South America is huge and Brazil takes up large portion of the continent. Unfortunately it was never going to be possible for us to see everything Brazil has to offer and as we had aimed to get to Patagonia for January we had limited time, so for us we picked out our top three musts see destinations; The Amazon, Rio and Iguazu Falls.
Average Cost per Day for a Couple – BR$340 (Brazilian Real)
Our average cost includes
- Transport
- Hotels/Hostels
- Daily spends
- Treks/excursions
We ended up staying in Brazil for 21 days, most of that time we were in Foz du Iquazu waiting for dental treatment. Having a few quiet days meant we were able to keep the average cost per day down.
Typical Costs
- Hotels/Hostels: Private rooms in hostels can be expensive, particularly in Rio where it can be around US$50-80 per night. To save money we opted to stay in dorm rooms in Manaus and Rio which worked out around BR$40-50 per person, per night, and included breakfast. In Foz du Iquazu we stayed in an excellent hostel called Iguassu Guest House, private rooms cost BR$100 per night.
- Food: In Brazil it’s all about the buffets where you pile the food onto a plate and pay per kilo. On average this costs around BR$20 per kilo. There are also loads of churrascaria restaurants to choose from which serve a variety of bbq meats served to your table. Prices can vary depending on where you go.
- Beer: A bottle of beer can found for between BR$5-10 in restaurants.
Entrance Fees and Activities
As cost are slightly higher in Brazil we were selective about what activities we did.
- Rio free walking tour - Free
- Rio pub crawl – BR$50
- Christ the Redeemer entrance fee- BR$22pp
- Iguazu Falls (Brazil side)- BR$56pp
- Ipatu Dam Panoramic Tour - BR$27pp
- Ipora dance show - $76pp
Transport
Transport is a lot more expensive in Brazil and the size of the country means there can be some very long bus journeys.
- Slow boat Leticha (Columbia) to Manaus - BR$195pp
- Flight Manaus to Rio – US$180pp
- Bus Rio to Foz Iguazu (23hrs) - BR$240pp