Advice Needed - Rio

WilcoOut

hey guys!

looking for some advice on the city of Rio de Janeiro

dos and donts?

must see/avoid?

must drink/taste?

also, I would love to catch Flamengo playing on the saturday and Botafogo on the sunday that i go

who/where is the best place to get tickets or a match experience deal?

advice will be much appreciated on any of the above!

imme

Don't go to the beaches at night, late at night.

Don't carry a lot of cash around with you, as you don't want to be robbed o too much, if it happens.

Leave your good watch and wallet at home, again as you wouldn't want to lose them.



-Go up to Cristo Redentor/Christ The Redeemer Statue, the big Jesus that's up on a hill, the corcovado. You can get a city bus to it easy enough, and safe.
There, you take a funicular train up the hill and get some great views of the sea and the city.
At the top you get a great view of the statue and the whole place.


-Lappa Street Party. A couple of streets in Lappa district is the centre for a street party on Friday and Sat nights. Guys set up a bar and serve up caipirinha, the Brazilian cocktail.

There'll be dancing in the street. Sometimes you hear reports of robberies at the party, beware. Time I was there it was mostly Cariocas, natives from Rio, on the streets.

At one point I could have sworn I was in a Bacardi commercial, it was a real flavour of something different, edgy and alive.


-There's a historical fort at the end of Copacabana beach. A couple of army bands in crazy old style uniforms play there on Sunday. But you can see them if you're on the beach as well as they leave the fort and march up and down the beautifully designed footpath on Avenida Atlantica.

-Churrascaria restaurants. These are steak houses, they come around to your table with cuts of beef, lamb, pork, chicken hearts etc on a long skewer and slice off some for you.

-The old city centre id best avoided imo. I went there to find the former royal palace, it was very below what I expected. And the area around it was full of dodgy characters and homeless people. A lady warned me to get out of there as my bag would be stolen. I walked pretty fast.:cool:

-The beaches, Copacabana, Ipanema. I always felt safe on them and the towns or suburbs or whatever that are around them.


I really liked Rio, want to go back some time.
Enjoy!

WilcoOut

cheers for the reply! seems in have plenty to do and see

did u by any chance get to take in any football matches?

imme

WilcoOut wrote: »

cheers for the reply! seems in have plenty to do and see

did u by any chance get to take in any football matches?

not in Rio, but in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We were searched a couple of times before being allowed near the stadium, rival fans were separated and kept apart, leaving the ground at intervals.

Massive police presence with 10 foot metal partitions to close off roads.

All led to a kind of uncomfortable sense.

We were miles back, couldn't see everything but it was an experience all the same.

solerina

I went to the Maracana to see Botofogo play Fluminese (a local darby)....the stadium is massive and although it was only about half full the noise was unreal....some atmosphere. We booked through our hotel and had buses pick us up at the hotel bring us to and from the game and had match tickets.
If I was going again I would just go to the stadium though, beacause when we got there the tickets were on public sale and were a good bit cheaper than what we paid for them, it was a 0-0 draw unfortunately but I loved the experience never the less.
I also loved Christ the Redeemer and the sugar loaf ( we sat for a good while on each level just people watching and enjoying the sunshine)

WilcoOut

cheers for that!

im a bit of a sport nut so ill deffo be taking in a game (or two!)

i have 5 nights in rio and then its on to ilha grande, so just making sure i can have an action packed 5days

jobless

most of the hostels (if you are staying one) will have day trips you can book and they also do trips to the football matches.... for the matches they usually charge more than if you went by yourself but i was happy to pay the extra because we got picked up and dropped off and were with a big group of tourists going to the game....

i second the lappa street parties, it was great fun....beware of going into nightclubs around there though, you get a card where they mark the drinks you buy but if you lose it, it might cost you a lot!...

also do the favela tour and city tour...they are both very good....

rio is a beautiful city.....enjoy

Meathlass

Went to two games when I was in Rio - Fluminese, Botofogo and Vasco. The first time I went with an Australian guy who lived in Rio who I'd met in an Irish bar watching a six nations match. There were a few of us there on our own and we all got chatting. He bought us the tickets at the stadium which were fairly cheap. The noise was unreal and there was a lot of police around and we were searched going in but felt perfectly safe. There were 5 of us in total - all obviously gringos

The next weekend I went with a group from the hostel. Bus picked us up and dropped us back. The price was about 50% more expensive but probably worth it for the convenience if you don't speak portugeuse and don't fancy pushing and shoving to buy tickets. The only downside was that we were in a big group of around 15 people and were obviously tourists - also a lot of the people with us were young and bit annoying. They weren't shy about flashing cameras etc. Near the end of the game some women came up to our guide and said they'd heard some men say they were going to rob us on the way out when the crowds were dispersing so we left before the game ended. I suppose in a larger group like that you draw more attention and are a bigger target. But I wouldn't let that put you off. Don't bring any more money than you need and be discrete taking photos.

Definately go though, great experience. The noise was unreal and I learned lots of portuguese swear words!

jonnybravo

I'd second going with a Tour Group. Alot of the stadiums are in dodgey enough areas and its much safer going in a tour. Just don't bring a load of cash and you'll be the finest.

Also defo do Christ the Redeemder. Great views from there and the statue is a worldwide landmark. I'd try and go very early if possible. Crowds can get annoying after a while.

Also should do the Favala tour. I thought it was very interesting and gave a great insight into the difference lives that the rich and poor live in Brazil.

Rio is a great city. One of my favourite places in my 18 months travelling. I'd go back in a heartbeat. Enjoy.