Expert: Ken Rapoza Cruz - 3/6/2008

Question
hi! im planning on flying into rio on the 17th may and i need to be in buenas aires by the 3rd of june. I want to travel by bus and see as much as possible in this short space of time. obviously rio and iguazu falls but can you recommend any other must dos that i can fit into this period. I dont plan to spend much time in rio as i prefer the countryside to big cities! thanks

Answer
Wow, thats a lot of land to cover, my friend, and I dont know if I can give you any specifics. I only know Rio de Janeiro city.  And if youre goign to go by bus, you might be off the beaten path quite a bit, meaning youll be taking A LOT of different busses.  You should go to Paraty in Rio, a small colonial coastal town. Thats a must. Angra dos Reis isnt bad either, though I don tknow it all that well. You should try to stop in Campos do Jordao in Sao Paulo and stay at a nice spa or cabin there. There's just tons of places, man...depends what you want to see. Go surf Brazilmax.com for some ideas.  You will be traveling in this direction:

Rio to Sao Paulo to Parana to Santa Catarina to Rio Grande do Sul to Buenos Aires.

Spots I would recommend:

Sao Paulo city. You just gotta see it for its monstrocity.  Go have a beer one night at Edificio Italia at the piano bar (better with a friend, tho) and check out the city lights. Best just before sunset. Will cost you about $75. Not a cheap place.  

Check out the beaches of Sao Paulo, like Sao Sebastiao or Maresias.

Id definitely try a place in the interior of fSao Paulo, like a farm or ranch land, where there are are nice little waterfalls and thermal pools, but I cant think of them off top of head and dont know the bus routes. For this you might need a travel agent. In Parana, I would just go directly to Foz do Iguacu. From there, Id head on an overnight bus to Santa Catarina, stay in Joinville for a night. Old German town. Kinda cool. Then from there go to Florianopolis. That is a must. Great clean city. The "San Fran" of Brazil (tho San Fran is way nicer. Floripa, tho, has fabulous oceanside and is a must see.)

From there, go to the Pampas regions in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul and stay at a nice ranch hotel where you can eat a GREAT barbecue with "gauchos".  Do your homework to figure out what a Gaucho is.  

Id also recommend a night in Porto Alegre. Nice city. Dont know it intimately though like I know Sao Paulo, which is where I live. But if youre in Rio Grande do Sul, you should stop in PA and that is going to be your best bus route to Buenos Aires. You can get really great first class buses with beds; think flying first class. About $75 cheaper than a plane, teh way to go esp if youre doing an overnight. The busses for tourism here are great.

Visit Brazil Max and email Bill there for some ideas.  Ask him if he can think of any MUST SEEs outside the cities of Rio, Sao Paulo, Santa Catarina and RIo Grande do Sul. He will definitely say Paraty.

You can also try Gringoes.com for some travel ideas.  

Ken