When thinking of romantic destinations to go on your honeymoon, Brazil might not be the first place that springs to mind. However, the nation offers plenty for loved up couples to do, from exploring the Amazon to relaxing on beautiful tropical beaches. Here are just a few things you can get up to.
Ihla Grande
After the stress of organising the wedding comes to an end, you might want to find somewhere to travel to on your honeymoon where you can totally unwind. Ihla Grande, situated 150 km from Rio de Janeiro off the southern coast of the nation, could be the ideal place, as it is Brazil’s largest and most beautiful island.
You will be able to really relax on Ihla Grande (or Big Island in English), as there aren’t any banks or cars, so you can simply spend your days lying on its white-sand beaches or walking through the lush forests that cover the island’s slopes.
If you want to get active during your holiday, you can go snorkelling where you’ll spot plenty of brightly-coloured fish in the water, or take a boat trip around the bays, keeping an eye out for dolphins.
Iguacu Falls
Another romantic place to travel to with your new husband or wife is the Iguacu Falls, or Foz do Iguacu in Portuguese. These magnificent falls stretch more than 3 km wide and reach 80 m high, and sit on the border with Argentina.
They are wider than Victoria Falls in Africa and taller than Niagara Falls, making them one of the most breathtaking in the world to see. If you stay on the Brazilian side, you will get a panoramic view of the falls, seeing the expanse of water gush into Rio Iguacu. A great experience that will certainly make your honeymoon memorable is taking a boat trip underneath the waterfall, where you will feel the spray on your face and hear the thunderous noise of the water hitting the river below.
You can also cross the border into Argentina during your trip to Iguacu Falls, enabling you to see a different perspective of the 275 falls in total. Here, you will be able to get incredibly close to the water, taking a look at a number of smaller falls as you walk through the rainforest that surrounds them.
Pantanal
Brazil is an extremely vast country and one destination you could visit if you want to escape with your new spouse is the Pantanal. Located in the north of the country on the border with Bolivia, the Pantanal is a protected area of the nation that stretches more than 210,000 sq km, making it 20 times the size of Florida’s Everglades.
This huge area will certainly allow you and your partner to enjoy some privacy. However, another big reason why many honeymooners come here is for its adventurous wildlife tours, with visitors having a better chance of spotting unique wild creatures – including giant anteaters, hyacinth macaws and rheas – than in the Amazon.
Many trips are run to this region, giving you the chance to go on excursions with trained guides who can find some of these animals for you to look at. However, its rural location and lack of transport mean it can be a challenge getting here. It is therefore best suited to couples who don’t mind travelling a distance for the chance of spotting the likes of armadillos, caimans and capybaras, as well as going piranha fishing! You’ll be surrounded by hoards of wildlife that you are unlikely to have seen before, so it is definitely an experience you’ll remember forever – after your wedding, that is.
