Rio Carnival 2027: dates and parade order

The Rio Carnival is two festivals in one: the competition of the big samba schools in the Sambadrome, and hundreds of free street parties, the blocos, all over the city. The short answer for 2027: carnival falls on Saturday 6 to Tuesday 9 February 2027, with Ash Wednesday on 10 February. The 12 schools of the top league, the Grupo Especial, parade on Sunday 7, Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 February, four per night.

Rio Carnival 2027: the Sambadrome parades

Dates and schools from LIESA, the league of the samba schools of Rio de Janeiro, which organises the Grupo Especial parades (see sources). LIESA publishes the exact start times of each school on its website closer to carnival.

The parades run through the night: each school has a fixed time slot to cross the Marquês de Sapucaí, the avenue of the Sambadrome, with thousands of dancers, drummers and huge floats. The results are announced on Ash Wednesday, and the six best schools traditionally return to the Sambadrome on the Saturday after carnival for the Champions' Parade (Desfile das Campeãs).

Tickets for the Sambadrome

LIESA sells three kinds of places:

According to LIESA, tickets are sold online via Ticketmaster and in person at the LIESA sales centre, Rua da Alfândega 25 in the city centre. Buy only through these channels or well-known resellers; the most popular nights and the sectors near the middle of the avenue sell out first.

Tips for a Sambadrome night:

• Plan for six to eight hours. Four schools pass one after another, each for more than an hour.
• Take the metro. Driving and parking near the Sambadrome are difficult on parade nights.
• Bring little. A small bag, some cash, water, a light rain jacket.

The blocos: carnival in the streets

Most people in Rio celebrate not in the Sambadrome but in the streets. The blocos – street parties with a band or a sound truck – start weeks before carnival and fill neighbourhoods like the city centre, Santa Teresa, Ipanema, Copacabana and Botafogo. Many begin in the morning. They are free; you just join in. The city publishes the official list of blocos with dates, times and meeting points before carnival.

Some practical rules: wear comfortable shoes, carry only what you need, keep your phone close and drink plenty of water – the blocos take place in the full heat of the day.

Weather in February

Averages 2015–2024 from the ERA5 reanalysis (via Open-Meteo), rounded.

February is high summer in Rio: hot and humid, with short, heavy showers. Even at night it rarely drops below 24 °C. Sun protection, light clothes and a small rain cape are more useful than anything warm. YesTrip shows you the forecast for your actual travel days and suggests matching clothes in the packing list.

Getting there and getting around

From London, direct flights to Rio de Janeiro take around 11 to 12 hours; most flights from Europe land at Galeão International Airport (GIG), about 20 km north of the centre. For a late arrival, a pre-booked transfer from Rio airport^* (Kiwitaxi) saves you from looking for a taxi at the airport. In the city, the metro connects the Zona Sul beaches with the centre and the Sambadrome.

If your flight leaves in the evening on the last day, there is luggage storage in Rio de Janeiro^* (Radical Storage), so you can spend one more afternoon at the beach. Tickets for Sugarloaf Mountain or Christ the Redeemer can be booked as timed tickets for Rio sights^* (Tiqets), which helps on the busy carnival days. A travel eSIM for Brazil^* (Airalo) is usually much cheaper than roaming; our eSIM price index compares the prices per gigabyte.

Where to stay

• Copacabana: many hotels, blocos nearby, direct metro to the Sambadrome.
• Ipanema and Leblon: quieter and more expensive, close to the beach.
• Botafogo or Flamengo: between the beaches and the centre, good metro connections.

Hotels in Rio are fully booked and much more expensive over carnival, and many require a minimum stay of several nights. Book months ahead.

More than carnival

Rio is worth more than the carnival days: Sugarloaf Mountain, Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado, the Tijuca Forest and the beaches. Our guide to how many days in Rio de Janeiro helps you plan the rest of the trip, and warm places in February compares other destinations for the season. If you prefer a winter carnival in Europe, the Venice Carnival 2027 takes place at the same time.

In YesTrip, "What's on" lists festivals, events and holidays on the days of your trip, and you can add them to the day plan with one tap.

Rio de Janeiro trip planDay by day, with map and tips

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