Salvador Carnival is "The World's Largest Party". No other popular party in the world is more famous than Salvador Carnival in Bahia Brazil. It is an explosion of happiness you’ve certainly never seen before. The Carnival happens in every city of the country, but no other city in Brazil has a carnival as the Salvador Carnival. We know that this may sound strange to foreigners who always ask: “what about Rio?” No doubt, the carnival parade in Rio is maybe the most beautiful spectacle in the world, but if you are looking for real fun, the Salvador Carnival is the place to go. Salvador Carnival is different and bigger. If in Rio you are a spectator of the parade, in the Salvador Carnival you are the show. If in Rio the carnival parades are done in two days, the Salvador Carnival last one week!!! Carnival in Rio parade is just 700 meters of street while SALVADOR CARNIVAL in Bahia takes kilometers of streets. Salvador Carnival, or Carnaval (as it's spelled in Portuguese) always starts on a Thursday (february) and it runs "officially" through Tuesday. Unofficially, Salvador Carnival ends on Wednesday noon, with a big parade of Timbalada and other trios. It is not a coincidence that thousands of Brazilians move to Salvador every February. Let us try to explain how the things occur. Instead of the famous parade of Samba Schools with those wonderful fantasies that most of the people know, Salvador Carnival happen “behind the Trio Eletrico”.


THE SALVADOR CARNIVAL WAY:

Roughly speaking, the Trio Elétrico is a big truck, driven very slowly, loaded with thousands of watts of sound equipments and with a band playing on the top. Surrounding the truck, there is a big rope carried by hundreds of security guards. This structure is organized by a private company, called “bloco”. Each Bloco sells a different T-shirt called “Abadá”. This T-shirt is you entrance ticket and allows you to get into the rope area. The biggest Blocos, like the Camaleão, have over four thousand people, dancing, drinking, kissing and having fun during Salvador Carnival. The people who aren't in blocos, and therefore are outside of the roped-off areas around the trios, are called "Pipoca". Inside the rope the security is good and the situation is reasonably organized, what cannot be said at the “Pipoca”.


SALVADOR CARNIVAL ACCOMODATIONS

We recommend you to book your Salvador Carnival accomodation in advance. Forget about reasonable pricing and international standards, instead, think about offer and demand. Salvador is a 3 million city, and in just one week of Salvador Carnival 1 million people gathered to enjoy the party. So this is it about Salvador Carnival accomodation prices.

Logically, the closer you stay from the two Salvador carnival parade areas the more expensive the accomodation. But the impact of 1 million people makes every single place become expensive. No matter your choice, you are basically paying not for the accomodation itself but for attending the biggest party on earth!.

SALVADOR CARNIVAL HOTELS & POUSADAS

You can find these kind of accomodations, from a fancy hotel, four stars in international standards, to a budget Hotel (or Pousada) from BRL3000 to 6000 a week for two people. The difference depends on the hotel location and facilities. Be aware that "attendance" isn't one of the attractions in Salvador Bahia Hotels, so relax.

SALVADOR CARNIVAL GUESTHOUSES & HOSTELS

These are probably the best cost-effective accomodation in Salvador Carnival, Either if you don't mind to share a room or if you're coming in a group of 4+ each dolar will give you more satisfaction in these kind of places. Why? Because Salvador is still away from tourism international standards so the more you spend on an accomodation the more you'll complain about it. From the fancy guesthouses and hostels run by foreigners to the cheap (an usually ugly) places to stay prices range from BRL600 to 1100 per person for a week, again depending on location and facilities. There are only few guesthouses and hostels, maybe just five, that can offer good attendance in foregin languages together with nice decoration, facilities and great mood. Unless low price is the only thing that matters, we recommend:

www.salvadorms.com   www.barraguesthouse.com   www.openhousebarra.com

To find Hostels and Guesthouses in Salvador Bahia we recommend these guides that have realistic ratings about places:

www.bahiahostels.com   www.bahiaguesthouses.com   www.hostelsalvador.com

SALVADOR CARNIVAL APARTMENTS

Apartments are a great chance for groups, although you have to be careful from who you rent the apartment. A nice full equiped apartment for six people, walking distance to the beach and the carnival cost around BRL6000. You can find oceanfront three bedroom apartments for BRL8000, and those with a Carnival front view cost even more. Logically price also depends on how you want to share the apartment, weather you want to stay two people in a room or more. There are also guesthouses and realtors offering shared apartments what is also a good chance for couples or small groups who prefer the privacy of an apartment instead of a shared room on a hostel. The point with apartments is this: Carnival has two parades, one takes place on a very unsafe and ugly neighborhood, (forget about accomodations in the "Avenida - Centro" area) the other takes places in Barra - Ondina, fine and safe areas. So it's simply a matter of availability. Consider that two thirds of available apartments are occupied by families who agree to rent their places during Carnival, so this is another issue that makes prices jump so high, since these families have to pay for their accomodation somewhere else. When looking for a Carnival front view apartment it gets even harder since only 1% of available places are Carnival front. That is why the sooner you book the better the price. Considering price and trustability we recommend:

www.bahiaflats.com   www.salvadorapartments.info   www.bahiapart.com

SALVADOR CARNIVAL PARADES & ABADAS

One tip, if you want to go to Salvador Carnival don’t think about saving money not buying the Abadás! It is absolutely necessary. Other good option is buy the entrance for a “Camarote” (a kind of balcony along the parade route) from which they can watch the trios and then descend into the street when they feel like. The most famous Blocos, but not necesarily the best, are The Camaleão and Nana Banana, played by the band Chiclete com Banana, Crocodilo played by Daniela Mercury and Coruja played by Ivete Sangalo. The party normally last for 1 week. The Salvador Carnival always starts a little early so they can enjoy a longer period of party. There are 2 circuits from where the Blocos pass through. One close to the old district and another close to the beach. Each bloco plays for 3 days. You can by “abadás” for all these days, or just for one day. If you want, you can also mix different blocos, that is the alternative to see everything the Salvador Carnival can offer. You can also buy “abadás” for the Camarote (balconies), an option for those who want to have fun without getting too tired. It also provides a great view from the party. Just remember that it is not so safe and comfortable (for the first timers) to stay at the “Pipoca”, so we advice you to either buy the “abadá” or stay in a Camarote. Another traditional aspect of the Salvador Carnival are the Afro blocos, that are important agents for the resurgence of African-Brazilian identity. The most famous are the Ile-Ayê and the Filhos de Gandhi (Gandhi’s Sons), over 5000 men, all them using white dresses and turbans.

The three Carnival parades are:
1. The Campo Grande - Praça Castro Alves parade, also called “Avenida” parade
2. The Barra - Ondina parade
3. The Pelourinho parade 1. The Campo Grande parade
Salvador Carnival's official opening is at Campo Grande, and this is where the political bigshots sit and where the Salvador Carnival contest of blocos takes place. The trios move from Campo Grande by the Avenida Sete de Setembro to Praça Castro Alves. From there they turn around and make their way back to Campo Grande by Rua Carlos Gomes, parallel to Avenida Sete.

2. The Barra - Ondina parade
The trios start at the Farol da Barra (the light tower) and go along the ocean to Ondina. The course takes about three hours. Nowadays there is a tendency for the bigger names to play on this parade.

3. The Pelourinho parade
It has been added in the last years No trios here, rather a lot of old-time marching bands and people with costumes.

SALVADOR CARNIVAL TRIOS / BLOCOS

From hte musical point of view we recommend these Trios/Blocos: Olodum, Timbalada, Araketu, Coruja, Crocodilo and Expresso 2222

Also attractive are these Trios - Artists: Ilê Aiyê, Psirico, Motumba,

The Police Salvador Carnival is heavily policed. Stands with five or six seated police officers are everywhere and the streets are constantly patrolled by police groups moving in single file usually arriving quickly to break up the fights.

How to Avoid Being Robbed During Salvador Carnival The words “Land of Happiness” are often used to describe Bahia. While there is a strong element of truth in this, the reality (as in the cast of most things we learn) is a little more complicated. The larger truth of the matter is that you are in a poor city with plenty of inhabitants who would happily finance their own Carnival happiness at your expense. This means "pickpocketing" in an often grossly unsubtle manner, i.e. hands jammed into your pockets with no pretense at all made to disguise the fact that somebody is trying to relieve you of your money.

How to avoid this? One way is to stay out of and away from the pipoca (the Carnival crowds) the name comes from people jumping up and down like popcorn popping to the music rhythm). But who wants to come all the way to Bahia and do this?

Better to:
Tie your keys into your shoelaces and keep your money stuffed into your sock.
Better yet: keep your money either in an inside pocket or in a change purse attached by a strong safety pin, to the inside of your Carnival shorts.
Better yet: do the former using gym pants with no outside pockets at all.







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