When you think of Brazil, the first place that comes to most peoples mind is Rio de Janeiro. It is the most well known Brazilian place in the world. In March, I decided to take my wife to see the country I am from.

Growing up in Brazil, it is very common for parents to take their kids to a beach vacation or weekend getaway. I wanted to introduce my country to my wife and I wanted her to see the best of it. We took this trip as our honeymoon and it was AWESOME.

After a 9 hour flight from Houston, TX, we landed in Sao Paulo and we started our journey from there. We rented a car and start driving. I took her to Ubatuba, SP, the beach I grew up visiting for a sunset evening. We stayed at an Airbnb with a awesome view. We stayed there for 2 nights and then we went off north towards Rio. Instead taking the bigger highway, we drove along the coast. It was full of amazing views, beaches, local businesses and some colonial architecture.

We made to Rio and drove around some sites but my wife doesn’t do well in crowded, touristy places so we skipped Rio and continued heading north to our second Airbnb in Arraial do Cabo, RJ. It was a long day driving through Rio’s traffic jams but the views made it worth it.

We arrived in Arraial do Cabo in the evening, checked in and headed to the boardwalk for dinner. We came across this restaurant at the beach with live music and good smells. We had a blast! The food was so amazing and fresh that we went to there every night. The following days, we explored the town known as the “Brazilian Caribbean.” Each beach has crystal clear water, white sand and the weather was great for the entire trip. We took a boat tour around and visited 6 beaches. One of them had a 500 year old tree.

One of the days, we got in the car and headed north for the day. I took my wife to a town called Buzios. It’s a destination and stop for many cruise ships. It’s night life is great; lot’s of young people and the town has this high energy all the time. Since my wife doesn’t like busy places, we got on a boat taxi and went to a low key beach. We rented paddle boards and explored the place. The water was so clear that we could see sank ships and small boats and statues under water. We also spotted some sea turtles! The only bummer was that our camera was out of battery.

Next day, we drove back to Rio and explored the “Wonderful City” for the day and headed to the airport to start our journey back to US. I may be bias but Brazil is one of the top places I have ever been.