Cheap flights to
Rio de Janeiro

While there’s no specific day of the week when airline tickets suddenly drop, there is a time period when flights are usually cheapest. We call this period the Goldilocks Window because it’s not too close to a flight but not too far away either. For domestic flights, it’s best to book 1–3 months before a trip, while for international trips you should start looking 2–8 months out.

If your dates aren’t flexible or you plan to travel during the high season, like December–April in Rio de Janeiro, we recommend planning even further ahead. For example, if you hope to visit for Carnival in February, you should start looking for flights in August.

Don’t hold out for last-minute deals. They’re practically nonexistent during busy travel seasons. Fares actually jump 21, 14, and 7 days ahead of departure dates, so book before those points if you can.

Even if you’re watching fares like a hawk, some fares just don’t seem to drop. Before you give up on your dream vacation, try our beloved Greek Islands Trick. Despite the name, it works for all kinds of destinations. The point is to try and get as close to your final destination as possible for the lowest fare, then find a regional budget airline for the last leg of your trip. So, if flights from Atlanta to Rio are out of your price range, look for flights to Panama or another Central American country instead. If you see an amazing deal, you can then look for flights from there to Rio de Janeiro.

Yes, it involves a little more work to plan this kind of trip, but sometimes the savings are worth it.

This is like the Greek Islands Trick but on your home airport side. If flights from Atlanta to Rio de Janeiro are way more than you’re willing to pay, you can try searching for alternative departure airports. It can seem irrelevant if you already live near a large airport, but we see deals every day from all sorts of airports, and if you don’t seek them out you’ll miss them.

Check out flights from Miami or Houston, for example. If you see a great deal, look for flights from Atlanta to one of those cities. Repositioning yourself could end up saving you a few hundred bucks.

A simple way to save on airfare is to fly during off seasons. While it’s lovely to visit Rio during the cold months in the US—Brazil’s summer—the increased demand during that time means airlines can charge more for flights. The off season, from June–September, is the cheapest time of year to visit.

However, if you travel during the shoulder seasons, the periods just before and after the high season, you can save money and avoid crowds while also still getting pretty good weather. April–May and October–November are shoulder seasons in Rio and a great time to travel.

If traveling outside of peak season isn’t an option, look for flights on what are generally the cheapest days to fly: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Unsurprisingly, Fridays and Sundays are typically the most expensive.

You don’t have to convince us that keeping track of fluctuating airfare is hard work. The good news is technology can handle much of it for you.

Set up fare alerts for your travel dates, and you’ll get an email when prices drop by a significant amount or into your target range. We recommend doing this ahead of the Goldilocks Window we talked about to see deals roll in during that time. If your dates or departure cities are flexible, be sure to set a few alerts.

Rio is easy to reach from a few cities in the US, Europe, and South America, but most visitors will likely make one stop.