has anyone stayed at the rio ibiza copacabana or the continental inn, iguaza? are they centrally located and near restuarants and shopping?<BR>we are thinking of spending time in rio and a few days at the falls.this will be our first time in rio and we do not know whether to organise everything at this end or wait till we get over there.we come from uk and are looking for good deals for flights in april 03.<BR>is it expensive to fly from rio to lima, peru as i would really love to go to machu picchi. thanks

There are restaurants everywhere near the beach. Rio Ibiza Copacabana is located approx. 300 m away from the beach, it is a no-frills hotel. Rio Sul Shopping Center is the closest shopping, approx. 800 m away. There is a long tunnel along the way, it is not wise to cross it afoot, so board a taxi. Have a look at Hotel Debret www.debret.com, same category, which sits right on Copacabana beach, and seems to be nice. Continental Inn, in Foz do Igua&ccedil;u, seems to be downtown. The falls of Igua&ccedil;u are some kilometers away, in National Park of Igua&ccedil;u. As you have no travel experience in Brasil, and probably you don't speak portuguese, your better choice is to organize everything prior to your trip (package).

Hi,<BR><BR>We are two ladies and we went to Rio in March last year and we had no advance reservations except a round-trip ticket.<BR><BR>We stayed at Hotel Ducasse just a block and half away from Copacabana beach. We booked a 3 day/2 night package to Iguasu Falls from a travel agent in Rio . . . we stopped at several and all seemed to have the same trip/prices.<BR><BR>We do not speak Portuguese but we do a little Spanish. We had no problems at all.<BR><BR>We LOVED Rio, had a great time, were never afraid. I typed up my notes and would be happy to email them to you, if you want.<BR><BR>March and April are off season so you should not have any problems making plans as you go.<BR><BR>Have a great trip!<BR>Sandy ([email protected])

I would agree with the above poster about the Debret hotel. I stay at the Debret all the time and it is maintained well and refurbished. It is in the best location and includes great breakfast if you can get up by 10 am. For 4 to 7 days they are offering a promotional package where you can get about $50 a day for a great room, take a look at their website www.debret.com

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