Heading to Brazil? Where to stay . . .

The spotlight is on Rio de Janeiro now that it’s been chosen as the host city for the 2016 Summer Games. If you are researching a trip to Brazil, don’t miss Hiddenpousadasbrazil.com, an accommodations eye-opener that will inspire you to trade your hotel for an eco-trip, farm stay or hideaway in a colonial mansion overlooking the ocean.

What’s hot: If you know nothing about Brazil, HiddenPousadasBrazil will at the very least tell you what a pousada is (a place to stay), and within a few minutes of surfing the site, give you an idea about the wide-ranging scope of landscapes, from the Amazon rain forest to the rural countryside of Minas Gerais. I enjoyed the “Dream Trips” section, but had even more fun using the advanced search tool in the right navigation bar of the “About Hidden Pousadas” page. I tested farm visits, kite surfing, swimming with dolphins and ceramic workshops to discover what regions I might like to visit beyond Rio.

What’s not: There’s nothing yet on the blog about the Olympics, but there are practical travel tips for first timers, including, “Twenty-five tips for traveling safely in Brazil.” Other Brazil travel blogs -- www.braziltravelblog.com and Adventures of a Gringa ( www.riogringa.typepad.com) and www.ipanema.com are good resources for travelers on their first trip to Brazil.

-- Jen Leo