When to go to Rio: Easter or May/June?
 

Hi,

I've snagged a redemption to GIG/GRU over Easter this year but the weather forecast is looking decidedly variable and rainy, will be there for over Easter:

http://www.accuweather.com/en/br/rio...449?view=table

I gather that March, although in their summer, is rainy season?

There's also availability in May/June which looks a little cooler (but still much warmer than the UK) but a lot drier, at least based on weather statistics.

My question... when would you recommend going to Rio to get a decent amount of beach time, late March or May/June?


Thanks!

I prefer the slightly cooler months which are still plenty warm to get beach time. I got back from there yesterday and it was sufficiently warm and we didn't have a lot of rain but the rain is absolutely going to come. I say go later but YMMV.

Did you get much sun, and was the weather forecast pretty accurate or did you find it better/worse in reality?

Looking at the webcams of Rio at the moment it appears very overcast and the beaches are empty!

I've been to Rio a bunch and the weather forecasts are usually pretty good. It was somewhat overcast but we did get some sun and it was pretty hot.

June is usually dryer, sunnier, and cooler (good for sightseeing) in Rio. It's OK to sit out on the beach on a sunny afternoon, but too cool for a New Englander (i.e. used to cold water) to go in the water.

March can be rainy in Rio, and lately it has been. It also can be quite humid in Rio. There is even a well-known song about the rain in March.
Semana Santa (Easter week) is a week when a lot of people travel, so popular places are booked up way ahead.

Other parts of the country are in distinctly different climate zones, so you can usually find someplace that has good beach weather if you are prepared to fly domestically.

Hope things went well for you guys.

For many passports, if you wait long enough, you can avoid the expense and hassle of getting a visa.

This summer has been totally wack- lots of rain and cloudy days. It's possible that El Niño has greatly affected the weather but nobody knows for sure. At any rate, normally I would recommend Easter as opposed to May/June if what you are really after is a beach holiday but this year has been so strange I kind of think it is a toss up.

Care to post links to the beach webcams?

Here's one site with live cams:
http://m.webcams.travel/webcam/13244...pacabana?hl=en

This seems to be the same Copa cam view, and there's a link to one in Ipanema:
http://www.rio-de-janeiro-travel-inf...ro-webcam.html

More links to cams here:
http://www.gringo-rio.com/about-rio-...eiro-web-cams/

Also....if you "follow" the Sou Do Rio page on Facebook, they share a daily forecast that is accurate. Plus they share some gorgeous photos of the city.

What to do?!

I still have a booking for Rio next week, but the weather looks awful:

http://www.accuweather.com/en/br/rio...-weather/45449

Wednesday looks to be a write-off which is fine, Thursday and Friday show promise. I'm not sure how accurate the forecast for next weekend will be though. I'd be disappointed if there were 3 or more days where the beach was a no-go on account of the rain.

What would you do in my shoes... go next week to Rio and hope there's enough sun for the beach, or wait and go in mid-May?

Thanks!

I originally voted for later and maintain.

VidaNaPraia-desculpe, não vi a sua mensagem até agora. But you also already know how we did :)...thank you a million more times!

I'm off to Sao Paulo this week and the weather looks bad, the city really breaks down when it rains a lot. I'm still going.

But, if I were in your shoes going to Rio and was planning to enjoy the outdoors and had the option to postpone my Trip I would. Keep in mind in May there will be less tourist, and not as hot.

Brazil is having a lot of rain this year.

I lived in São Paulo for almost 2 years and feel that the city handles rain as well as any place I've been. In my opinion, the primary reason is that they're used to it. It rains a lot there.

Separately, São Paulo isn't Rio de Janeiro and isn't sitting on the beach in RdJ. OP, think about this...if you're going to Miami Beach, there's 2 major categories of activities to consider - the nightlife and the beach/sea and associated activities. If it rains, are you ok with only the nightlife? Only you can answer that question but if the answer is no, go when the weather will be better. RdJ has more than that but if that's your objective, postpone. Pretty simple formula :) ...

If you read my post I said when it rains a lot. I was just in Sao Paulo and on February 15 a large storm came through, the city had major flooding, city streets were parking lots. A friend of mine that has lived their his whole life as well as hotel employees said this happens when they have heavy rains.

I also was not comparing Sao Paulo to Rio, as the question was they wanted to lay out and enjoy the sun.