Rio de Janeiro Trip Report
Jan 9th, 2008, 07:53 AM
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Rio de Janeiro Trip Report
We have just returned from a one week trip to Brazil. In our trip we visited Rio de Janeiro and Iguaçu Falls. Rio de Janeiro turned out to be nothing like we expected. We had read numerous reports which stated that you needed to leave all valuable items in your hotel and not to venture out into the streets unless you carried your camera in a plain unmarked shopping bag. We understand that sometimes being a victim of crime is like get a speeding ticket: it’s just being at the wrong place at the wrong time. But frankly, there was never a single moment in Rio when we felt that we were in the least bit of danger. I know that there is more crime in Rio than some other big cities....I read the warnings in my hotel. But still, we had a great time in total safety.
Part of the success of the Rio portion of our trip revolved around the private tour guide that we hired by the name of Rafael Lopes. We are independent travelers but sometimes we like having a private tour guide so that we can get more of an insider’s perspective of the places to which we travel. We had done a lot of research and were not satisfied with the responses (or lack thereof) we were receiving. We discovered Rafael on the Virtual Tourist website where he had written many “passionate” pages containing tips and insight into Rio. The passion he showed on his pages convinced us that he may be the right guide for us. We contacted him via e-mail at this address:
[email protected]
and received quite a voluminous response from him immediately. He told us of his love for Rio (and Brazil), expressed his philosophy of tour guiding and gave a very thoughtful itinerary for our visit. His e-mail was not a standard tour proposal letter, but rather was a letter from a friend who was giving some helpful hints and advice. Over the weeks before we traveled to Brazil, we had many items of correspondence with him, many of which included pictures and ideas. We worked out a 2 day itinerary with him integrating his and our suggestions. He even agreed to pick us up and take us back to the airport at no additional charge!
Meeting Rafael at the airport was like meeting a long lost friend. We all took an immediate liking to him. He had interesting stories and a great perspective on the sights, Brazilian culture and willingly shared his life experience with us. When we left it was like leaving a good friend behind. We had along our 2 children (aged 23 and 20) who did not initially care for the idea of having a tour guide. When we left they both felt that having him was the highlight of our trip. Check out his pages and judge for yourself!!
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/97fc0/
As for the details of the trip, we stayed at the Caesar Park at Ipanema. We found the hotel to be very well located in a very safe area of Ipanema. We felt no problems going across the street to the beach or walking up the beach or through the surrounding areas during the day. Again, although we never even came close to having any problems, we now that the hotel posted warning notices and the hostess of a restaurant 2 blocks from our hotel advised me to hide my video camera while walking the 2 blocks back to the hotel at night. Again, it was all a matter of luck we suppose. What is not a matter of luck is choosing where to stay. Universally everyone we spoke to advised us that Ipanema was much safer than Copacabana. Our observations stem from what we saw during the day as we never ventured more than a few blocks from the hotel at night.
On our first day in Rio we restricted ourselves to the beaches at Ipanema and Copacabana. The beach culture of vendors, soccer and volleyball is a tourist sight in of itself. Sitting on the beach you will have a vendor stop by your chair at least once a minute hawking shirts, scarves, drinks, sandwiches, sunglasses, hats, fruits....you name it. It’s more amusing than a nuisance...none of the vendors are persistent and they move on quite quickly. Certainly, though, there is one price for the locals and another price for the tourists. There are also established “stands” on the beaches, although they are more like tents. They have waiter-like service and will bring you drinks and snacks at highly inflated prices. Ask before you order as no one posts their prices. There are also many stands along the beach walk where you can sit down and order a drink or snack. Agua de coco is a must.
On the northern end of Ipanema beach you can find Barril 1800, one of the only restaurants on the beach itself. Great food, a nice atmosphere and English spoken. That night Rafael took us to a Samba club, Carioca da Gama. What a great introduction to Brazilian culture. No tourists to be found but we felt like we fit right in as Rafael saw it as his job to make us into honorary cariocas.
The first full day of the tour started on Corcovado. Instead of taking the tourist train, he drove us to the top showing us interesting places in the Tijuca Forest. We then traveled through the Santa Teresa district. We drove over the bridge to Niteroi where we saw the Contemporary Art Museum (from the outside). We had lunch in an amazing buffet restaurant (A Mineira), saw the view of Rio from the City Park, then went to Itacoatiara Beach and the Itaipu Sand Dunes. When Rafael found out that our daughter loved pasta he insisted on taking us to Mamma Rosa’s, a great Italian restaurant.
Our second day with Rafael began with a stroll around the nature park at the base of Sugar Loaf. We saw monkeys, lizards and got good views of the beaches in the Urca area. We then ascended Sugar Loaf (along with all of the other tourists then in Rio!). Even at the top of Sugar Loaf Rafael took us through some of the paths and trails where most tourists did not go. From Sugar Loaf we went to have lunch at a typical “eat by weight” Brazilian buffet restaurant called Temperante. We then explored the Centro district of Rio seeing some of the older historic sites of Rio. This is quite apart from the beach area and there were no tourists to be seen anywhere. Afterwards we drove to some of the more remote beach areas like Prainha and Barra de Tijuca. Quite a bit off the tourist path and almost deserted.
That marked the end of our tour. We ate dinner (guideless) at Zaza Bistro Tropical a couple of blocks from our hotel in Ipanema. The next day we were off to Iguazu.
We found Rio de Janeiro to be quite an experience. We felt safe and found the people there to be very friendly. We can’t wait to go back!
Part of the success of the Rio portion of our trip revolved around the private tour guide that we hired by the name of Rafael Lopes. We are independent travelers but sometimes we like having a private tour guide so that we can get more of an insider’s perspective of the places to which we travel. We had done a lot of research and were not satisfied with the responses (or lack thereof) we were receiving. We discovered Rafael on the Virtual Tourist website where he had written many “passionate” pages containing tips and insight into Rio. The passion he showed on his pages convinced us that he may be the right guide for us. We contacted him via e-mail at this address:
[email protected]
and received quite a voluminous response from him immediately. He told us of his love for Rio (and Brazil), expressed his philosophy of tour guiding and gave a very thoughtful itinerary for our visit. His e-mail was not a standard tour proposal letter, but rather was a letter from a friend who was giving some helpful hints and advice. Over the weeks before we traveled to Brazil, we had many items of correspondence with him, many of which included pictures and ideas. We worked out a 2 day itinerary with him integrating his and our suggestions. He even agreed to pick us up and take us back to the airport at no additional charge!
Meeting Rafael at the airport was like meeting a long lost friend. We all took an immediate liking to him. He had interesting stories and a great perspective on the sights, Brazilian culture and willingly shared his life experience with us. When we left it was like leaving a good friend behind. We had along our 2 children (aged 23 and 20) who did not initially care for the idea of having a tour guide. When we left they both felt that having him was the highlight of our trip. Check out his pages and judge for yourself!!
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/97fc0/
As for the details of the trip, we stayed at the Caesar Park at Ipanema. We found the hotel to be very well located in a very safe area of Ipanema. We felt no problems going across the street to the beach or walking up the beach or through the surrounding areas during the day. Again, although we never even came close to having any problems, we now that the hotel posted warning notices and the hostess of a restaurant 2 blocks from our hotel advised me to hide my video camera while walking the 2 blocks back to the hotel at night. Again, it was all a matter of luck we suppose. What is not a matter of luck is choosing where to stay. Universally everyone we spoke to advised us that Ipanema was much safer than Copacabana. Our observations stem from what we saw during the day as we never ventured more than a few blocks from the hotel at night.
On our first day in Rio we restricted ourselves to the beaches at Ipanema and Copacabana. The beach culture of vendors, soccer and volleyball is a tourist sight in of itself. Sitting on the beach you will have a vendor stop by your chair at least once a minute hawking shirts, scarves, drinks, sandwiches, sunglasses, hats, fruits....you name it. It’s more amusing than a nuisance...none of the vendors are persistent and they move on quite quickly. Certainly, though, there is one price for the locals and another price for the tourists. There are also established “stands” on the beaches, although they are more like tents. They have waiter-like service and will bring you drinks and snacks at highly inflated prices. Ask before you order as no one posts their prices. There are also many stands along the beach walk where you can sit down and order a drink or snack. Agua de coco is a must.
On the northern end of Ipanema beach you can find Barril 1800, one of the only restaurants on the beach itself. Great food, a nice atmosphere and English spoken. That night Rafael took us to a Samba club, Carioca da Gama. What a great introduction to Brazilian culture. No tourists to be found but we felt like we fit right in as Rafael saw it as his job to make us into honorary cariocas.
The first full day of the tour started on Corcovado. Instead of taking the tourist train, he drove us to the top showing us interesting places in the Tijuca Forest. We then traveled through the Santa Teresa district. We drove over the bridge to Niteroi where we saw the Contemporary Art Museum (from the outside). We had lunch in an amazing buffet restaurant (A Mineira), saw the view of Rio from the City Park, then went to Itacoatiara Beach and the Itaipu Sand Dunes. When Rafael found out that our daughter loved pasta he insisted on taking us to Mamma Rosa’s, a great Italian restaurant.
Our second day with Rafael began with a stroll around the nature park at the base of Sugar Loaf. We saw monkeys, lizards and got good views of the beaches in the Urca area. We then ascended Sugar Loaf (along with all of the other tourists then in Rio!). Even at the top of Sugar Loaf Rafael took us through some of the paths and trails where most tourists did not go. From Sugar Loaf we went to have lunch at a typical “eat by weight” Brazilian buffet restaurant called Temperante. We then explored the Centro district of Rio seeing some of the older historic sites of Rio. This is quite apart from the beach area and there were no tourists to be seen anywhere. Afterwards we drove to some of the more remote beach areas like Prainha and Barra de Tijuca. Quite a bit off the tourist path and almost deserted.
That marked the end of our tour. We ate dinner (guideless) at Zaza Bistro Tropical a couple of blocks from our hotel in Ipanema. The next day we were off to Iguazu.
We found Rio de Janeiro to be quite an experience. We felt safe and found the people there to be very friendly. We can’t wait to go back!
Jan 24th, 2008, 02:24 PM
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Hi Jrlaw10
Great trip report. I have saved Refael to our favourites. We went to Rio just over a year ago and had a very different experience. I think part of our problem was that it rained to entire time we were there. Even though we stayed across the road from the beach it rained so hard that we couldn't see it.Our guide was new to the jo
1st day)and I am sure he showed potential and was a really lovely guy but there was a lot he couldn't tell us. The lift was broken down in our hotel(10th floor) and as we were at the end of a very long and exausting trip everything accumulated to give us a less than favourable impression of Rio.
Your wonderful trip report has inspired me to give Rio another chance, possibly in 2009.I will email Rafael for some suggestions. Thank you.
Great trip report. I have saved Refael to our favourites. We went to Rio just over a year ago and had a very different experience. I think part of our problem was that it rained to entire time we were there. Even though we stayed across the road from the beach it rained so hard that we couldn't see it.Our guide was new to the jo
1st day)and I am sure he showed potential and was a really lovely guy but there was a lot he couldn't tell us. The lift was broken down in our hotel(10th floor) and as we were at the end of a very long and exausting trip everything accumulated to give us a less than favourable impression of Rio.Your wonderful trip report has inspired me to give Rio another chance, possibly in 2009.I will email Rafael for some suggestions. Thank you.
Jan 25th, 2008, 12:31 PM
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Travel experiences are a funny thing...I know if we went to Rio and it rained every day, or if some knucklehead clunked me over the head while walking on the beach, I would have hated Rio.
Feb 10th, 2008, 04:21 PM
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Great report
We finish a cruise in Rio in Jan 2009 and a have a couple of days before flying back to Sydney. Including our two port days included in the cruise we are trying to decide whether we should we spend a total of 4 days in Rio or do a side trip.
We finish a cruise in Rio in Jan 2009 and a have a couple of days before flying back to Sydney. Including our two port days included in the cruise we are trying to decide whether we should we spend a total of 4 days in Rio or do a side trip.
Feb 10th, 2008, 09:54 PM
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Thanks for the report! It's good to hear about trouble-free experiences. I'm going to Rio next month but staying in Botafago, which I hope will be similarly uneventful.
My last trip to Sao Paulo was great, although I was at a conference at USP and got lots of input from locals about what to do and what to avoid etc.
My last trip to Sao Paulo was great, although I was at a conference at USP and got lots of input from locals about what to do and what to avoid etc.
Sep 26th, 2008, 05:17 AM
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Hello - I just read your travel post and was quite impressed. I visited Brasil about ten years ago and am just curious about the changes. I'll be spending about 2 weeks in the Sao Paulo area and then about a week in Rio.
Any ideas on how expensive the hotel in Rio was? How about the general cost of everything (food, drinks,etc.)? Although I don't remember the hotel I stayed at 10 years ago, it was only about 3 blocks off the beach of which was convenient. This time I might be able to uses "travel miles" for the hotel and feel that usually bumps the hotel price up as only the more expensive hotels honor "travel points" but who knows. How was your experience with converting your money to Rias? Were you able to us an ATM and if so how was the exchange rate? My last trip to Europe I found that all of the credit card companies really stuck it to you with hidden rates from the cards. I know this is lengthy and if you prefer you can contact me at my email, [email protected]
Any ideas on how expensive the hotel in Rio was? How about the general cost of everything (food, drinks,etc.)? Although I don't remember the hotel I stayed at 10 years ago, it was only about 3 blocks off the beach of which was convenient. This time I might be able to uses "travel miles" for the hotel and feel that usually bumps the hotel price up as only the more expensive hotels honor "travel points" but who knows. How was your experience with converting your money to Rias? Were you able to us an ATM and if so how was the exchange rate? My last trip to Europe I found that all of the credit card companies really stuck it to you with hidden rates from the cards. I know this is lengthy and if you prefer you can contact me at my email, [email protected]
Dec 6th, 2008, 12:42 PM
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I'm so glad you liked Rio. I'm an American who lives in Rio. I'm glad you had no bad experiences, most people don't, but you up your chances of nothing happening to you if you act like a local.
It is always easier to have a guide here, but if you don't it is better to know how to keep yourself safe to be able to enjoy our amazing city. Carry any cameras in a backpack or bag and definitely not around your neck. Basically safety here is to not look like a victim or call attention to yourself. Don't carry large amounts of money. Don't wear anything ostentatious, take taxis at night, and don't bring much money to the beach,just what you need to eat and drink. Which is what the people who live here do as well. Rio is more dangerous than other cities but it isn't so dangerous you should avoid it.
Ipanema is safer than Copacabana, but it is also more expensive. At the beach it's true that if you're a tourist they will try to charge more but ask at the hotel what the prices of things are and insist on them. Chair rental is between R$2,00 and R$4.00, Agua de Coco is between R$1.50 and R$2.50 (Ipanema never less than R$2.00), Kangas or fabric to sit on are R$15.00, Grilled cheese sticks are R$2.00 or R$2.50, water should be R$1.50 or $2.00. If you order drinks and food from the barracas( the tents on the beach) it should be the same price.
When you take a taxi unless it's a radio taxi, which you only get at airport and bus stations or call and order,they always have to turn on the meter. If not get out. Radio taxis will give you a set price before you start. They're more expensive but also a bit safer.
Definitely visit Lapa, the neighborhood where Carioca de Gema is, but go either with a guide or take a taxi there and only go where there are a lot of people, the neighborhoods around there are dangerous. Visit Santa Teresa a neighborhood up on a hill with gorgeous old buildings and magnificent views of Rio.
In Brazil they call Rio the Cidade Maravilhosa or Marvelous City. It really is, and you should come see it.
It is always easier to have a guide here, but if you don't it is better to know how to keep yourself safe to be able to enjoy our amazing city. Carry any cameras in a backpack or bag and definitely not around your neck. Basically safety here is to not look like a victim or call attention to yourself. Don't carry large amounts of money. Don't wear anything ostentatious, take taxis at night, and don't bring much money to the beach,just what you need to eat and drink. Which is what the people who live here do as well. Rio is more dangerous than other cities but it isn't so dangerous you should avoid it.
Ipanema is safer than Copacabana, but it is also more expensive. At the beach it's true that if you're a tourist they will try to charge more but ask at the hotel what the prices of things are and insist on them. Chair rental is between R$2,00 and R$4.00, Agua de Coco is between R$1.50 and R$2.50 (Ipanema never less than R$2.00), Kangas or fabric to sit on are R$15.00, Grilled cheese sticks are R$2.00 or R$2.50, water should be R$1.50 or $2.00. If you order drinks and food from the barracas( the tents on the beach) it should be the same price.
When you take a taxi unless it's a radio taxi, which you only get at airport and bus stations or call and order,they always have to turn on the meter. If not get out. Radio taxis will give you a set price before you start. They're more expensive but also a bit safer.
Definitely visit Lapa, the neighborhood where Carioca de Gema is, but go either with a guide or take a taxi there and only go where there are a lot of people, the neighborhoods around there are dangerous. Visit Santa Teresa a neighborhood up on a hill with gorgeous old buildings and magnificent views of Rio.
In Brazil they call Rio the Cidade Maravilhosa or Marvelous City. It really is, and you should come see it.
Dec 7th, 2008, 05:56 AM
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Hello KittyKate
I returned from Rio on November 20th. I spent a week there and actually have a friend who lives there that entertained my fiance' and I one day at Leblon beach and a sidewalk cafe. That was the highlight. We had rain almost everyday. One day Rio was somewhat flooded of which further crippled the city. We traveled by train to the Christ statue and enjoyed that for about 10 minutes before the fog completely covered the mountain top. One thing that I discovered about Brasil is the everlasting noise. Traffic in particular. It really distracts from any thoughts of rest and vacation. Although another traveler to Rio mentioned that he is from NYC and didn't notice it. The hotel I stayed at (The Merlin) of which appears to be an OK hotel ripped me off on two occasions. Having the hotel assist me on making a collect phone call to my credit card company. And a taxi to the airport. We found out on checking out that the hotel does not recognize collect calls so we were charged about $ 90.00 for an overseas call. The clerk mentioned that he would have told us but his manager that did the assisting did not. And lastly a taxi ride to the airport that the hotel told us would be about $ 70.00 R's. We just took a regular cab (under protest from the hotel staff) and it cost us about $ 34.00 R's.
I did try to appear as inconspicuous as possible at all times and didn't carry anything too valuable with me (unfortunately not a very good testament for Brazil to contend with while on vacation). So I didn't have any unsafe encounters. I was cautious at all times. Again not a good vacation environment. Fortunately for this traveler, my fiance' is Brasilian and handled all of the translation that was required. English is spoken sparingly and sometimes you really have to get citizens to admit that they even understand it. Our Brasilian friends (female) here in the USA even comment that they don't even admit to being Brazilian when visiting because they get treated as second rate citizens. This has gotten too long winded and I apologize. Thanks for responding and only wish that we could have conversed prior to my leaving on this trip. There are many more situations that I could comment on but will not other than by private post. [email protected]
I returned from Rio on November 20th. I spent a week there and actually have a friend who lives there that entertained my fiance' and I one day at Leblon beach and a sidewalk cafe. That was the highlight. We had rain almost everyday. One day Rio was somewhat flooded of which further crippled the city. We traveled by train to the Christ statue and enjoyed that for about 10 minutes before the fog completely covered the mountain top. One thing that I discovered about Brasil is the everlasting noise. Traffic in particular. It really distracts from any thoughts of rest and vacation. Although another traveler to Rio mentioned that he is from NYC and didn't notice it. The hotel I stayed at (The Merlin) of which appears to be an OK hotel ripped me off on two occasions. Having the hotel assist me on making a collect phone call to my credit card company. And a taxi to the airport. We found out on checking out that the hotel does not recognize collect calls so we were charged about $ 90.00 for an overseas call. The clerk mentioned that he would have told us but his manager that did the assisting did not. And lastly a taxi ride to the airport that the hotel told us would be about $ 70.00 R's. We just took a regular cab (under protest from the hotel staff) and it cost us about $ 34.00 R's.
I did try to appear as inconspicuous as possible at all times and didn't carry anything too valuable with me (unfortunately not a very good testament for Brazil to contend with while on vacation). So I didn't have any unsafe encounters. I was cautious at all times. Again not a good vacation environment. Fortunately for this traveler, my fiance' is Brasilian and handled all of the translation that was required. English is spoken sparingly and sometimes you really have to get citizens to admit that they even understand it. Our Brasilian friends (female) here in the USA even comment that they don't even admit to being Brazilian when visiting because they get treated as second rate citizens. This has gotten too long winded and I apologize. Thanks for responding and only wish that we could have conversed prior to my leaving on this trip. There are many more situations that I could comment on but will not other than by private post. [email protected]
Apr 27th, 2009, 08:31 AM
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It's heart warming to see others who have loved and -- cherished my most favorite city in this world of ours-- Rio de janeiro. I've been fortunate enough to have visited from 2002-2007 and hope to return in October of 2009.
Each trip has been varied and different. One of these days I just might give a recollection here about some of the experiences that I underwent which I'd like others to undergo as well! They'll always be valued and remembered!
Each trip has been varied and different. One of these days I just might give a recollection here about some of the experiences that I underwent which I'd like others to undergo as well! They'll always be valued and remembered!
