Rio Carnival: the Sambadrome, street blocos and how to plan

The Sambadrome, designed by Oscar Niemeyer and opened in 1984, is a parade avenue with grandstands on both sides, in the Marquês de Sapucaí area. The top-group schools parade on the Sunday and Monday nights of Carnival, one at a time, each taking roughly an hour and twenty minutes, with several hours of programme per night.

It is a judged competition, scored on categories including percussion, harmony, theme, floats and the opening commission. Results come out the following Wednesday, and the Champions' Parade on the Saturday after brings back the best-placed schools. Access-group schools parade on other nights, with cheaper tickets and a much emptier venue.

Grandstands are numbered by sector along the avenue, and the experience changes considerably with position. Central sectors give the most complete view of a parade; sectors near the start catch schools still organising themselves; sectors at the end catch them already tired. Some sectors are traditionally more popular with international visitors.

Besides grandstands there are frisas — boxes at the edge of the runway — trackside chairs and hospitality suites with service included, at wildly different price levels. Sales run through official channels and authorised operators, and informal resale is a real problem: buying from unaccredited third parties is the most common source of an invalid ticket.

Street blocos are open, free processions spread across practically every neighbourhood. Some pull enormous crowds through the centre and the south zone; others are small and local, with a neighbourhood crowd and a family feel. The calendar starts weeks before the official holiday and continues on the following weekends.

Traditional blocos such as Cordão da Bola Preta in the centre, and processions in Santa Teresa, Botafogo, Ipanema and Laranjeiras, appear every year — but times, meeting points and routes change and depend on permits. The official programme is only confirmed close to the date: use the city hall and Riotur calendars rather than lists from previous years.

Accommodation and flights are the bottleneck. Prices in Rio during Carnival rise sharply and availability disappears months ahead, especially in the south zone and the centre. Many places impose a multi-night minimum stay for the period. Booking months in advance is not excessive; it is how the market normally works.

Carnival dates move every year because they depend on Easter: the holiday falls between early February and early March. Before buying anything, confirm the calendar for that specific year, and remember the city operates on an extended-holiday footing, with shops, museums and services on reduced hours.

Large blocos mean heat, crowds and very little access to a toilet. Plenty of water, sunscreen, a hat, light clothing, closed shoes and the absolute minimum in your pockets is the standard kit. Carry ID and a limited amount of cash, use a zipped bum bag, and leave your passport and spare cards at your accommodation.

Transport changes during Carnival: streets are closed, bus routes divert and the metro usually runs extended hours on specific days, with its own access rules at stations near big blocos. Agree a meeting point with your group, because phone signal drops in crowds — the most common and most predictable problem of the whole festival.