...    do you have an idea of what and where Brazil is? from your questions perhaps some general knowloedge reading might be relevant before you even move

Depends a lot on how far you wanna go. Most of the things to do in brazil involves walking/moving your body, except if you stick to the big cities. Also bear in mind everything is really far away, so dont expect to just go from Manaus to Iguassu that fast.

For the most famous places, Amazonia or Iguassu or some beach+forest thing (like coast of Rio). But the center of the country has amazingly beautiful mountain regions, like chapada diamantina ou chapada dos veadeiros.

I'd follow swisskiss tip: get a general guide and try to have a feeling of what you would prefer, closest to where you will be.

As for safety, normal rules apply. Dangerous at the big cities, pretty safe on the countryside. Still, being alone, i'd stick to organized groups/excursions. or get friends to travel along.

Hello, Jana!

As Wanessa said there is a  lot of interesting places to visiti in Brazil, specially if you like ecotourism. I recommend Chapada Diamantina, Chapada dos Veadeiros, Bonito, Fernando de Noronha.. in São Paulo you can go to Petar (caves), Bonete's beach in Ilha Bela, Fortaleza's beach in Ubatuba.. well, there are so many options.. if you want we can met one day and I can give you some tips about where to go in Brazil and help you planning a bit your trip.

Swisskiss: I know where Brazil is, and I have seen that it is a very big country, but you are right, I don't know much else. My plans are still in a very early phase and I realise that I will have to do some research before I go. I was just hoping to get some tips from people who have travelled in Brazil already 

Thank you for your tips Wanessa, I will have to start doing my own research, but it is nice to have an idea beforehand of what might be interesting. A guidebook to Brazil is probably not something that fits in my pocket :-)

Yes,Vanessa had very good ideas for you since you would like to do more of the nature type of trip.  I am from Rio de Janeiro, so I would have more ideas for you to go to the nicest beaches there... But anyway, any questions, feel free to contact me. 

A trip to the amazon is really cool.  Head to Manaus and take a guide for a few days.  We went with a guy called Gero and were happy with him and his team, google it and should come up.

Also good for the cacao plantations, a really chilled place and nice beaches, Itacare in Bahia.

I assume Rio is on the itineria whether liking cities or not, do the favela tour, its very interesting!

I am from Bahia and could definitely give you some suggestions where to go there. Chapada Diamantina, for example, as Tainá suggested above is just amazing. ;) 

Hi Jana

I went wwoofing in Brazil in the Mata Atlantica in São Paolo state.. it was a good experience, but I would advise you to take your time with selecting farms, as when it rains its very easy to get quickly cut off.

 Also, it's a really safe and friendly place to travel as a single woman, and there are plenty of very beautiful places in easy reach of São Paolo and Rio. And I would really really recommend taking a day or two (with a day or two either side for travelling via the very comfortable buses) to go to Foz do Igauçu, and to see the falls from the Argentinian side.. it is extraordinarily beautiful.

If you like surfing, then the south is very good.. near Florianopolis.. but it's quite touristy.

I would take a tent as the campsites along the ocean in Rio and SP states are incredible, and easy enough to reach.

I am desperate to go to Bahia and to Chapada Diamantina, as I have heard they are incredible, as Carol and Tainá suggested. :)

beijos

Hi Jana,

One thing to think about in July is the weather - you may want to tailor your itinerary accordingly (e.g. Floripa - Florianopolis - may be a little on the cool side).  The website below has month-by-month recommendations:

http://gobrazil.about.com/od/brazilmonthbymonth/a/brazilinjuly.htm

I'd second Iguassu (although it's a bit touristy), Bonito, Itacare in Bahia and Fernando de Noronha.  Let me know if you would like pousada (guesthouse) recommendations for either of the latter two.  If you're near Iguassu and Bonito and want to cut down on travel time, you could consider the Pantanal wetlands instead of the Amazon - anecdotally you see more wildlife in the Pantanal than the Amazon, but you wouldn't get dolphins.  There's supposed to be another nice park area near Campo Grande, but I don't remember the name.  Everyone says nice things about Chapada Diamantina but I haven't been (yet!).

For transport, you could look into an air pass if you will be taking a lot of flights.  Generally, booking flights online without a CPF (Brazilian ID number) is a little tricky, so you may need to drop by a travel agent.  In Zurich STA travel were fine.  Long-distance buses are generally a good option, but there's a point where you're probably better off flying!

Do you speak any Portuguese?  People are very approachable, but time invested in learning a little bit of the language will be well spent, especially if you're looking to travel outside the cities.

Hope that helps, let me know if you have any followup questions.

Mark

Hi,

if you are going alone, couchsurfing is really big in Brazil, i found it the easiest way of moving around and getting to know the insides of the towns/area's.

Flying in Brazil is cheap when booked in advance... but it needs some getting used to cuz you will need a CPF etc... you probably have no clue what i am talking about, but you'll soon find out :) Webjet.com.br has a foreigners option so you can book without the cpf

Jalapao in Tocatins is a very inspirational place, although Palmas is boring.

also chapada dos veiadeiros, very beautiful, lots of waterfalls...

of course you should do the typical places first... go see the sunset at Ipanema

cheers

Wow, Mark!!!

Your tips on travelling in Brazil make you sound like a local... It made any further comments from my part unnecessary. :)

Haha, muito obrigado, Claudia!

I arrived back from Brazil on Tuesday, so most of this is pretty fresh in my memory ;-)

Mark

Hello,

Thank you everyone for your tips, I will keep save them. Unfortunately I won't make it to Brazil this summer after all. I might have to move house, and ideally I would like to have more time at my disposition. I feel that 4 weeks are not enough.

Thanks again for all the advice,

Jana