What you should know

Culture: Portuguese, Indians, Africans…all have combined to give Brazil its' rich culture.

Samba, Bossa Nove, football, candy floss bikinis and Cachaça, the local firewater are all part of it as is the unique Brazilian talent of having a good time.

But Brazil is more than that.

An enormous country, around the size of America it offers some of the richest wildlife in the world, from jungle to Savannah, some of the best beaches from the municipal beaches to the secret hideaways and taste bud tickling food.

Amongst its' religions are Catholicism, Indian Animism and African cults.

Culture ranges from the self-conscious elegance of the city's wealthy, to the African influenced Bahian towns to the indigenous lifestyles holding on deep in the Amazon.

Brazil has great disparity of wealth and an enormous un-landed population, making life within some areas of the north and the inner cities desperately grinding.

Type of holiday: Beach, adventure, nature/jungle, hiking, boating, city culture

Food: The staples of the Brazilian diet are white rice, black beans and manioc flour, usually combined with steak, chicken or fish.

Specialties include moqueca, a delicious seafood stew flavoured with dendê oil and coconut milk; caruru, okra and other vegetables mixed with shrimp, onions and peppers; and feijoada, bean and meat stew.

Another speciality is the barbecued meat carvery where you eat till you drop!