Porto Alegre - a new gateway to Brazil

This week, TAP, the Portuguese airline, operated the first non-stop flight between Europe and South Brazil.

The 4 times a week flights between Lisbon and Porto Alegre , capital of Rio Grande do Sul, open a new entry point to Brazil and to a region that has been largely overlooked by most visitors to the country.

The most southern State in Brazil is well-known for its gaucho culture, the pampas and the Jesuit Missions but it has more to offer.

Porto Alegre, the capital of the State, is the entry point for the attractive wine region- an easy 2 hours drive- and also the best access to the dramatic canyons of the Aparados da Serra and Serra Geral National Parks- a 3 hours-drive through a newly built dual carriage way.

From Porto Alegre, there are direct flights to some of Brazil best natural attractions, such as Iguazu Falls, the beautiful beaches of Florianopolis and to Curitiba, starting point of the most scenic train ride in Brazil and the gateway to the World Biosphere Reserve of the Atlantic Rainforest.

In the next few blogs we will highlight Rio Grande do Sul's attractions and how Europeans can easily combine a visit to South Brazil to an itinerary to Argentina and Chile, places that also have daily direct flights from Porto Alegre.

Buenos Aires Welcomes Gay & Lesbian Tourists

WELL, I am definitely going way down south on this one, but there is a good reason for it.

Last week we were in Buenos Aires for the GNETWORK event - the 2nd International Meeting for Gay and Lesbian business. The event was at the beautifully designed Axel hotel , the first "hetero friendly" hotel in South America. It was a great event with speakers from all over the world and with a big audience on both days.

I gave a talk on incoming LGBT tourism in Brazil and the promotion of destination Florianopolis for the international LGBT market (here is the connection to this blog!).

Another reason to link Buenos Aires to Florianopolis is that a lot of Europeans and North Americans that visit one, want to visit the other. And it is a great combination for a short holiday: Buenos Aires with all its culture, excellent restaurants and parties and Floripa with its great beaches and relaxing atmosphere (and parties too!).

In summer, there are direct flights (a mere 2 hours journey) between the two cities, making it a very easy going holiday.

Brazil Ecojourneys tips:

• To find your way around gay and lesbian Bs As grab a GMaps guide. Updated every 3 months the guide is a great help for any G and L visitor;
• An economical alternative for accommodation in Buenos Aires is to rent a flat. There are many options but these two companies cater mainly for the LGBT community: BA4U and Friendly Apartments.
• When going out to clubs , remember that Argentineans go out even later than Brazilians- places don't get busy until 3 am!

• Tango has become popular once again with the younger crowd and there are venues that cater for same-sex tango classes- check GMaps for details;