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While this seems that is should be obvious, searching on Google for Carnaval Tickets or Where to buy Carnaval Tickets? or similar yields a whole bunch of websites, none of them seem official and with widely different prices, a factor of 2X or so.

Is there an official site to buy tickets from? Or a place with at least an official reference price?

Are they reliable online vendors? While I would reasonably use a reputable third-party to save money, I want to make sure to get an actual reservation. Also, I will not be in Brazil until 2 days before Carnaval, so it has to be purchasable online, either print-at-home or pickup on location up to 24 hours before the event.

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In 2014, I bought from these guys. But, I ended up picking up the tickets myself at their offices, which was not very common.

Like you, I was also a bit reluctant to buy my carnival tickets online. Online reviews of ticket sellers showed that many were disorganised, at best, including these guys. Which is why I put less faith in having my ticket delivered, wanting to pick it up myself.

Also, the ticket I bought was quite cheap. Something like 50 USD, for what was a fantastic seat (in either 4A, 6A or 8A); I was so close to the parade, I could physically touch the participants.

Here is a blog post of my experience, with a lot of photos of the event.

So, either prices have gone up significantly, or prices go down closer to the event, as I bought my ticket only a few days before the actual parade.

The judges sit at the end of the parade (in front of boxes 12 and 13, I would think), so the spectacle of each samba school happens right there, if anywhere. That's why it would make sense for prices to go up towards the end of the line.

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  • So close! Was that a Front Box seat Row A? Any section you recommend? They are going between $300 and $700 at the link you sent :( Something about section 9 makes it double the other ones. Are 2-6 and 10-11 that much different?
    – Itai
    Oct 2, 2016 at 19:56
  • I was in 4A, 6A or 8A. I don't remember exactly. And I got a ticket for one of the preliminary parades. I also checked out my blog post on the experience (babakfakhamzadeh.com/article/blocos-and-carnival). Turns out I paid more than I remembered, though I didn't note down how much, exactly. Probably around 50 USD, which is still much less than what the tickets go for now. Also, updated my answer.
    – MastaBaba
    Oct 2, 2016 at 21:33
  • This web site for the Sambadrome has an overview of the tickets and prices in the sectors. And a radio button to buy your tickets takes you to Rio.com and has all the locations and prices displayed, with reduced prices shown currently, and a note that the prices are set to rise on 3 October.
    – Giorgio
    Oct 2, 2016 at 22:08
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    They're not making it easy, but it seems rio.com is significantly more expensive than rio-carnival.net, no?
    – MastaBaba
    Oct 3, 2016 at 0:17

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