The nightlife of Rio de Janeiro is heralded as a flamboyant and brilliant place to party, with dancers and drinkers spilling onto streets at the early hours of the morning to carry on the fun. Perhaps because there’s no end to the licensing hours in Rio, there is less of the detrimental drinking-until-you-can’t-move philosophy.  Instead, Brazilian nightlife encourages dancing, making friends and lots of flirting. Here are three good places you could visit to show off your samba skills and sample the famous caipirinha cocktails -  a sweet and sour drink made from limes, sugar and cahaca liqueur.

Casa Rosa, or ‘The Pink House’ as it is also known,   is a unique Rio club, partly due to the exotic charm of its previous life when it was one of Rio’s brothels. It is a famous samba house and has shows every night of the week. It’s a beautiful old building and happily not too touristy, which means it plays real Brazilian samba sounds for locals and those that know how to dance to it. It is useful to know that the area is a little dodgy so it is recommended that you get a taxi home.

Carocah Da Gama - is another cool venue serving samba every day of the week. Found in the bar-hopping area of Lapa, it is another beautiful old building with elegant balconies. This starts as more of a sit-down affair, with live Samba spectacles kicking off at 9pm every night. If you want to experience it at its best, get there early so you can get a table and order their pizza. When you’ve digested your food, kick off your shoes and join in with the rest of the clubbers.

Rio Scenarium is a good-looking Brazilian bar and worth a visit for that reason alone. It was a huge warehouse and an antiques store, renovated into what is now a palace-like nightclub with three floors of bizarre antique furniture displays modelled like a Salvador Dali painting. It is viewed as a bit of a classy alternative to some of the other more traditional bars or clubs. However, because of its success it’s hardly a well-kept secret and is filled with Europeans, which may not be why you came to Brazil. However, it’s worth popping your head in to see the decor. You can always samba it back to Casa Rosa.

If you’re planning a tour of Brazil, be sure to take a look at Travelzoo for a list of cheap flights to destinations around South America and Brazil. Also, don’t overlook travel insurance on a trip like this – it’s best to get covered for any mishaps along the way like damage or theft, however unlikely. Look at AA Travel Insurance for some helpful packages for travellers.