INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL
Rio de Janeiro
BY BYRON LUKAS
JANUARY TURNS RIO INTO A SUN-SOAKED DREAM OF SAMBA REHEARSALS, HOT BEACHES AND LATE-NIGHT STREET MAGIC. IT’ S NOT CARNIVAL YET, BUT THE CITY FEELS LIKE IT’ S WARMING YOU UP FOR IT.
If any city wakes up dancing, it’ s Rio de Janeiro. And if any month makes the city glow under the tropical sun, it’ s January. Carnival may only erupt in February, but January is Rio’ s way of teasing you. Warm beach days, late-night samba rehearsals, and the scent of lime-filled caipirinhas drift through the air. This isn’ t just a holiday. It’ s a full-body experience, a flirtation with a city that knows exactly how to draw you in.
WELCOME TO RIO’ S ENDLESS SUMMER
Step off the plane at Rio de Janeiro – Galeão International Airport, and the heat hits you instantly. It’ s the kind of warmth that makes your skin glow before you’ ve even unpacked. Everywhere you go, January feels like stepping into a postcard charged with rhythm. mate, fresh coconuts, and queijo coalho skewers sizzling on tiny grills. The Atlantic water is warm, almost intimate; when hunger strikes, there are açaí bowls, bolinhos de bacalhau, and feijoada ready to satisfy even the hungriest appetite.
THE PRE-CARNIVAL PULSE
January in Rio means ensaios, samba rehearsals that form the heartbeat of the city. They’ re open, raw, and electric. These are not the polished performances of Carnival, but the gritty, sweaty sessions where rhythms are tested and energy builds.
Copacabana buzzes. Ipanema smoulders. Somewhere between the two, you realise Rio isn’ t just a destination. It’ s a mood.
Mornings pass slowly. Locals head to the beach before the sun rises too high – string bikinis and Speedos sparkle against the shoreline. Vendors weave through the sand selling icy
JANUARY 2026 / INBOUND SA 83