Hello

1. What are the best areas of rio to stay in a hotel ?

2. Where can one find reasonable hotel in a safe area, in Rio for 2 nights January 26, 27?
2. What is a must see in Rio when one has 2 days only ?


Thank you very much

We spent three nights in the Orla Copacabana and that was a great location, plus the cost was pretty reasonable (I don't remember the actual per night cost since we booked things as a package). It is right at the end of Copacabana Beach and within a 10 minute walk of Ipanema Beach. Seemed very safe to me. As for what to do - the typical tourist itinerary includes Corcovado (Christ the Redeemer statue). Sugarloaf, and walking the beaches.

The Ouro Verde in Copacabana is very nice. In Copacabana - stay on Avenida Atlantica (the beach street) for safety. The Praia Ipanema is nice as well. The Aprodor Inn is simple, butclean.
For only two days .. make sure you do the Pao de Acucar (sugarLoaf) b4 the Corcovado. The views from both are great, but the Corcovado view is unparalled and you'd be disappointed in Sugar Loaf post Corcovado. Hint ... if you go to SugarLoaf, get the taxi to take you to the H Stern Jerwlry store in Ipanema. H stern will pay the fare and the H Stern tour is actually interesting. Stroll back towards Copacabana along the beach and stop in Barill 1800 for beer and lula frita (calamari)

The Botanic Garden is interesting if you are into plants. You probably dont have enough time in your itinerary, but if you can squeeze in a side trip to Petropolis and see the Imperial Palace, it is defintiely worth it.

One more thing - totally touristy but fun ... The restaurant Garota de Ipanema (The Girl From Ipanema, yes, that one) is one block in from the beach in Ipanema near the Cesar Park Hotel. Tom Jobin wrote the music to his song on the wall and the food is typical Brazilian fare.

And, my favorite Brazilian cocktail is a batida de maracuja. A kind of daiquiri made with passion fruit (maracuja) and either vodka or pinga. Pinga (cachaca) is sugar cane alcohol. Warning: Pinga has a kick!

Actually, I have to differ.....if you don't have much time, you should probably go to Corcovado and skip Sugarloaf. since you can see Sugarloaf from Corcovado, it almost seems like a waste to go to both when you have a short time.

Don't forget the Hippie Fair if you are there on a Sunday! Also on Rua Vicinus de Moraes, there is a music store called Toca do Vicinius. They offer free bossa nova concerts about once a week, right outside their store (about 8 p.m.).

We stay in Ipanema Plaza Hotel on Christmas, 2 nights. Very good hotel & location, safe place. One block from Ipanema beach. On Sunday they have Art fair just 2 blocks frm hotel. Highly recommend.

If you don't mind I"d like to jump on the bandwagon on this post. I will be in Rio for 2 nights/1 full day in August. Can anyone recommend a full day tour or a personal tour guide who can show me all the main sights? I need someone who speaks English, too. Also, has anyone heard of the hotel Mar Ipanema? Any thoughts? Thanks.

In Rio we hired an excellent English speaking private guide with car. His name Sallyr Lerner, email...mlerner @filippolippi.com.br. We just had 2 days in Rio and with Sallyr we managed to see as much as possible. Really good! He quickly learned what our interests are and took us to those places. We had no real knowledge of the sights of Rio so we relied on his expertise. We got him thru agency at hotel but if contacted privately I would guess you would pay less. But worth the money either way.

I would suggest staying in Ipanema instead of Copacabana - it's much safer at night. The Ipanema Plaza is a very nice hotel - many good restaurants within walking distance also.

In only two days I would spend one day going to the Corcovado & Sugar Loaf; you can have a taxi drive you to both places for ~$80 - a cheap price for this. At night maybe rent a paddle boat on the lagoon before dinner - nice view of the Corcovado. The restaurant Gorota de Ipanema is awesome! The other day I would relax on the beach or go hang -gliding - awesome experience!! Have fun!

The botanical gardens in Rio are among the best (probably THE best) I have ever seen and they are within walking distance of the lagoon and a quick cab ride from Ipanema. Well worth some time. Even the hour or so we spent was worth it, but we could have spent longer.