🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro · Living here

Weekend getaways in Rio de Janeiro

Places within easy reach of Rio de Janeiro, with how long they take, how to get there and what a weekend costs. Filter by time and mode.

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12 getaways from Rio de Janeiro

  • Niterói

    20 min · Ferry, Car

    Niemeyer's flying-saucer art museum, the best view back at Rio, and the ocean beaches at Itacoatiara.

    Stay
    Day trip
    Per person
    R$20–R$150
    Ferry from Praça XV, every 10–20 minutes
    All year

  • Prainha and Grumari

    1 h · Car

    Wild beaches inside a nature reserve, with surf at Prainha and a seafood lunch on the way back.

    Stay
    Day trip
    Per person
    R$30–R$150
    Car west past Recreio; buses are infrequent
    Weekdays all year; summer weekends fill up

  • Petrópolis

    1 h 15 min · Car, Bus

    The imperial summer city in the mountains: the Imperial Museum, cooler air and breweries around Itaipava.

    Stay
    Day trip / 1 night
    Per person
    R$80–R$600
    Car or bus from the Rodoviária Novo Rio up the serra
    All year; cool in winter

  • Serra dos Órgãos and Teresópolis

    1 h 40 min · Car, Bus

    Granite peaks such as the Dedo de Deus, waterfalls and some of Brazil's best hiking.

    Stay
    1–2 nights
    Per person
    R$300–R$1,200
    Car or bus up the BR-116
    May to September, the dry season

  • São Paulo

    2 h 30 min · Flight, Bus, Car

    Brazil's biggest city: museums, the Japanese district of Liberdade and the best restaurants in the country.

    Stay
    2–3 nights
    Per person
    R$800–R$2,500
    Air shuttle from Santos Dumont to Congonhas, about an hour in the air
    All year

  • Arraial do Cabo

    2 h 45 min · Car, Bus

    Caribbean-coloured water, boat trips to hidden coves and some of the best diving in the south-east.

    Stay
    1–2 nights
    Per person
    R$400–R$1,500
    Car or bus east via the Lagos region
    All year; avoid holiday weekends

  • Búzios

    2 h 45 min · Car, Bus

    A peninsula of more than twenty beaches, a pretty waterfront and a lively evening scene.

    Stay
    2–3 nights
    Per person
    R$600–R$2,000
    Car or bus from the Rodoviária Novo Rio
    All year; quieter outside summer and Carnival

  • Itatiaia and Visconde de Mauá

    2 h 45 min · Car, Bus

    Brazil's first national park: high-altitude trails, waterfalls and mountain inns with fireplaces.

    Stay
    2 nights
    Per person
    R$500–R$1,500
    Car along the Via Dutra towards São Paulo
    May to September

  • Ilha Grande

    3 h · Bus, Ferry, Car

    A car-free island of rainforest trails and beaches such as Lopes Mendes.

    Stay
    2–3 nights
    Per person
    R$600–R$1,800
    Transfer to Conceição de Jacareí or Angra dos Reis, then a boat
    April to November; summer is hot and busy

  • Paraty

    4 h · Car, Bus

    A colonial town of whitewashed houses and cobbles, schooner trips around the bay and cachaça distilleries.

    Stay
    2–3 nights
    Per person
    R$700–R$2,000
    Car or bus along the Costa Verde road
    All year; book well ahead for the FLIP literary festival

  • Iguaçu Falls

    4 h · Flight

    Some of the largest waterfalls on earth, seen from both the Brazilian and Argentine sides.

    Stay
    2–3 nights
    Per person
    R$1,500–R$3,500
    Direct flights to Foz do Iguaçu, about two hours
    All year; fullest from December to February

  • Ouro Preto

    5 h 30 min · Flight, Car, Bus

    Baroque churches and steep cobbled streets in the old gold-mining capital of Minas Gerais.

    Stay
    2–3 nights
    Per person
    R$900–R$2,500
    Flight to Belo Horizonte, then about two hours by road
    April to September

Budgets are per person for the whole trip: return travel, a mid-range double room shared, and food.