Brazil

[FH2]

Hi – I am considering booking a family to Brazil (never been before, kids are teens). Is July a good time of year to go, weatherwise? I am reading mixed reports online. Potential places of interest to us are Rio, Iguassu Falls, Amazon and some beach time (Buzios I think). Or would it be too cold/rainy? We would be looking at 2026 so a long way off as need time to build up Avios and get another Amex 241. Thanks in advance.

[Richie]

BTW website timeanddate dot com can be very good for checking weather records for destinations at different times of the year.

seatemperature dot org is also useful for sea swimming.

[mzb]

July is winter in Brazil, think you already knew that. Having said that winters in SE Brazil (Sao Paulo/Rio) tend to be dry and cool; the summer is wet. July is also winter break for schools (the whole month is off), so Brazilians will be travelling during that time.

From experience living there:
– July should be fine for Iguazu, we were there at that time. The water flow may be less impressive (given it’s not raining during that time), but the temperature was well above 25C during the day.
– Sao Paulo/Rio will be a bit of a gamble, it could get quite cold; but I equally have enjoyed the beach in July on the Sao Paulo coast. It’s usually empty, because too cold for locals, but the water rarely dips below 22C.
– The north east (Fortaleza, Jeri) will be very much the place to be if you want to be safe for a beach holiday. It will be sunny and warm. Further south (Bahia) will be wetter. Have a look at Lencois Maranhenses as well, a wide (100km) area of sand dunes, filled with fresh water lakes that form during the rainy season earlier in the year.
– Avoid the South (Florianopolis, Porto Alegre). It will be cold.
– We visited the Amazon (Manaus and surroundings) in July as well, it’s dry season, so to a certain degree preferable (but maybe not as lush).

And in terms of 241, look at using it from Madrid on IB, much better value that on BA.

Hope this helps!

[FH2]

@mzb – many thanks that is really helpful. I will look into the north east area for beach options. Would Buzios not have good beach weather at that time of year?

[mzb]

Buzios is 2.5 hours drive from Rio so the weather would be more of a gamble that time of the year.

[FH2]

mzb wrote:

Buzios is 2.5 hours drive from Rio so the weather would be more of a gamble that time of the year.

. Many thanks – good to know. I will do some more research. Am also considering Colombia as an alternative possibility.

[cin3]

How long have you got? I wouldn’t want to do more than rio and Iguazú with Just a couple of weeks.

[FH2]

cin3 wrote:

How long have you got? I wouldn’t want to do more than rio and Iguazú with Just a couple of weeks.

2 weeks. But I am beginning to waiver because of the weather!

[cin3]

I would go at a better time of year if you can.