I have a chance to go on a business/pleasure trip to Rio in March of 2007 staying at the Copacabana Palace hotel. Whenever my wife and I vacation, we like to walk quite a bit to get a feel for the people, go to restaurants/cafes, etc. Is Rio (the Copacabana area) just like any other major city or do you really have to be extra cautious in regards to travelling (walking)after dark. If we have to be that careful, I don't know if it would be worth going there. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!!

The Copacabana Palace is the nicest hotel in Latin America and very safe with private safe section on the beach.

Walking during the day anywhere in the beach area/turist area is no problem I do it all the time walking from Copacabana all the way to Leblon and back almost daily when I am there, you will have no problems.

Even though I have hardly ever seen any crime at night Rio has a petty theft problem and it is advisable after about 11 pm to take taxis to your destination.

Other than that Rio is just as dangerous as any other big city including Rome, Paris and New York.

Most of the violence that you hear and read about goes on in the Favelas/slums where the poor and drug traffickers live.

Go, go, go! You will love it!

I found Copacabana beach and the surrounding area to be perfectly safe. My pregnant wife and I walked extensively, yes even at night, and had no problems. Rio is one of the three or four most spectacular cities in the world. Everyone should see it.

Robin

Thanks for your responses. According to numerous posts on the Trip Advisor forums, they recommending only wearing shorts and t-shirts, no polo shirts, no watches (of even reasonable quality). Can this be true? I can't imagine that it is unsafe to wear a polo type shirt out to Dinner??

I think what others may have been trying to warn about is that there is a lot of pick-pocket-type crime in Rio. While the area is perfectly safe (nobody's going to hurt you, the people are friendly and helpful), you do want to avoid wearing expensive jewelry that might be enticing to snatch. But you can certainly wear whatever clothing you like.

Be particularly careful when going to the beach... don't bring your camera or anything of value there, because some thieves are pretty nimble at snatching up your valuables while you sunbathe. If you are worried about walking around at night, just ask the doorman at your (very nice) hotel to tell you any areas to avoid... they'll point you in the right direction. Despite the petty crime, you will love Rio. Enjoy your trip!

mvs:

we stayed next door to the Copa (at the Hotel Ouro Verde..walked extensively, but did not take our camera which was locked in the hotel safe..instead, we bought throw-aways for complete piece of mind...and the pix came out fine..of course this was before digitals!

Stu T.

Ha! should be "peace of mind"...

Stu T.