Hey peeps,
mmco,
As a Carioca I must say that Rio is safe, unless you go out on the streets carrying big cameras and expensive Jewelry. You just have to be more careful and attentive, I would say SENSIBLE if you look like a tourist: wearing patterned shirts and the typical hat.
Once I was on the bus and saw lots of tourists taking pics of the ticket collector bus with a big camera shooting hanging theirs necks......
The best option would be to get lots of advice from people who live here.
Feell free to ask any questions you want.
Hi Cecibastos,
Thanks for the tips.
would it be best to go over there with disposable cameras?
im going here too! my friend is doing the research, he says all the hotels only allow bookings of ten days at a time due to demand!
we're only staying for 5 days for the carnival, so will be paying for the hotel for 5 days we are not even there..
have you found this to be the case?
Hey si403,
not to sure we are going with a tour for most of the time but we need a place for two nights we are going through a travel agent so i havent really heard of that before??
Have you looked on Expedia?
Hi,
I am also going to Carnival next year, but will be in Rio about 2 weeks in total. Would love any advice on what I need to book now, where is best to stay. I am also travelling alone, so would love to maybe organise a meet etc??
Thanks
Hi Cecibastos,
Thanks for the tips.
Would it be best to go over there with disposable cameras?
You shouldn't go too far. An standard camera 12 mpxls Sony or similar is enough. Just be attentive and you will not be robbed. But the point is that I have travelled abroad and noticed that most people are not very attentive with their personall belongings and correct me if I'm mistaken... If you do this and don't behave like a tourist things will be OK..
I hope this helps....
Hi
I have been to Rio several times and had no problems at all. Infact I found the Cariocas to be really friendly and great fun. However you are in a big city and so should take the same precautions you would do in any city where the crime can be higher - all the advice posted on here is really relevant.
All the obvious things really - don't walk around flashing your camera/IPOD/expensive items etc. This is common sense in any city. I had no problems taking photos when walking around Rio. Be careful with your items on the beach - don't leave them out of sight.
Taking the bus - again i had no problems but a couple of locals said it's safer to sit near the front, behind the driver if possible.
I took taxis at night, pretty cheap and felt safer than walking to clubs/bars.
When i went out in lapa at night my friend had someone put their hands into her bag quite openly. I think any kind of street party celebrations best option is have money close to you and don't take things you dont need as they could get stolen.
When i travel anywhere I have an amount of change in my pocket to give to someone if they try to mug me with the most valuable things/majority of my money under my clothing.
Rio is one of my favourite cities in the world, stunningly beautiful and a lot of fun. Enjoy!!!
Hello guys! Here are some advices..
I'm also from Rio and as a experienced backpacker (travelled through europe and some places in Brasil), I have to agree that if you don't take care and act like a traditional obvious tourist, you might get robbed anywhere. A friend of mine just lost her camera in Barcelona and she didn't even feel the person taking it, just found her purse open =X
Also as a photography lover, I would never advise someone to take a disposable camera on an abroad trip. You should be fine with any camera, just take care and pay attention to where you are and the people around you. I even travelled last year to Maranhao (a state up north in brasil) and took my professional camera with me. At the beggining I was worried about it, but later I just enjoyed taking my pictures. More than the risk of getting robbed, the heavy weight I carried bothered me a lot. So I would recommend a camera that that good pics but doesn't weight very much to carry around.
Also, I recommend to carry a little padlock on your backpack or whrist bag, so you won't be surprised with anything. The best tip is to leave your passport and other documents safely on the hotel or wherever you stay and walk around with a copy of the passport, just in case.
A good tip is to take only taxis from "cooperativas" which are companies that coordinates them. You can identify these taxis simply by the name of the company and the number of the taxi, on both sides of the car. Also, always demand the taxi driver uses the "taximeter" which is the little electronic device that counts how much you pay as he drives you around, 'cause some drivers try to get advantage on foreigners trying to set up a fixed price instead of using the meter.
There are a lot of clubs and parties during carnival in Rio, but I find them too expensive and crowded. The best free entertainment if the street parades (blocos) which you can find pretty much all over the city during all days. There are more than 300 of them during carnival and I would advise to try to find out the good and not very famous ones, because they are less crowded and you can enjoy better the music.
Advice on where to stay. Well, there are tons of hostels and hotels, and usually most of them make a 6-10 day package for carnival. When I travel, I usually book my accomodantion on hostel world and have also used expedia one time. It works pretty well. It's better to book in advance 'cause near carnival everything gets full and more expensive. If anyone wants more advices or information about alternative places to stay, feel free to ask me. I have a friend that works at a nice hostel (young and fun), I myself worked for a couple of months at another one (more alternative and quiet than my friend's) and I also have an apartment that I might not use during carnival and I'm thinking about renting it if I do decide to travel... I can also recommend short trips to beach cities near Rio and some parties to go.
have a nice trip!
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