You have the North East of Brazil, Fortaleza, Natal, Recife - but December/January will be busy. This is technically the start of the Brazilian Summer (You are below the equator) and many Brazilians will be on holiday. The weather here is hot, dry and sunny every day during Dec and Jan so pack your summer outfits.

Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo are also very popular and will get very crowded. The weather here is not such a safe bet as the North east, however, for the most part of the day you should get sunshine, warmth with perhaps the odd shower in between, again pack your summer outfits !

If you intend to be there on New Year's Eve you can expect to pay a high price for your hotel room, especially in Rio or São Paulo. The North East will be cheaper than the South, but still expensive. Book as early as you can as the best hotels will get snapped up quickly.

Points to consider :-

Brazil is a wonderful country and attracts many tourists. However, most Brazilians only speak one language - Brazilian Portuguese - and you must not expect that everyone will understand English. Be prepared to learn some Brazilian Portuguese before you go if only out of respect for the local people. Brazilians love to talk, and the very fact they you don't understand Brazilian Portuguese will not stop them from talking to you. You may find a little Spanish or Italian may be useful, but all replies will be in Brazilian Portuguese.

It is a simple fact of life that millions and millions of people in Brazil are poor. In Rio the average life expectancy of a poor boy is 25 years. Crime is rife here (and in São Paulo, Recife and Fortaleza) and you along with other Brazilians have to be aware of your safety at all times. If you are a tourist you will stick out like a sore thumb and become a potential target to releive you of your valuables.

If you wear jewellry, leave it at home. And this includes earrings, wedding bands, engagements rings, watches etc etc. You don't need these in Brazil. Try to carry the least amount of money with you when going out - day and night. Do not hide money in your footwear. If you're not wearing open toed sandals or flip-flops around the beaches you could say bye bye to your Reeboks or Nikes and any money you've hidden inside them. Try to blend in with the locals and not wear your best designer goods from Harrod's or Bloomingdales. You don't need to impress anybody here in Brazil. Take as little as possible to the beach. No back packs or bags, if you can't carry it in your hand, you don't need it ! Take photos of the beach from the safety of your hotel room - they will be better !

At night, do not walk around aimlessly, stick to the well lit areas of Rio along the beach. Use taxis as much as possible to get around at night. Do not use public transport at night. Do not talk loudly in your mother tongue, you are not in London, NY or Paris, you will only impress the people trying to find rich pickings to prey on. If you are misfortunate to come across trouble, do NOT resist, they only want money (not your credit cards) and usually they will throw your empty wallet, purse or pocket book onto the ground.

Be very careful of people buying you drinks, you don't know what has been put inside the drink.

Of course, there are some places where you will feel more at home, try Cumbuco, near Fortaleza if you love the beach but don't expect 5 star hotels or restaurants. For that go to Buzios (2 hours from Rio) or the beach resorts along the coast from São Paulo to Rio. These are relatively quiet resorts compared to RIo but deemed to be safer. Natal in the North East is described as the safest city in Brazil. But tourism is a double edged sword as the British and Dutch are rapidly developing this area. This area will soon rival the Canary Islands for tourism. (Both having identical weather patterns)

If you have time and are planning to go to São Paulo or Rio, you might want to check out Foz do Iguacu and see the best waterfalls in the world. I would suggest you spend one day on the Brazilian side and another day on the Argentinian side the next (in that order). When you cross the frontier by road you only need show your passport to get through in either direction. In 2008, the cost of all day taxi from the Brazilian side was around R$ 200 (US $100) for 4 people each paying R$ 50. Very inexpensive day out and you will have wonderful memories of the Natural World that you will never forget. You'll pass a duty free shop where you will be allowed to take back to Brazil 200 cigarettes (Most US brands) and 1 litre of alcohol (drinks from all over the world) and even electrical items, clothes etc. In Argentina the tourism in Iguazu (Spanish spelling) is more upmarket and English is spoken.