Before I began my trip to Rio Carnaval 2009, I was clueless as to how to plan it, and at what cost!

There are tour operators who charge £££s for a package tour that grants you access to the sambodrome and accomodation, there are hostels that organise packages for you and there is also the option of planning it all yourself. How do you make sure your time at Rio Carnaval is a week to remember without spending a fortune?

Here are some tips to do Rio Carnaval 2010 on a budget:

STEP 1

- Book your hostel as soon as possible.

Hostel prices seemed to go up in price the nearer it got to booking, so make sure you book as soon as you know you definitely want to do the trip. My hostel, Mellow Yellow offered a package which included seven nights accommodation, a boat party, a free drink…. and a t-shirt. The hostel is all about making as much money as possible, but I decided to go with them because it is one of the biggest hostels in Rio De Janeiro and seemed to offer the most fun and lively atmosphere. You pay between R$1015-1435 per person per package.

STEP 2

- Don’t book sambodrome tickets beforehand.

Maybe I was just lucky, but on the Saturday night me and a couple of friends turned up outside the Sambodrome, hoping to get some cheap tickets, and there touts everywhere! For R$60 we managed to get three tickets for Sector 6. This is one of the last sectors in the parade but you get to see the floats as they edge out of the sambodrome, meaning they turn towards you so it’s ideal for photographers! There is also the option of purchasing sambodrome tickets from local vendors or hostels when you arrive; my hostel still had plenty spare so I’m sure if you want a ticket badly enough you will find one.

STEP 3

- Make the most of the free blocos!

I can hand-on-heart say the most fun I had at the carnaval was going to the street parties, where the locals are. These ‘blocos’ I believe are where the samba school musicians rehearse and so you get live music, lots of caiprinhas and locals coming up trying to samba with you. I almost got taught the samba by one guy; all you have to do is move your feet and shake your bum as fast as humanly possible!

It really isn’t as complicated as you would think to spend a week in Rio for carnaval; as long as you have your accommodation booked in advance everything else should fall into place.

About Mellow Yellow: Their airport pick-up was extortionate; and when I arrived I realised they assigned different taxi cabs to different groups from my same flight. It would have been so much cheaper if they had organised a shuttle bus and for everyone to get on it, but they’re not one to miss an opportunity to make money!

The breakfasts are really good value. You get loads of fruit, as many cheese and ham toasties as you like and they offer fruit juice (although it’s a tad watery) and coffee.

They offer sambodrome tickets in sector 13 for R$85 (more if you buy them from them in advance). This is fine but remember that you can normally bargain for a better sector for around half the price if you leave it until the night of the actual sambodrome.

Also, for a hefty fee they offer you the chance to dress up and take part in the parade itself – they managed to make a complete tits-up of this, giving people the wrong sizes, shortening promised rehearsal time from one hour to uhh… ten minutes, and rushing the group with little preparation for the parade. My advice would be not to bother unless the money in your pocket is calling out to be dispensed with!