• British Airways
• Lufthansa
• Azul Airlines
• Air France
• Lufthansa
• Avianca
• Tap Portugal Airlines
• United Airlines
• Japan Airlines

Flights are operated from London, UK to Rio de Janeiro on day to day basis. In general, an average flight from the Heathrow Airport requires a time frame of 8 hours and 5 minutes. If you fly from Manchester or Birmingham, you will possibly arrive at the destination airport in around 10 hours and 20 minutes. The itinerary includes a brief stopover at the hub airport of an airline.

‘Rio de Janeiro–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport’ is the international airport of Rio de Janeiro. The airport has two runways both more than 3 kilometres long and has handled 16.2 million passengers in 2017. The airport is only 20 kilometres away from downtown Rio.

This depends whether you are coming to Rio for holiday in general or especially for the Rio Carnival. The festival season brings hiked up prices which are followed by the unavailability of quality accommodations. For this reason, early bookings are recommended to secure the tickets at reasonable prices. Excluding the carnival season, the cheapest time to book tickets to Rio de Janerio is from April to June, just after the rains but before the summer vacations in UK.

The best time to visit Rio de Janeiro would be between December and March. The sun isn’t too hot in the day and in February, the Rio Carnival erupts into a celebration. So, pack the sunblock and the Ray Bans, and come to Rio.

British Nationals do not require a visa to visit Rio de Janeiro for tourism. UK passport holders are required to get their passports stamped on and keep the Immigration Landing Card safe which is provided by the Federal Police of Brazil upon entry. Penalties are enforced if the stamp and the card are not in order when leaving the country.

The attraction of Rio de Janerio provoked Queen Maria I of Portugal to move her court and seat of power from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro in 1807. This is perhaps the only time when the capital of a colonial power has moved into a colony, on to another continent. Such is the glamour of Rio. The city boasts landmarks, both natural and man-made, that are absolutely jaw-dropping.

• The Sugarloaf Mountain is a rounded hilltop, typical to the South American city. The cable cars that move to and fro from the base station to the mountaintop are a necessary tour. The trip is a joy. At the top, there are food stalls and music for the tourists.
• The ‘Christ the Redeemer’ Statue sanctifying the city of Rio de Janeiro is 30 meters high. The statue has become the symbol of not only Rio de Janeiro but also Brazil. The panoramic views around the statue are breathtaking.
• Sao Francisco da Penitencia Church is one of the best examples of Baroque architecture in Brazil. The ornate columns and gilded buttresses of the church are a testament to the exquisite designers in colonial Spain. The Church’s insides are splashed with gold and it is truly a sight to behold.

The biggest festival Rio ever witnesses is the Rio Carnival. The event takes place in mid-February. If the tourist wants to see dragons swaying in the air and breathing fire, women and men dressed like bejewelled ‘Birds of Paradise’ and an entire nation rejoicing to the sounds of the Samba music, then Rio is the place for you.

With just a little bit of Portuguese, Rio de Janerio can be a fun place to navigate through. The bus and the metro networks are safe and secure. The metro lines can be easily understood. The taxi system is very useful in Rio and Uber has made it even more efficient. The bus, however, is the cheapest way to travel. For a ticket of BRL$ 3.80, one can ride in any direction in the city. The buses are safest during the daytime in urban districts.

There are many five star hotels in Rio de Janerio. Among the finest are as follows.

• Sheraton Grand Rio Hotel & Resort
• Belmond Copacabana Palace
• Grand Hyatt Rio de Janeiro
• Hilton Rio de Janeiro Copacabana
• Hotel Santa Teresa Rio MGallery by Sofitel