Rio Carnival 2027 runs from Friday, February 5, when the second-tier samba schools open the parades, to Ash Wednesday, February 10. The ticketed headline nights are Sunday, February 7 to Tuesday, February 9, and if you only buy one thing, buy one of those nights from Ticketmaster at R$ 250. Around that, Rio runs on three tracks at once: the samba schools in the Sambadrome, hundreds of free street parties called blocos, and a lot of private balls. Most visitors only plan for the first one, and then spend the trip wondering why a bloco was cancelled, why a ticket costs more than expected, or why their phone is gone. Everything below is built on what Liesa, the city and the press have published so far (checked October 20, 2026). Prices are in reais, with a rough conversion at the October 20, 2026 rate (R$ 1 is about $0.20 or 0.18 euros).
Rio Carnival 2027 Dates, Night by Night
The competition has two divisions. The second tier, the Série Ouro, parades on Friday, February 5 and Saturday, February 6, with 17 schools split over two nights. In April, Diario do Rio reported an earlier start than usual, at 20:50, with the rules still to be debated, so confirm the time before you buy. The two best schools move up to the top group for 2028. The headline show, the Grupo Especial, takes three nights, with four schools each. The order was drawn in April and is published on the Liesa site.
| Night | What parades | Order |
|---|---|---|
| Fri, Feb 5 | Série Ouro (8 schools) | Reported start 20:50 |
| Sat, Feb 6 | Série Ouro (9 schools) | Reported start 20:50 |
| Sun, Feb 7 | Grupo Especial | União de Maricá, Beija-Flor, Paraíso do Tuiuti, Vila Isabel |
| Mon, Feb 8 | Grupo Especial | Mocidade, Unidos da Tijuca, Salgueiro, Imperatriz Leopoldinense |
| Tue, Feb 9 | Grupo Especial | Portela, Viradouro, Grande Rio, Mangueira |
| Sat, Feb 13 | Champions Parade | The six best schools return |
The Champions Parade, the Saturday after Ash Wednesday, is a good plan B if you can't be in Rio for the main days, and a grandstand seat for it was announced at the same R$ 250 as the three Grupo Especial nights.
Sambadrome Tickets: Sectors, Prices, Where to Buy
The Sambadrome is a 700-meter strip of Marquês de Sapucaí street with grandstands on both sides, designed by Oscar Niemeyer and finished in 1984. Grandstand seats are numbered by sector. In the 2027 public sales so far the price is a flat R$ 250 per night (about $50 or 44 euros) for the grandstand sectors 2 to 11, with sector 9 left out, and for the numbered chairs in sector 12. Sector 9 is the exception because, according to Liesa's FAQ (an older page, so confirm it), its numbered seats are sold through the Rio travel agents' association for visitors who book a package. It's one price for every night and every one of those sectors, which makes the choice simple. Half-price tickets are R$ 125 (around $25), limited to one per CPF (the Brazilian tax ID) and meant for students, people with disabilities, people 60 and over and low-income youth, as Diario do Rio reported. Per-buyer limits are small and have changed between rounds: Poder360 reported a cap of four tickets in August, and in September Liesa allowed two per parade night per CPF, plus one frisa per CPF per night. Read the rules on the page when you buy.
The only official seller is Ticketmaster, as Liesa's September announcement explains. The earlier rounds, including a three-night pass and a sambista ticket (bought in advance, with the night chosen later), have already been sold, and the September round re-offered seats returned through cancellations and fraud checks, so late buyers get a second chance. Frisas, the boxes next to the track for up to six people, ran from R$ 1,835 to R$ 10,200 per night (roughly $365 to $2,030). Liesa has said it is working against scalpers and, on October 16, said frisa tickets will turn into wristbands handed out in advance, with data collection for every occupant still being studied. Buy only from the official channel, and check Liesa's news page before paying anyone else.
So which night should you buy? The price is the same on all of them, so the only question is which schools you want. Our pick for a first-timer is Tuesday, February 9, because it closes the competition with Portela, Viradouro, Grande Rio and Mangueira, two of them among the best-known names in samba. Monday, February 8 is the alternative if you'd rather see Salgueiro, Unidos da Tijuca, Mocidade and Imperatriz. Sunday, February 7 is the lighter pick, with Beija-Flor, Paraíso do Tuiuti, Vila Isabel and União de Maricá. That's a judgment call, not a ranking, and results and rivalries change every year. Whichever night, expect to sit for hours: four schools, each with thousands of dancers, add up to a very long evening.
How to buy, in short: use Ticketmaster, pick the night, and take any seat in sectors 2 to 11 (except 9) or 12, since they all cost the same. In September, Liesa said sales stay open until sold out, and Ticketmaster opened a virtual waiting room 30 minutes before the sale, with a random place in the queue, so joining early doesn't guarantee a spot. The limits count per CPF, and we couldn't confirm how a foreign buyer without one gets in, so ask Liesa's service line at (21) 3190-2100 or book sector 9 through a travel agent. Liesa has also said it will announce a later round for the popular sectors 12 and 13 at the Apoteose end, with no prices published yet. If you can't get a seat, the rehearsals below cost nothing.
Parades go late. Plan for the evening and the early hours of the morning, and a short list of what you can bring. Liesa's rules allow two 500 ml plastic bottles and two snack items, but no glass bottles, cans, styrofoam coolers or shopping bags. Children must be at least five years old and need a ticket too.
Blocos: the Free Street Carnival
For many cariocas the real Carnival is outdoors and free. A bloco is a street party with a band on a truck or a drum section, and the crowd follows it on foot. In 2026 the city authorized 462 blocos, and expected 6.8 million people at them. Some are tiny, some fill a whole avenue.
Names worth knowing: the Cordão da Bola Preta (founded in 1918, usually on Avenida Rio Branco in the Centro on the Saturday morning of Carnival, polka-dot white and black); the Banda de Ipanema and Simpatia é Quase Amor, both starting from Praça General Osório in Ipanema; Cordão do Boitatá near Praça XV; and the big Aterro do Flamengo parties of Sargento Pimenta and Orquestra Voadora. Days and start points move from year to year, so treat these as the usual pattern, not the 2027 program.
What changes each year is the official list. Riotur took bloco registrations until September 24, 2026, with the paperwork finishing in January, and the street program is expected to begin on January 16, 2027. The full calendar usually appears shortly before. Until it does, follow the blocos' own social accounts and Riotur. If you arrive early, the first street weekends in January are a way to see a bloco before the main days.
Samba School Rehearsals and Balls
If you can't be in Rio on the parade nights, the rehearsals are the best deal. Liesa's free technical rehearsals at the Sambadrome run on January 23, 24, 30 and 31, 2027, with three Grupo Especial schools each day and children's schools opening most evenings. About 360,000 people attended them in 2026. The January 31 program opens with the Lavagem da Sapucaí, a washing of the avenue. Check the list for which schools you'll catch.
The other kind of rehearsal happens at the schools' own home venues, the quadras, like the packed Salgueiro hall in the photo. In the months before Carnival the schools hold rehearsals and parties there, and visitors can usually turn up. Dates, prices and entry rules differ by school, so check each school's own channels before you go.
At the other end of the scale, the Copacabana Palace hotel has a famous ball. The 2026 edition ran from 10 pm to 5 am, with a black-tie or luxury-costume dress code and tickets from R$ 3,750 (about $750), per Elle Brasil. We found no 2027 details yet, so look at the hotel's channels after the New Year.
Where to Stay for Carnival
Rio is a long, thin city, and the one choice that shapes your Carnival is how far you are from a metro station. The metro links the Centro with Flamengo, Botafogo, Copacabana and Ipanema, and in 2026 it ran 24 hours with extra trains during the main bloco days. That makes Ipanema, Botafogo and Flamengo the practical choices: close to the Aterro do Flamengo parties and the Ipanema blocos, and a metro ride from the Sambadrome. Copacabana is the classic beach base but farther from the Centro action. Santa Teresa and Lapa are lively and often cheaper, but plan how you'll get back late at night, and the area right around the Sambadrome has little else to do.
We couldn't find 2027 hotel data, only the general pattern: Carnival is peak season, and hotels often apply minimum stays and strict cancellation terms. Book early, check the cancellation rules, and since the dates are early in the year, assume rooms in the best neighborhoods go first.
Safety, Heat and Getting Around
The U.S. Consulate's 2026 alert put it plainly: opportunistic crime, phone and jewelry theft included, is common during Carnival, and it advised not wearing expensive jewelry, not carrying large amounts of cash and not resisting a robbery. Take only what you need: one card, a bit of cash, and a phone you can afford to lose. Keep it in a front pocket or bag, use it away from the curb, and avoid favelas, even during street parties. Police emergency is 190.
For transport, the MetroRio ran a 24-hour schedule in 2026, with some stations having special entrances. For the Sambadrome in 2026, odd-side sectors used Central do Brasil and even-side sectors used Praça Onze. MetroRio advised paying by tap or loading your card in advance. The 2027 plan will appear closer to the date on the MetroRio website.
February is high summer in Rio, and blocos can start in the morning and run through the hottest hours. Carry water, wear sunscreen and a hat, and eat before you go. Bathrooms near the biggest blocos can be scarce, so plan around them and don't count on a quiet corner. Lock your phone, turn on its tracking feature, and agree on a meeting point with your group in case you get separated in the crowd.
One more rule of thumb: the city rewards those who arrive early. Early in the day a bloco crowd is thinner and the heat is gentler. Leave the Sambadrome the same way, in groups, and keep your ride booked or your metro card loaded before the last school finishes.
Plan the Rest of the Trip
Carnival takes a few nights, and the city deserves the days around them. Our 5 Days in Rio de Janeiro plans the beaches, Christ, Sugarloaf and Santa Teresa day by day, and if you'd rather dance behind a trio elétrico than watch from a grandstand, 5 Days in Salvador covers Brazil's other giant carnival city.
If you're still choosing between carnivals, our comparison of the biggest carnivals puts Rio next to Salvador, Venice and Cologne. For the country itself, start with the Brazil page. And before you fly, test your geography with a round on our Pinpoint game.
