Updated on Nov.30, 2010
Rio de Janeiro Carnival tickets are some of the world's most inflationed and hard-to-get products. Sales to the top parades on Carnival Sunday and Monday are controlled by LIESA, the Independent Samba School League.
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an international hotline for sales of Carnival tickets. LIESA is processing ticket reservation requests for Carnival 2010 by fax (55-21-2122-8080). Reservations are processed in the order they were received and a list of approved requests is issued a few days later.
Then, tickets must be paid for on assigned dates at Central LIESA de Atendimento (Rua da Alfândega 25, stores B e C, in Centro).
The first day of Carnival 2010 sales was Nov.10, 2009, when mezzanine boxes (camarotes), the most expensive tickets on the Sambódromo, could be reserved. According to LIESA, over 4,000 requests were received, or about four requests for each available mezzanine box.
Receptive agencies in Rio de Janeiro can purchase your tickets and pick them up for you. They also offer hotel-Sambódromo transfers, and those services will increase the final price of your ticket. On the other hand, if you're dealing with a reliable agency, you will appreciate the comfort and safety of a transfer with helpful guides.
It's not easy to save money on Rio de Janeiro Carnival tickets. But there are some things you can do:
1. Buy your tickets yourself.
If you're touring Brazil late in the year, you might be able to get into (a long) line and buy the more affordable tickets directly at their point of sale like other Brazilians do.
As LIESA announces their sales dates, they will be posted on Brazil Travel.
2. Ask a Brazilian friend to try to buy tickets for you.
If you've already got friends in Brazil, they might be willing to buy your ticket, especially if they don't have to get in line for that.
3. Go to the LESGA parade on Carnival Saturday.
Before a group of schools decided to organize themselves separately under Liesa, there was already samba. The schools belonging to LESGA, the League of Samba Schools in the Access Group A, have as much swing and passion for samba as the ones in Liesa. The association is a dissidence of AESCRJ created in 2008.
Catch the LESGA parades on Carnival Saturday, Feb.13, 2010 and you'll dance to your heart's content while watching some of the most traditional samba schools in Rio de Janeiro for a lower price. In 2010, some of the attractions will be Império Serrano, one of the most traditional samba schools in Brazil, São Clemente, founded on the South Side, and Acadêmicos do Cubango in its first Carnival with Mestre Jonas (formerly Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel) as drum section director.
4. Go to the AESCRJ parade on Tuesday.
AESCRJ, founded in 1952, is the oldest association of samba schools in Rio de Janeiro. About 50 samba schools divided into several groups - Groups Rio de Janeiro 1, 2, 3, and 4 - are affiliated. Group Rio de Janeiro 1 parades on Sambódromo on Carnival Tuesday.
