How many days do you need in Brazil?
Seven days. That is the length of the itinerary we built for Brazil, across Rio de Janeiro, Foz do Iguaçu and Salvador.
Here is what each day holds. Every stop below carries its time, and every gap says how to get to the next stop, with the walk or drive time wherever both stops are mapped.
Brazil · 7 days Rio de Janeiro → Foz do Iguaçu → Salvador
Best time: May to September is the drier, milder stretch across all three stops, with lower humidity in Rio and Salvador and comfortable falls viewing at Iguaçu.
Rio de Janeiro: Christ the RedeemerDay 1
🏛️9:00 AMChrist the Redeemer
The 38-metre Art Deco statue on Corcovado, reached by cog railway through the forest.
🚗 ~16 min · 4.4 mi
🖼️1:30 PMMuseum of Tomorrow
A science-and-sustainability museum in a dramatic cantilevered building on the revitalized waterfront.
🚶 ~47 min · 🚗 ~6 min · 1.7 mi
🌆6:00 PMSanta Teresa
A hilltop neighborhood of cobbled lanes, artist studios, and colonial mansions reached by a restored yellow tram.
Rio de Janeiro: Sugarloaf MountainDay 2
🏛️9:00 AMSugarloaf Mountain
A pair of granite peaks linked by cable car for sweeping bay-and-city panoramas.
🚗 ~31 min · 8.9 mi
🥾1:30 PMTijuca National Park
One of the world's largest urban rainforests, with waterfalls and trails hemming the city.
🚋 Santa Teresa tram hop
🎟️6:00 PMFavela community walk
A guided, resident-led walk through a hillside community for context beyond the beaches.
Rio de Janeiro: Selarón StepsDay 3
🏛️9:00 AMSelarón Steps
A public stairway between Lapa and Santa Teresa clad in thousands of donated tiles from around the world.
🚶 ~35 min · 🚗 ~5 min · 1.3 mi
🖼️1:30 PMMuseu de Arte do Rio (MAR)
A port-district art museum pairing a historic palace with a modern wave-roofed wing.
🚶 ~31 min · 🚗 ~4 min · 1.1 mi
🌆6:00 PMLapa
The nightlife and samba district below Santa Teresa, framed by the white Carioca Aqueduct arches.
Arrive in Foz do IguaçuDay 4
✈️8:30 AMFlight to Foz do Iguaçu
Rio de Janeiro (GIG) to Foz do Iguaçu (IGU), usually direct
✈️ ≈2h by flight · 730 mi
🏛️2:00 PMItaipu Dam
A binational hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River, among the largest power producers on Earth.
🚗 ~77 min · 22 mi
🌆6:00 PMIguaçu National Park (Brazil)
The Brazilian protected area whose single walkway trail frames the panoramic wall of falls.
Foz do Iguaçu: Devil's Throat viewpointDay 5
🏛️9:00 AMDevil's Throat viewpoint
A catwalk pushing out over the largest and loudest cataract of the whole falls system.
🚗 ~71 min · 20 mi
🖼️1:30 PMEcomuseu de Itaipu
A museum on the dam's construction, regional geology, and the flooded valley's natural history.
🚌 Park shuttle hop
🎟️6:00 PMBoat ride under the falls
A high-powered inflatable run that pushes into the spray at the base of the cataracts.
Arrive in SalvadorDay 6
✈️8:30 AMFlight to Salvador
Foz do Iguaçu (IGU) to Salvador (SSA), via a São Paulo or Rio connection
✈️ ≈3h total with connection
🏛️2:00 PMElevador Lacerda
A 1873 public elevator linking the upper and lower towns across a 72-metre cliff.
🚶 ~9 min · 🚗 ~1 min · 0.3 mi
🌆6:00 PMPelourinho
A UNESCO-listed hilltop quarter of pastel colonial facades, baroque churches, and cobbled squares.
Salvador: Church of São FranciscoDay 7
🏛️9:00 AMChurch of São Francisco
A baroque church whose interior is smothered in gilded wood carving and blue-and-white tiles.
🚶 ~15 min · 🚗 ~2 min · 0.6 mi
🖼️1:30 PMAfro-Brazilian Museum (MAFRO)
A collection on African heritage, religion, and its imprint on Bahian identity.
🛗 Lacerda elevator hop
🎟️6:00 PMCapoeira roda
A session watching or joining the martial-art-and-dance circle that was born in Bahia.
This is how Petrel lays out a trip. Upload your own confirmations and it builds this for your dates: flights and hotels included, with live flight status and the travel time between stops.
This is one of 126 free itineraries. Open it, change anything you want, and it becomes your trip.