We landed after 16 hours in paradise. A short ride by taxi and we were stranded in Gavea, a quiet, upscale neighborhood with a lot of green surrounded. For us, as a family, security is not an uninteresting point and Gavea gave us this feeling.
We planned to enjoy both ways of the trip – to have enough relaxing days at our pool or turquoise water beaches and some days to explore all the sightseeing. We were really delighted, that sightseeing was not as stressful than expected, because the Brazilian’s adore kids and let us go without making any lines and where in general very friendly and warm people.
A perfect place to escape of some hectic city life was the Botanical Garden, which offered impressive palms, meat eating plants and waterfalls. The kids were running through the park and explored multiple greenhouses, some monuments and had fun with walking stairs up and down to overview the park.
Another dream spot, we had on our bucket list, was the small beach located right below the Sugarloaf, which is really an amazing piece of earth. The beauty of this special light and the view we definitely enjoyed.
We were also spending the evenings listening to the rhythms of Rio´s music, which you can hear allover the city and got spoiled by delicious food of our hotel´s kitchen.
Why do we think, traveling with two little kids from Europe to Rio is a good idea: first of all, Rio is captivating with a mix of relaxing vibes, exotic animals to be close to, outstanding sightseeing and a incomparable spirit of the Cariocas. The kids can discover and learn from different cultures and live long from spectacular colors, soulful music and postcard perfect landscapes, which make the best family adventure.

Photography: Annelie Klein