The morning is yours to sleep late, walk the beach, find coffee and watch Copacabana wake up slower than usual. 

Then you’re back in it. Your guide takes you into a bloco, one of the street parties that take over entire neighborhoods during Carnaval. Four hours inside the thing most travelers only see from the edges. Costumes, brass bands, strangers who become dance partners for one song, glitter you did not apply appearing on your body anyway. Your guide knows which blocos are worth it, how to move with the crowd, and when to pull the group somewhere quieter for water and a breather. This is Carnaval’s last big day, so the city gives it everything.

After a chance to reset, the night keeps going with a bars and bites tour through Santa Teresa and the city center. Botecos with 80 years of history, cold chopp, and the kind of bar where the owner still argues about samba schools.

Yes, it’s a big day. It’s also Valentine’s Day, and you’ll be spending it exactly how you want: at the world’s biggest party with other women who didn’t wait around for a plus-one.