lyw

This is my first time on the site, and I was hoping for some advice. I've dreamed of going to Brazil for a few years now, and with my personal timing + the visas waived for the Olympics, I'm excited to be able to plan a trip this June!

With booking tickets, I'm having some trouble figuring out when the best time to book is, and whether to book RT or 2 one-way flights - OR to look for multi city? I'm pretty flexible all of June and want to go from near San Diego (LAX if necessary) --> Rio --> Sao Paulo. By booking RT to Rio, it's much cheaper than the multi city, but would it make sense to go back to Rio from Sao Paulo at the end of my trip?

I've been browsing through a multitude of flight comparison sites - but the ticket prices have jumped up $100-200 between Tuesday and Wednesday.
With the visa waiver AND Olympics coming up - would you say that booking ASAP (next week perhaps?) may be more important than following all the advice of blogs that have studied travel patterns?

I realize that no one can really give a concrete answer, but I would appreciate any kind of feedback! I'm just very excited to be making this dream come true, and want to make sure I'm cutting costs in the places I can! Thanks

VidaNaPraia

I would say that booking ASAP (like yesterday!) would definitely be more important than any other consideration. Events like the Olympics do not conform to regular fare patterns.

Also, Rio has a very limited stock of beds for large events. Prices routinely rise 3X or more than regular high season. Be careful though if something looks too good to be true; people were caught without a place to stay during the World Cup when less expensive places finally realized what they could get and cancelled bookings.

The iconic tourist sights in Rio are probably going to be packed, with long wait lines.

IMO the trade off of not paying the U$160 for a visa for much higher prices for accomodations and huge crowds is hardly a bargain or a wise choice for a sightseer.

Adam1222

flights between rio and sao paulo can be purchased for under $50, though maybe not during the Olympics, and are short shuttle type flights.

Hayvenhurst

The ticket prices offered by the airlines from the US to Brazil have been jumping around a lot recently. I just noticed that American is currently offering flights in June from Los Angeles to Brazil for about $745. Prices were similar for flights to Sao Paulo or Rio. And the price of an "open jaw" itinerary -- to one of those cities with the return from the other city -- was similar.

C010T3

That's not going to happen in June! The Olympics are only in August and September, so I'm really confident that he will have a good time and not face the same issues that are common when domestic tourists also flock to Rio, like during the Southern Hemisphere summer or during extended holiday weekends.

Dieuwer

Buy an open-jaw ticket?

lyw

Thank you all for your input! I looked into the open jaw itinerary options - and they are all looking slightly more expensive for some reason. I will probably fly RT to Sao Paulo and just stay with a friend there.

As for the increased tourists - I am actually hoping June will be early enough to beat most of the crowd. I also don't really have any other choice in my timeline (starting dental school in July!)

lyw

Oh and one question I'd love an answer to, if anyone knows:

SD --> Sao Paulo RT is $794 for every single day of June under most search engines. There are a few exceptions that shave off a few dollars, but no more than $15 USD. Does anyone happen to know why? (I did some googling but didn't find answers)

Thanks a ton for all of your help