Ten hours across the Atlantic and you land in late summer: 30°C, a warm sea and the carnival crowds already gone home.
GOL is flying non-stop from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro from €683 return. The cheapest dates fall in the second half of March 2027, leaving Lisbon late at night and landing in Rio at breakfast time.
✈️ The deal
- From: Lisbon, Portugal
- To: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Airline: GOL
- Stops: Non-stop
- Price: €683–€684 return
- When: March 2027
Example dates:
13/03/2027 - 31/03/2027
15/03/2027 - 29/03/2027
16/03/2027 - 31/03/2027
The outbound leaves Lisbon at 23:35 and lands at Galeão at 06:35. The return leaves at 08:00 and is back in Lisbon by 21:40. The Basic fare includes hand luggage only, no checked bag.
💰 How far does your money go?
Rio is not as cheap as it looks from the beach, but the everyday stuff is. A cold chopp at a boteco costs around €2, about the same as an imperial in Lisbon. A prato feito, the daily plate of rice, beans, meat and salad, is around €6, roughly half a lunch special in a Lisbon tasca. A fresh coconut on the sand is €2, and a metro ride is €1.25.
☀️ The weather
March is the tail end of summer in Rio. Days reach 29 to 31°C and nights stay at around 23°C. The sea is at its warmest, close to 26°C. Expect short, heavy afternoon showers on 10 to 12 days of the month, usually gone within the hour.
🏨 Where to stay
Botafogo for value, Ipanema for the beach, Santa Teresa for something special.
Mango Tree Hostel · 8.6/10 · From €22/night A laid-back hostel one block from Ipanema beach, with private rooms as well as dorms.
Yoo2 Rio de Janeiro · 8.7/10 · From €90/night A modern hotel in Botafogo with a rooftop pool facing Sugarloaf, two minutes from the metro.
Hotel Santa Teresa Rio MGallery · 9.2/10 · From €300/night A former coffee plantation house on the hill, with a pool, a spa and views over the bay.
🎯 What to do
In March, Rio is still in summer mode, just without the carnival crowds.
Monday samba at Pedra do Sal. A free street samba session on the old stone steps of Little Africa, where the music was born.
Tijuca Forest. One of the largest urban forests in the world, with waterfalls and a trail up to Pico da Tijuca, the highest point in the city.
Prainha and Grumari. Wild beaches in the far west of the city, with green hills, clear water and almost no buildings.
Sunset from Mirante Dona Marta. A viewpoint halfway up Corcovado with the whole bay below, and far fewer people than at the Christ statue.
🗺️ Where to go from here
Rio makes an easy base for the rest of Brazil.
São Paulo. South America's biggest city, with the best food scene in Brazil, about one hour by plane from Santos Dumont. Search flights
Ouro Preto. A baroque gold-rush town of churches and steep cobbled streets, one hour by plane to Belo Horizonte and two hours by road. Search flights
Trindade. A small fishing village of natural pools and jungle-backed beaches, around five hours down the coast by bus.
Fernando de Noronha. A protected archipelago with some of the clearest water in Brazil, reached by plane via Recife. Search flights
Lisbon to Rio non-stop from €683 return. With only a few dates under €700, this one is worth booking early.
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