guests can get in

🍴Where I ate:

• Camelia Ododo (Vegan) - Expensive but SO good, ate here multiple times.

• Novos Veganos, Pinherios (Vegan) - Burger restaurant, meh.

• Tempero Indiano (Veggie Options) - Okay, but would not recommend if you know what Indian food is supposed to taste like. Food was really sweet with no spice.

What to watch out for:​​

• I met more people who had their phones stolen in São Paulo than in Rio so be mindful of your belongings!

Amazon/Manaus

A huge highlight of my trip, ticking 'Visiting the Amazon Rainforest' off my bucket list. Although it took a 4-hour flight from Rio to get there, it was worth it.

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Things to do:

• Amazon Rainforest multi-day tour
  ​Read my full Amazon guide here!

• Manaus Carnival (during carnival period)

• Museums

• *You can visit the Amazon from almost every South American country and their multi-day tours have similar itineraries to the one I did.

🛏️Where I stayed:

Local Hostel Manaus

• Great location in central Manaus​

• Friendly, helpful staff who help you book your tour

• Very clean, and had a kitchen

🍴Where I ate:

• Casa Pamonha (Vegetarian) - Has vegan options

• China in a Box - Had a veggie noodle fis

• There was an okay pizza place across the road from Local Hostel Manaus

What to watch out for:​

• AVOID the day trips!
  These trips involved tourists paying for photos with heavily sedated or chained up animals, exploiting a local indigenous tribe to dance for tourists multiple times a day and feeding river dolphins to entice them to get closer while customers bob and scream in the water near them. Opt for the multi-day tours where you can see the animals in their natural habitats and engage with Amazonian locals in a respectful way.