When is Rio Carnival 2027?

5–10 February 2027. The Special Group parades at the Sambadrome are on the Sunday and Monday nights, 7 and 8 February.

Only for the Sambadrome. The street blocos — which is most of Carnival — are free and happen all over the city.

On the metro line. Copacabana and Ipanema are the visitor districts; Botafogo and Flamengo are closer to the Sambadrome and cost less.

What time do the parades finish?

Around sunrise. Each night runs from about 9pm with six schools, and the last one finishes after 5am.

Is the Champions Parade worth staying for?

If you can: the winning schools parade again the Saturday after Carnival, with the same costumes and a fraction of the ticket price.

Rio Carnival 2027

Name: Rio Carnival 2027
Start: 2027-02-05
End: 2027-02-10
Location: Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

5–10 Feb 2027

Confirmed by organizer

Carnival is fixed by Easter rather than announced: the five days run Friday to Ash Wednesday, and with Easter on 28 March 2027 that is 5–10 February.

97days to go

Hotels for these dates

Right Weekend earns a commission when you book through links on this page. It never affects which days or districts we recommend.

Our verdict

Go: Sunday and Monday for the Sambadrome, mornings for the blocos
Stay: Botafogo & Flamengo
Book by: June 2026 — Copacabana at Carnival is a nine-month booking

Two events share the week: the parades in the Sambadrome on the Sunday and Monday nights, and the street blocos that take over the city from dawn. Stay on the metro line that serves both, and remember the parades run from 9pm to sunrise.

Illustration: a samba parade avenue at night, feathered costumes under floodlights, grandstands packed with spectators, motion blur — Illustration — a generated image of the kind of scene, not a photograph of the venue.

Which days to go

Day	What happens	Hotel price	Our call
Opening days5–6 Feb 2027	Street blocos across the city; the Sambadrome holds the access-group parades	×2.4	The blocos are free and the best of them run in the morning — set an alarm
Sambadrome nights7–8 Feb 2027	The Special Group parades, six schools a night, from 9pm until sunrise	×3	The two nights people fly in for; buy the seats before the flights
Closing days9–10 Feb 2027	More blocos, a quieter city, and prices beginning to fall	×2	The cheapest nights of the week, with the same streets and no queue

Hotel price is what the same hotel costs on these dates against its rate four weeks before the event. Crowd and price are our estimates from how the event has run, not live rates.

Where to stay

Sambadrome Marquês de SapucaíNorth is up. Numbers match the table.

#	District	To the venue	Price	What it is
1	Copacabana	35 min metro	$$$$	The beach, the big hotels and a metro line to the Sambadrome; where visitors stay
2	Ipanema & Leblon	40 min metro	$$$$	Quieter, smarter, better blocos in the morning; the same metro, one stop further
3	Botafogo & Flamengo	25 min metro	$$$	Between the beaches and the centre, residential, and closest to the Sambadrome line
4	Santa Teresa & Lapa	20 min taxi	$$$	The hill above the arches; guesthouses, street parties below, noise all night
5	Barra da Tijuca	60 min drive	$$$	An hour west, modern and calm, where rooms exist when the Zona Sul has none

Hotel	What it is	Book
Copacabana
Belmond Copacabana Palace	The address of Carnival, and priced as such a year ahead	Booking Expedia
Hotel Arpoador	Between the two beaches, walkable to the morning blocos	Booking Expedia
Botafogo & Flamengo
Yoo2 Rio de Janeiro by Intercity	On the bay with a metro station, twenty-five minutes from the Sambadrome	Booking Expedia
Santa Teresa & Lapa
Hotel Santa Teresa Rio MGallery	On the hill above Lapa, which is where the street party is	Booking Expedia
Barra da Tijuca
Grand Hyatt Rio de Janeiro	An hour west, for when the Zona Sul is full	Booking Expedia

When to book

12 mo beforeFebruary 2026
Beachfront Copacabana and Ipanema at a normal rate
Already gone
9 mo beforeMay 2026
The rest of the Zona Sul, and Sambadrome seats in the good sectors
Already gone
6 mo beforeAugust 2026
Botafogo, Flamengo and the Santa Teresa guesthouses
Already gone
3 mo beforeNovember 2026
Anything on the metro; Barra and the west are what is left

Getting there

Galeão takes international flights and is 45 minutes from the Zona Sul; Santos Dumont is for domestic routes and sits fifteen minutes from the centre.

The metro runs extended hours through Carnival and reaches both the beaches and the Sambadrome — Praça Onze and Central are the stations for the parades. Taxis and rideshares cannot cross the closed streets, so the metro is not a preference, it is the plan.

February is high summer: 35°C, afternoon storms, and parades that finish at sunrise. Sleep in the middle of the day like everyone else.

Flights to GIG Trains and buses

Tickets

Questions

When is Rio Carnival 2027?: 5–10 February 2027. The Special Group parades at the Sambadrome are on the Sunday and Monday nights, 7 and 8 February.
Do I need a ticket?: Only for the Sambadrome. The street blocos — which is most of Carnival — are free and happen all over the city.
Where should I stay?: On the metro line. Copacabana and Ipanema are the visitor districts; Botafogo and Flamengo are closer to the Sambadrome and cost less.
What time do the parades finish?: Around sunrise. Each night runs from about 9pm with six schools, and the last one finishes after 5am.
Is the Champions Parade worth staying for?: If you can: the winning schools parade again the Saturday after Carnival, with the same costumes and a fraction of the ticket price.

Updated 2026-10-29 ·See every event in 2027