According to the official calendar, the 2012 carnival will take place between 17 and 21 February.

• The Rio de Janeiro escolas de samba will parade at the sambadrome on Sunday 19 and Monday 20.
• The São Paulo parades will take place on Friday 17 and Saturday 18.

Although the dates seem miles away, the farsighted travellers will make accommodation arrangements for the period long in advance – it is the only way of finding good value accommodation for places like Rio or Salvador.

As more details emerge I will keep you posted.

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RELATED POSTS:
carnival 2009: photos
Rio Carnival 2009: ticket prices
destination: Rio de Janeiro
destination: Salvador

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Welcome to the Brazil Travel Blog and our special report on the São Paulo Indy 300 2011 race.

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1. THE DATES

The São Paulo Indy 300 race will be held on Sunday 1 May 2011 (training sessions on the previous day). There is a full schedule of events at the race’s official website.

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2. THE CIRCUIT

The race will take place on a makeshift circuit on the north of the city of São Paulo. Among other places, the drivers will race their cars through the São Paulo sambadrome (the carnival will be over by the time of the race).

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3. HOW TO GET TO THE CIRCUIT

The circuit is close to the blue line of the São Paulo subway system. The nearest station is Tietê, right next to São Paulo’s main bus terminal, terminal Tietê.

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4. TICKET SALES

Check the official website for more information. Ticket prices from R$180 to R$400 (on the left sidebar of the blog you can check the current exchange rate of the Brazilian real).

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5. WHAT TO DO IN SÃO PAULO

Our main entry on São Paulo is Destination: São Paulo. At São Paulo’s top ten I pointed out a few outstanding highlights in the city. And if you have a few days to spare, you could do much worse than having a look at our suggestions of São Paulo getaways.

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6. ACCOMMODATION IN SÃO PAULO

You can search for accommodation in São Paulo through our Hotels Combined search engine, a unique free tool that searches multiple hotel reservation websites simultaneously to help you find the lowest rate instantly. It eliminates the need to search major websites one by one in order to compare prices and availability. An amazing time and money saver!

The results open on a new page.

We have also published a blog post on youth hostels in São Paulo.

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For those of you keen on attending a soccer/football (futebol in Portuguese) match while in Brazil, here’s the 2011 league calendar for download.

The teams taking part on this year’s first division are, grouped by states (in brackets, after the name of the team, the city and the stadium where they will play this season. Do remember some well-known stadiums are undergoing renovation work for the world cup):

• BAHIA: Bahia (Salvador, Pituaçu).
• CEARÁ: Ceará (Fortaleza, Castelão).
• GOIÁS: Atlético Goianiense (Goiânia, Serra Dourada).
• MINAS GERAIS: América (Sete Lagoas, Arena do Jacaré), Atlético Mineiro (Sete Lagoas, Arena do Jacaré), Cruzeiro (Sete Lagoas, Arena do Jacaré).
• PARANÁ: Atlético Paranaense (Curitiba, Kyocera Arena or Arena da Baixada), Coritiba (Curitiba, Couto Pereira).
• RIO DE JANEIRO: Botafogo (Rio de Janeiro, João Havelange or Engenhão), Flamengo (Rio de Janeiro, João Havelange or Engenhão), Fluminense (Rio de Janeiro, João Havelange or Engenhão) and Vasco (Rio de Janeiro, João Havelange or Engenhão).
• RIO GRANDE DO SUL: Grêmio (Porto Alegre, Olímpico), Internacional (Porto Alegre, Beira-Rio).
• SANTA CATARINA: Avaí (Florianópolis, Ressacada), Figueirense (Florianópolis, Orlando Scarpelli).
• SÃO PAULO: Corinthians (São Paulo, Pacaembú), Palmeiras (São Paulo, Pacaembú), Santos (Santos, Vila Belmiro) and São Paulo (São Paulo, Morumbi).

Newcomers this year are América, Bahía, Coritiba and Figueirense.

I’ve prepared a GoogleMaps mash-up with the main 1st division soccer stadiums in Brazil:

View larger map

A few clarifications:

• the Brazilian league is known as the Brasileirão
• unless there is another ongoing competition (Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana) there is usually a round of games during the week (Wednesdays or Thursdays) and another one during the weekend (Saturdays or Sundays). During the weekend all matches are usually played at the same time, either four o’clock or six o’clock.
• unlike the European national championships, the Brasileirão begins in May and ends in December. Halfway through the season, coinciding with the beginning of the European leagues, there is a real exodus of players, bought by European and Asian clubs. Often the squad that begins the league is quite different from the one that finishes it.
• at local derbys (clásicos) emotions run high. You are advised to be careful, as violent clashes between rival fans are frequent, especially on the way to the stadium. Get away from conflict as fast as you can, the police do not deal with troublemakers on a kind fashion.
• in general tickets are much more affordable than in Europe.

We have a brand-new blog devoted entirely to the FIFA World Cup 2014: the World Cup Brazil 2014.

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RELATED POSTS:
Maracanã
Museu do Futebol (football/soccer museum)
Morumbi stadium (São Paulo FC)

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I came across this video that brought back fond memories of a trip to Bonito and a dive in the Sucuri river nearly 9 years ago.

Bonito is an outstanding ecotourism destination in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Destination: Bonito is our information resource for that destination.

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The Brazilian Formula 1 Grand Prix will take place at a later date than usual: between 25 and 27 November. It will be the very final race of the 2011 championship.

Tickets for the race have just gone on sale at the official GP website. Go to the Portuguese version of the website and select Ingressos>Compre Aqui to see the prices. A map allows you to see where each sector is located.

A few weeks before the date of the race we will publish our special report with plenty on info on what to do in São Paulo (you can check our 2010 report at 2010 Brazilian F1 Grand Prix at Interlagos – special report).

Remember to check our blog where you will find information to help you prepare your next Brazil holidays.

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RELATED POSTS:
São Paulo’s top ten
São Paulo getaways

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Adrenaline-seekers are in for a treat in Rio de Janeiro. Few experiences surpass that of a hang-gliding flight from the top of the Pedra da Gávea to the sands of the Praia do Pepino in the São Conrado neighbourhood. The next video shows the entire flight sequence, filmed from a camera installed on the tip of the hang-gliders’s wing. There’s a slow build up at the beginning but after take-off it’s all excitement.

Tandem flights do not require any previous experience. The official Rio tourism site lists the companies providing that service. Make sure you choose your company wisely as accidents aren’t unheard of.

And while you’re researching your trip I’m sure cheap holidays will be top of your mind.

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RELATED POSTS:
destination: Rio de Janeiro
hotels in Rio de Janeiro
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the Rio de Janeiro subway
map of Rio de Janeiro
the new official Rio Guide
Rio de Janeiro’s Michelin guide for free
Rio bus station: Terminal Novo Rio

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Welcome to the Brazil Travel Blog and our special report on the 2010 Brazilian Formula 1 Grand Prix at Interlagos.

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1. THE DATES

GP Brasil Formula 1 will be held at the Interlagos circuit on Sunday 7 November 2010 (training sessions on days 5 and 6). Full schedule of events at the GP’s official website.

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2. HOW TO GET TO INTERLAGOS

Do avoid getting to Interlagos on your own car. During the celebration of the GP, the traffic jams on the region of the circuit are horrendous.

1. Shuttle buses.

Every year the local transport authority runs shuttle buses from five different points in the city of São Paulo:

• Shopping Interlagos
• terminal Jabaquara (subway, line 1, blue)
• Praça da República
• Shopping SP Market
• Congonhas airport (domestic flights, shuttle bus operating from 7 am).

The Praça da República option is good for those staying in the area of Avenida Paulista.

Longer but much faster is the Jabaquara option. Take the subway till the end of the blue line and hop in one of the shuttle buses.

2. Suburban train (CPTM)

This is an option of interest for those staying near the Pinheiros river (mainly in the Avenida Berrini area). Take the train (line 9, direction Grajaú) and get off at the Interlagos station. There is no direct access to the circuit from the station, you will have to find your way around. Follow the crowds.

3. Private transfers

Most hotels hire their own fleet of vans. Do find out.

4. Taxi

It is impossible to figure out the cost of a trip to Interlagos, but due to the horrendous traffic it can set you back anything between R$50 and more than R$100.

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3. WHAT TO DO IN SÃO PAULO

At São Paulo’s top ten I pointed out a few outstanding highlights in the city. If you have a few days to spare, you have plenty of interesting ideas at São Paulo getaways.

If you read Spanish, you might be interested on my very own 132-page Guía de São Paulo.

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RELATED POSTS:
São Paulo’s top ten
São Paulo getaways
youth hostels in São Paulo

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FIFA is setting up a giant arena at the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro during the world cup. Soccer fans and tourists alike will be able to watch the world cup games in a festive atmosphere. During the matches played by Brazil the giant TV screen will face the ocean so around 100,000 can watch the game.

Access to the arena will be free – six other cities across the world will host similar events. We had already seen at the blog how the World Cup atmosphere had began to mount.

There is more information on the event at FIFA’s Official web site.

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RELATED POSTS:
destination: Rio de Janeiro
budget accommodation in Rio de Janeiro

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According to the official calendar, the 2011 carnival will take place between 5 and 8 March. The Rio de Janeiro escolas de samba will parade at the sambadrome on Sunday 6 and Monday 7. The São Paulo parades will take place on Friday 4 and Saturday 5.

Although the dates seem miles away, the farsighted travellers will make accommodation arrangements for the period long in advance – it is the only way of finding good value accommodation for places like Rio or Salvador.

As more details emerge I will keep you posted.

——————————
RELATED POSTS:
carnival 2009: photos
Rio Carnival 2009: ticket prices
destination: Rio de Janeiro
destination: Salvador

subscribe to the Brazil Travel Blog by Email
follow the Brazil Travel Blog on Twitter
follow the Brazil Travel Blog on Facebook

We’re less than two months away from the opening game of the South Africa Soccer World Cup 2010. Before that, on 11 May, Dunga, the Brazilian coach, will announce to the nation the long-awaited list of players who will represent Brazil in the competition.

The matches Brazil will play at the group stage are:

15 de junio: Brazil – North Korea
20 de junio: Brazil – Ivory Coast
25 de junio: Brazil – Portugal

If Brazil makes it first of the group it will play its next game on 28 June. If it only makes it second it will play on 29 June.

Nothing beats attending a football match among a Brazilian crowd so if you have the chance make sure there is a TV set nearby.

I’ll leave you with the ad launched recently by Skol (Brazilian beer), making fun of Argentina –a classic on the eve of a major sporting competition. In the commercial, Argentinians magically become the fondest fans of Brazilian football after being in contact with Skol beer.

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RELATED POSTS:
Brazilian soccer championship 2010 – calendar
Maracanã
Museu do Futebol (football/soccer museum)
Morumbi stadium (São Paulo FC)
goal!

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