Salvador Carnival 'a good alternative to Rio'

While Rio de Janeiro hosts the most famous carnival in Brazil, the annual party in Salvador provides an interesting alternative, according to Lonely Planet.

Tom Hall, the company's travel editor, said that the Rio de Janeiro carnival is "the most famous and certainly the biggest" event of its kind in Brazil.

He said that many people choose to visit Rio as going to a carnival in Brazil is a "once-in-a-lifetime experience".

"Salvador is the one that if you talk to people in Brazil, particularly young people, they will tell you that's the one to go to - particularly for the parties," Mr Hall added.

"It starts the previous Thursday, rolls right through until the next Wednesday at dawn, with two million people taking part in it."

The Rio Carnival will begin on February 13th this year, while the event in Salvador will run from February 11th to 17th.

Companiesandmarkets.com recently published a report highlighting the substantial growth that has occurred in Brazil's tourism industry in recent years, with 7.2 million people visiting the country in 2008.

Posted by Paul, 13 January 2010 14:14

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• Rio De Janeiro