Im looking at renting an apartment next year in brazil! ive been looking on the net and prices are very good in rio.Im open to other places in brazil and in south america.If any one had suggestions of nice places with lots to do. I was looking at a month in brazil and traveling a few places for another month or get another apartment in a different place for a month such as peru. I want to be near a good dive site to finish a padi course but apart from that am very flexilble. Would love to here suggestions from anyone that travelled or lived in brazil and south america.Any hints tips would be welcome. Even if anyone thought i should look to another part of the world.

I cant really help about apartments but I can surely suggest places to visit! Brazil is huge! Staying in Rio, I would suggest to consider spending a few days in Ilha Grande and Buzios - my favorite places. *Good travel guide: "Rio for parties"

If you go to the northeast, Fernando de Noronha is an interesting place that I havent been yet. Actually, the northeast of Brazil is a paradise: the dunes, the beaches, the white sand, the fruits.. Ive been to Natal. Its beautiful!

Since you're looking at Rio, I suppose you don't mind having tourists around. If so, you should check out the options in Praia de Pipa/Pipa Beach. It's a small and safe place to stay, and although it's been extremely developed during the last decade or so, solitude and undisturbed nature can be found close by. Also, because of the development, you should have no problem at all finding a comfortable and inexpensive place to rent for a month there.

Within striking distance of Pipa you have several great diving sites, and you can reach Fernando de Noronha by flying out of Natal just a bit further north on the coast, or from Recife a bit further south. (Very much recommended, especially for diving. I have some photos and stories from these places on my Web site, see below.)

Happy trails,

Bjørn
http://bjornfree.com/

Thank you for your suggestions and taking time to reply. Ive found a nice place thats cheap in natal by the beach so think ill spend a month there. Really want to get to fernando de noronha now, it looks amazing. Any one know any cheap places to stay there??

There are lots of inexpensive basic "guesthouses" on Noronha, often just a room in somebody's house. You can find them when you get there or book ahead by phone.

A trip to Fernando will be expensive anyway, because getting there isn't cheap. There's a daily plane from Natal and one from Recifé, and that's it. (I think, you should check that.) The government don't want too many tourists there, to preserve the island. And they definitely don't want people to stay there for long when they visit. So there's a progressive visitor tax that must be paid when you arrive. 3-4 days isn't too expensive, but a month is really, really going to cost you.

If you find a good travel agent in Natal, they may be able to get you a good deal on flight+accommodation, but it's not going to be particularly cheap.

There MAY be one option that can get you there for a low price. If they still sell flight coupons in connection with your flight to Brazil, you may in theory travel from anywhere in Brazil to anywhere else in Brazil for the price of one coupon, which probably costs US$100-200. You may have to buy at least 5 coupons, though... Which will work out well for you if you're also planning on seeing other and more remote parts of Brazil. Again, a travel agent can help you, but you may also find this information by surfing the Web sites of the major airlines of Brazil.

Good luck with that,

Bjørn
http://bjornfree.com/

You may want to consider staying in Salvador. Of course you should try to visit Rio but I have found that the NE is my favorite place in Brasil. Depending on the time of year you arrive an apartment can be had for around $R750 month. If you will be in Brasil for Carnival then expect to pay about %25 more for housing.

Of course I am biased as I live in Salvador but I have traveled throughout much of the country and feel this area is the heart - sure, that might be because of the pulsing rhythm of all of the drums of Bahia!