Rio de Janeiro

ozzy jr

I'm hovering over the flight purchase button, but am a little apprehensive about going there. Is the crime as bad as it's made out? I like to walk around a lot when I visit a new city, but I get the impression I won't be able to here. I also like taking photos, I don't have a top of the range camera but anything I read says, don't bring out cameras or phones.

It looks a great city though.

Where should I stay, what should I see?

Oh yeah, the reason I'm going is for Rock in Rio. Anyone been to that?

Has anyone got any experiences to share?

rossie1977

I was in Rio last year, great city so don't be put off. It's one of the world's great cities. Fantastic beaches (if incredibly crowded), sights and people are nice.

As to where to stay well I stayed in Ipanema and I would highly recommend that area or Leblon next door. Lots of restaurants and bars. Some supermarkets, western fast food chains etc.

I walked all over Ipanema and Leblon including 3/4 of Rodrigo de Freitas lake with no issues at all. Lots of people do lake walk including families. Copacabana is fine too but it had a major military presence. I also walked from Botafogo to sugar loaf cable car without incident. Downtown the day I was there was deserted and there is alot of homeless and beggars at Central station so avoid that area if you can. Watch for kids trying to spray stuff on your shoes.

As for what to see Sugar loaf is fun. Bus journey to Christ the Redeemer is an experience in itself, buses to be found at Praça do Lido in Copacabana. Maracana stadium tour is something you should do if you are a football fan. There is a metro station next to it.

If arriving in Galeão use radio taxis to and from airport. they have desks at arrivals and you pay in advance. It's more expensive that metered cabs or public transport but worth it. Metro is really good around city but doesn't go to Galeão. As for personal safety like anywhere avoid looking like a tourist who has something to steal. I have a Windows Lumia phone I got for 60-70 Euro and it takes good photos and videos.

Sorry can't help with music festival.

finbarrk

I was there twice. Last time was during the Olympics. Stayed in Leblon, it was fine. You will find loads of info on the TA forum. No problems in that part of the city.
https://www.tripadvisor.ie/ShowForum-g303506-i1199-Rio_de_Janeiro_State_of_Rio_de_Janeiro.html

theguzman

I spent three weeks in Rio in October and can offer some tips.

Firstly yes it can be Dangerous, The only negative experience I had was when I got caught in an Arrastao (Dragnet in English) I was walking along the Copacabana on a Sunday afternoon in hot weather and the beach was very busy, basically gangs of young blacks from the Favela came down to the beach to cause trouble and go robbing and they just run along the beach in groups of 20+ and snatch whatever they can and keep going, anyone who resists gets assaulted. I was lucky in that I was facing them and spotted what was happening in time run across the street into a cafe, I was very cautious with my iPhone and didn't take it out with me too often after that using my cheaper android instead.

I never used a regular Taxi once, Uber is everywhere in Rio and Sao Paolo also, it allowed me to avoid the language barrier, as with Uber the app tell him where you are going and you don't need to pay Cash, I paired it to my Revolut card when I was there. Rio Galleao Airport to Copacabana was €10 in an Uber, when I flew back to Rio from Sao Paolo I flew to Santos Dumont which is even closer although flights often cost more. I paid €68 one way from SP Garulhos to Rio Santos Dumont with Azul Air including 20kg baggage fee.

Rio is a great city and I loved it, very laid back and great food, I was staying in an AirBnb Apartment near to Cantagalo Metro station in Copacabana. Ipanema and Leblon is good too. I would definitely recommend the Sugarloaf and Christo Redeemer even if the Christ statue is horrendously overrun with tourists. I took the Funicular Railway up to the Summit, taking Uber to the Funicular base at the bottom of the mountain. Another great thing to do is to ride the Ferry from Rio to Nitero as it is very cheap like $R6.00 I think, I then took the Bus back across the long harbour bridge.

After Rio I took a bus to SP which took 7 hours for €21 which was nice to see Brazilian countryside.

ozzy jr

theguzman wrote: »

I spent three weeks in Rio in October and can offer some tips.

Firstly yes it can be Dangerous, The only negative experience I had was when I got caught in an Arrastao (Dragnet in English) I was walking along the Copacabana on a Sunday afternoon in hot weather and the beach was very busy, basically gangs of young blacks from the Favela came down to the beach to cause trouble and go robbing and they just run along the beach in groups of 20+ and snatch whatever they can and keep going, anyone who resists gets assaulted..

That's crazy! I had read about that sort of thing.

The Enbalmer

ozzy jr wrote: »

That's crazy! I had read about that sort of thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF4vBtN2AqE

theguzman

The Enbalmer wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF4vBtN2AqE

That's would be a very extreme version of what happened me, there is armed police there, apparently under the new Presidential regime they are now ordered to shoot to kill in these circumstances. I would not let this put a person off visiting Brazil but at the same time if the only places you would have visited were the Spanish costas etc. then you could be in for a rude awakening.

I have been travelling for over a decade and only decided to visit Brazil last year after much planning and it is definitely not for the uninitiated.

Brazil had almost 70,000 murders last year and the rule of thumb is the further North you go the bigger the black population the more dangerous it becomes, whereas Southern Brazil is predominately German and far safer. Cities such as Belem, Sao Luis, Recife and Salvador would be far more dangerous than Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paolo as they would also be far poorer with a host of associated social problems.

Brazil has all the Racial problems similar to the USA and the recent rise of the Far right there was a knee jerk response to the countries rampant crime and political corruption which came to light in the carwash scandal and saw the ruling Socialists removed from power after almost 20 years.

There is so much fun to be had in the country and I found myself invited to a birthday party despite not speaking any Portuguese and it was a mighty night. If you need any advice or tips let me know here and I'll be happy to help.

ozzy jr

Spanish costas are not my thing. Last year I went to Laos on holiday

My reason for Rio is for the Iron Maiden concert.