I'd always dreamed of visiting Brazil.

For a start, the lure of the Amazonian forest had for a long time been a temptation at the back of my mind - a wild and exotic location that I hoped to discover one day. Add to that visions of untamed natural settings and gorgeous beaches, vibrant cities and their passionate locals, and a bunch of bucket list tourist items to tick off, and the thrill of finally booking this once-in-a-lifetime trip was intoxicating. 

We only had a couple of weeks to dedicate to this amazing country though, and a pretty long list of possible things to see.

Never mind that Brazil is enormous! Clocking in as the world's 5th largest country, not only is that a lot of space within which to find unique tourist destinations, it also means that getting around the country takes up a bunch of any allotted Brazilian holiday time.

And so compromises needed to be made.

Both Julien and I had listed all our ideal locations around Brazil. So then it was time to compare, prioritise and (sadly) trim the lists. 

And eventually we ended up with our 2 weeks Brazil travel itinerary.

While we couldn't fit in everything we would have liked to see (more on that later), we nevertheless had a travel trip that would allow us to have many memorable experiences, and also not to be rushed off our feet. Being the kinds of travellers who prefer to come back from a trip invigorated rather than exhausted, this was important to us, and something we try to build into all our itineraries. 

We hope the 14 days described below inspire your next adventure to this stunning and exuberant country! 

3 days in Rio

We started off our holiday in Rio. The city of samba and Sugarloaf mountain, of stunning beaches and equally beautiful people, was a destination we were excited to visit. And the Marvelous City did not disappoint!

We spent 3 blissful days discovering the many wonderful sites that Rio has to offer, some by ourselves and some with a local guide to take us around, and by the end of it we'd at the same time had many incredible experiences, and felt like we'd only scratched the surface. 

Read here for our blog on exactly how we spent our 3 day itinerary in amazing Rio.

4 days in Manaus and the Amazon

One of the main reasons - and absolutely one of the highlights - of our trip to Brazil, was to spend some time in the Amazon.

Having taken the 4 hour direct flight from Rio to Manaus, we spent 1 night in Manaus at the Holiday Inn hotel - an easy 10 minute taxi ride from the center and the Manaus port.

The next morning we were picked up by shuttle bus for our drive to the Amazonian lodge where we would spend the next 3 blissful days!

Here is our full review of the wonderful Anavilhanas Jungle Lodge.

On our return from the lodge a couple of days later, we had also allocated a bit of time to see the city of Manaus itself. We'd booked a tour guide to show us around, learning about the rich history of the city. We saw some of the local Manaus historical sites, and the surprising Meeting of the Waters by boat.

And later that evening, we hopped on our next flight, this time to the city of Sao Paulo. 

2 days in Sao Paulo

Our stay in Sao Paulo was to be a quick one - a whirlwind tour of the city -wedged as it was between our 2 nights on site, as well as a meal in a restaurant that we'd been eagerly anticipating.

We stayed in the chic boutique hotel of L'Hotel Portobay, a wonderfully calm oasis of marble lobbies and sweeping staircases, sumptuous furnishings and a zen pool tucked away on the top floor. Breakfasts were generous European inspired affairs, alongside tropical fruit buffets piled high.

To get a feel for this enormous concrete jungle of 11 million people, we decided to join a Sao Paulo Free Walking Tour late morning.

There are a few different tours on offer, and we opted for the Old Downtown tour, which lasted around 3 hours. Meeting in the lovely Republica square park, we headed off as a group to see historical sites that included the Municipal Theatre and the beautiful Sé Cathedral.

At the end of the tour, we came away with a better appreciation of the contrasting architecture of the city - modern as well as classic - and the sprawling and diverse nature of this enormous city.

Of course, these tours are not necessarily 'free', notwithstanding the name, as a tip is advisable at the tour's end. From what we could see, all our fellow visitors were equally happy to contribute to what had been an informative few hours with an engaging guide.

Later that evening we had a reservation at D.O.M. restaurant - charismatic Brazilian chef Alex Atala's 2 Michelin star establishment - that we'd seen featured on Netflix's Chef's Table series, and that we'd been keen to visit ever since.

Famed for serving up golden Amazonian ants as dessert, we were treated to equally Brazilian inspired dishes like capuacu and pirarucu fish, and by the end of the night we'd had a meal to remember. 

3 days on Ilhabela

Early the next morning, we were collected from the hotel for our transfer from Sao Paulo to the coast, and the island of Ilhabela.

Excited to experience some of Brazil's famed tropical beaches, and looking forward to some relaxing downtime before we pushed on with our 2 weeks Brazilian itinerary, we had booked ourselves a few days at a beachside resort.

Read our blog post on Ilhabela's DPNY Beach hotel, for sun drenched days drinking cocktails by the sea, and the many things to do on this stunning Brazilian island. 

3 days in Paraty

Suitably revived after our time on beautific Ilhabela, we took the ferry back to the mainland, and from there the approximately 3 hours onward journey to the town of Paraty. The route is via some lovely scenery, and we stopped off for some picture taking and a bite to eat on the way.

Nestled along Brazil's stunning Costa Verde coast, roughly halfway between Sao Sebastiao and Rio, Paraty is a charming colonial town. Cobblestone streets wind through white-washed buildings adorned with bright colours, and the town is surrounded by lush rainforest and sparkling turquoise waters. The bright hues and geometric architecture make for a photographic paradise.

Paraty is also extremely popular, and firmly on the tourist trail of visitors to Rio looking for a day or 2 trip into the nearby countryside.

We stayed in a charming local pousada, and spent our first day in Paraty ambling the delightful passageways of the town, taking photos and checking out the many local artisan shops. There are also plenty of local tours available to discover more of the history of the town, including a free tour of the sort we joined in Sao Paulo, or visiting a cachaca distillery, and even hiking tours walking a historic gold trail.

For our second day we had booked ourselves a spot on one of the many boat tours that visit the surrounding islands, stopping off at some of the otherwise inaccessible hidden beaches.

Here though we were to be disappointed. These boat tours are loud crowded affairs, music blaring constantly, and the food provided was terrible. On the other hand, the scenery en route was captivating, and there were those refreshing swims in pretty, secluded coves, so perhaps not an entire disappointment. But not an excursion we would personally recommend.

Meal options in Paraty are myriad, and the food was amazing. For our dinners during the 2 nights that we were around, we had bookings at the Banana de Terra and Quintal das Lestras restaurants respectively, and both are highly recommended for delicious local dishes.

Back to Rio and homeward bound

For our transfer from Paraty back to Rio, we had booked a more affordable option, with infoparaty.com. These transfers are in vans of around 10 people, that will pick-up and drop-off at each traveller's individual accommodation. We found it dependable, comfortable, and above all cheaper than a private transfer.

For our final night in buzzing Brazil, we'd bagged ourselves a booking in the Belmond Copacabana Palace - a grand old dame of a hotel that oozes with the charm of Rio's mid-century heyday.

We spent the day by the pool or on the beach, sipping one last caipirinha, watching locals kick around a football, and soaking up the rays as we soaked up a last bit of Brazilian-ness before getting ready for the long flight back home.

Final thoughts on 2 weeks in Brazil

OK, so that wasn't exactly 2 weeks in Brazil. We'd spent a total of 16 days hanging out in this wonderful country.

But the above itinerary could be pared back to 14 days by for example shaving a day off the Ilhabela or Paraty parts of the trip, though it would be a tad more rushed.

Anything we'd have still liked to see, but didn't have time for?

Brazil as a country has a ton of amazing experiences to offer a first time visitor, and there were definitely a few tourist stops on our original list that didn't make the cut. All are far flung and scattered around this vast country though, and we'd have needed quite a bit more travel time to make them work.

Here is the list of the main ones: Iguazu falls on the border with Argentina ; Museu Oscar Niemeyer in the city of Curitiba ; Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses. 

Brazil had been breathtaking, had given us a heap of memories to take away with us, and had left us wanting more.

We hope to one day return, to tick of more of the sites on our Brazil to-do list, and to relive some of the amazing experiences we'd had.