Brasilia in 6 Days on a Budget (Daily Costs)
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6 days rounds out the civic core with a nature day and one real day trip
This route spends the first three days on the Eixo Monumental’s civic core and Lake Paranoá, a fourth on Brasília National Park, a fifth on a Pirenópolis day trip, and a sixth on the Botanical Garden before you fly out. Only have a long weekend? The 3-day itinerary covers just the core. Want a Chapada dos Veadeiros overnight instead of Pirenópolis? See the 7-day itinerary .
Book these before you go
- A Congress or Itamaraty tour slot for Day 1: Itamaraty is guided-tour-only and Congress access can tighten around legislative sessions
- A rental car for Day 5, from around €13.29/day (verify the BRL conversion); it pays off the moment Pirenópolis enters the plan
- A hotel booked ahead if your dates land near 21 April or the first week of September, when the anniversary and the Independence Day parade both push rates up: check rates on Booking.com
Day 1: Praça dos Três Poderes and the Cathedral
Start at Praça dos Três Poderes, Costa’s “cockpit” framing the Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary, free and always open, with Alfredo Ceschiatti’s A Justiça outside the Supreme Court and Bruno Giorgi’s Os Candangos honoring the workers who built the city. If it’s Sunday, walk up for the 9:30am-2pm Planalto tour before the plaza gets busy; any other day it’s exterior-only. A short rideshare away, the Cathedral of Brasília’s stained-glass nave sits mostly below ground behind a dark entrance tunnel you pass through before the reveal, best visited around midday for the strongest color.
| Day 1 cost (BRL, per person) | Low | Higher |
|---|---|---|
| Bed | 181 | 437 |
| Breakfast | 10 | 20 |
| Comida por quilo lunch | 20 | 60 |
| Três Poderes / Cathedral | 0 | 0 |
| Rideshare (2 hops) | 25 | 50 |
| Dinner | 25 | 60 |
| Day 1 total | 261 | 627 |
Day 2: Itamaraty, Alvorada, and the Orla JK
Itamaraty’s exterior reflecting pool and Bruno Giorgi’s Meteoro sculpture are worth the stop even if the guided interior tour timing (Mon-Fri 2-4:30pm, Sat-Sun 10am-3:30pm, verify) doesn’t line up. Palácio da Alvorada, the president’s lakeside residence, is exterior/drive-by only, no pedestrian access, so pair it with a longer loop around Lake Paranoá. Close the day at the lakefront strip locally called the Orla JK (Setor de Clubes Esportivos Sul), watching the sun set behind Ponte JK’s three asymmetric arches.
| Day 2 cost (BRL, per person) | Low | Higher |
|---|---|---|
| Bed | 181 | 437 |
| Breakfast | 10 | 20 |
| Lunch | 20 | 60 |
| Rideshare (Itamaraty + Alvorada + Paranoá loop) | 45 | 90 |
| Dinner at the Orla JK | 40 | 90 |
| Day 2 total | 296 | 697 |
Day 3: JK Memorial, TV Tower, and Dom Bosco
The JK Memorial, Niemeyer’s white marble mausoleum for Juscelino Kubitschek (Tue-Sun, 9am-6pm; likely a small fee, verify), sits along the same Eixo Monumental stretch as the TV Tower, whose 75m deck (Tue-Sun, 9am-7pm, verify) gives the best one-stop overview of the whole axis; time it for a weekend to catch the Feira da Torre craft fair at the base. Santuário Dom Bosco’s blue stained glass, a short rideshare away, is worth it even with the Cathedral already checked off.
| Day 3 cost (BRL, per person) | Low | Higher |
|---|---|---|
| Bed | 181 | 437 |
| Breakfast | 10 | 20 |
| JK Memorial (verify) | 0 | 20 |
| TV Tower deck (verify) | 0 | 20 |
| Lunch | 20 | 60 |
| Rideshare (3 hops) | 35 | 70 |
| Dinner | 25 | 60 |
| Day 3 total | 271 | 687 |
Day 4: Brasília National Park
Brasília National Park, nicknamed Água Mineral and ICMBio-run since 1961, is the largest park inside an urbanized area in the world at 423.83 km², with spring-fed pools and cerrado trekking trails (current hours and fees, verify). It needs a car or rideshare to reach; budget the return trip in your transport line. Afternoon runs easy, either more park time or a stop at Parque da Cidade Dona Sarah Kubitschek on the way back for a lakeside walk.
| Day 4 cost (BRL, per person) | Low | Higher |
|---|---|---|
| Bed | 181 | 437 |
| Breakfast | 10 | 20 |
| Park entry (verify) | 0 | 20 |
| Lunch | 20 | 60 |
| Rideshare (round trip to the park) | 50 | 90 |
| Dinner | 25 | 60 |
| Day 4 total | 286 | 687 |
Day 5: Pirenópolis day trip
Pirenópolis, a colonial gold-mining town founded in 1727 about 150km out, is Brasília’s most comfortable single-day trip: an IPHAN-listed historic center (protected since 1989) and more than 20 waterfalls within 15km inside Pirineus State Park. A rental car covers the round trip most flexibly; a long-distance bus from the rodoferroviária is the budget alternative (verify current schedule and fare). Lodging stays in Brasília, so this is a there-and-back day, not an overnight.
| Day 5 cost (BRL, per person) | Low | Higher |
|---|---|---|
| Bed | 181 | 437 |
| Breakfast | 10 | 20 |
| Rental car day rate or bus fare (verify) | 75 | 150 |
| Waterfall/park entry (verify) | 10 | 30 |
| Lunch in Pirenópolis | 25 | 60 |
| Dinner back in Brasília | 25 | 60 |
| Day 5 total | 326 | 757 |
Day 6: Jardim Botânico and a last free afternoon
Close the trip on a free note at the Jardim Botânico de Brasília, 526 hectares of cerrado-based planting with a 4.5km trail and an orchid space (Tue-Sun, 9am-5pm, verify distance and fee). Spend the afternoon at Conjunto Nacional, the mall near the Rodoviária, for budget food-court eating and last-minute souvenirs before heading to the airport.
| Day 6 cost (BRL, per person) | Low | Higher |
|---|---|---|
| Bed | 181 | 437 |
| Breakfast | 10 | 20 |
| Garden entry (verify) | 0 | 15 |
| Lunch (food court) | 15 | 35 |
| Rideshare (2 hops) | 25 | 50 |
| Dinner | 25 | 60 |
| Day 6 total | 256 | 617 |
Getting around on this 6-day plan
Days 1-3 stick to rideshare; the civic core and Lake Paranoá are close enough that a rental car mostly adds parking hassle. Days 4-5 flip that math: Brasília National Park and Pirenópolis are both far enough out that a rental car, picked up once and dropped off after Day 5, usually beats stacking up individual rideshare fares. Full transport detail, including bus fares and the airport transfer, is in the main Brasília guide .
Book the Pirenópolis rental car for Days 4 and 5 together rather than day by day; a two-day rate typically undercuts two separate one-day rentals.