I'm going to teach at the University of Sao Paolo (in Ribeirao Preto) in January and have a few (about 5) days spare to travel around Brazil. Does anyone have any suggestions? Ideally I'd love to fly to Manaus and go on a say 3-day boat trip on the Amazon or Rio Negro, any recommendations and/or web links for this? Seems quite expensive though. An obvious alternative is Rio (what to do/avoid there?). Any other ideas? Muito obrigado!
unfortunately, air travel in brazil is pretty expensive. once you're there, i'd recommend checking out some of the low-cost air carriers -- WebJet, Bra, and Azul. Packages are a good option there too -- although I think for the average Brazilian, Manaus and the Amazon aren't on the top of the list. from what i recall, the packages are more tailored to the sandy beaches of Nordeste (Porto Seguro, Maceio, etc). also it's too bad that you're in ribeirao preto -- which is just really out of the way. if you were in Sao Paulo or somewhere more central, it would be much easier to just take a bus straight to Rio, for example. but yeah seeing that you only have about 5 spare days -- honestly, Sao Paulo has a lot to offer -- bus ride is about 4-5 hrs -- great japanese and italian neighborhoods. great food. you could then make a day trip from SP to Sao Sebastiao, which should be packed since it's summer there. Maresias is one of the most popular beaches in the region as well as one of the best places to surf in the world -- there's also some good nightlife out there. of course, if you find an affordable package out to Manaus or Salvador, for example, it's definitely worth it. but there's a lot of good stuff in Sao Paulo and it's coastline. you just have to get to it from Ribeirao Preto.
