Sao Paulo Carnival

Although not as famous as its Rio cousin, Sao Paolo's carnival makes for a wonderfully different festival for those prepared to make the trip this February.

Although nowhere near as popular in the tourist stakes as the Rio event, those wishing to visit the Sao Paulo carnival will find that tickets to get in to certain events will be pleasantly cheap in comparison.

In addition, it is widely regarded as being a carnival for the city's people, meaning they are less likely to pander to the desires of the tourist, making for a more authentic and interesting experience.

Among the many highlights of the event is the all night, samba dance-off that takes place in the Sambadrome, where competing samba schools fight it out to win the accolade of the best dancers at the festival.

The same arena also hosts a number of free dancing and musical events in the weeks before the carnival, which takes place on a single weekend.