Brazil is South America's biggest and most influential country and takes up almost half the continent. It is one of the world's economic giants and is revered for its football prowess, coffee production and distinctive music such as samba and bossa nova. Two-thirds of Brazil's population lives near the coast, meaning that life is a beach for locals and tourists alike. People are the essence of the country, and while Brazil is home to a multitude of ethnic groups of varying economic status, there are some characteristics that everyone shares – energy and passion.

It is not all reserved for football either; Brazilians enjoy a good party whatever the circumstances. Rio is the hottest of destinations, particularly around Carnival time. Dancers gyrate, the music beats and the summer temperature rises. Almost anything goes. Bodies of all ages, colours and sizes don the very minimum in beachwear and idle away the days on the sun-kissed Copacabana and Ipanema beaches. Volleyball, swimming and people-watching are but a few of the activities in which you can indulge.

Brazil's landscape is as diverse as the people who inhabit it. Few tourists venture far from Brazil's spectacular beaches but a trip into the interior reveals a different Brazil, one with a great deal to offer the visitor. Brazil includes much of the world's biggest rainforest around the Amazon, whose exploitation has become a major environmental worry. Almost entirely covered with dense rainforest, Brazil's northern interior is split into the vast regions of Amazonas, Pará, Acre and Rondônia. These massive federal states easily outstrip the land resources of many European countries and, combined, cover over 3,400,000 sq km (1,300,000 sq miles) of endless jungle home to lush vegetation and countless species of life.

Brazil's massive assortment of people and places renders it ripe for choice.