Rio de Janeiro
14 hours from Paris
3 days in Rio then we rented a car for 9 days
3 days at Paraty
3 days Angra & Ilha Grande
1 day in Rio de Janeiro
3 days in Buzios & Cabo Frio
1 day in Rio de Janeiro
Back to Paris
View of Rio from the Sugar Loaf
Taken with a 28mm on Kodak Gold 200
We stayed at a friend's apartment, so we cannot give you advice on where
to stay. We were really lucky because that's the best solution. Anyway,
I guess the Lonely Planet or Le Guide du Routard would give you good hints
to where to stay for not to expensive. Here are photos and addresses of
what we really appreciated in Rio.
First possibility to visit Rio: you can take the Subway! There are
only 2 lines, but you will find air conditioning ( great for Americans).
The place is safe and clean. It's cheaper during the day (about 0.85 Real
a ticket) but not more expensive that Paris Subway at rush hour ( 1 Real
). Don't look for reduction on a "10 Pack Tokens". They have a special
way of business: 1 Ticket = 1 Real , 2 Tickets = 2 Reals , 10 Tickets =
10 Reals! (Sic.)
Otherwise they have a really good bus network ( once you understand
how it works !). You will have to buy a 175 pages book to get all the lines.
Don't try without this book because you'll never manage to go where you
want. There are no maps, nor itineraries at bus stops! Anyway I don't think
it's doable. That's the cheapest way to travel in Rio (0.65 Real one way).
It is secure as long as you don't get lost in favelas ( Near the Rodoviaria
for example). Some advice would be : Sit as near to the driver as possible,
and stay on the center seat. Otherwise, don't be surprise, they drive buses
like racing cars! Get a good grip.
And if you are rich, take Taxis, but you'll stay a tourist and miss
a lot of what life in Rio is.
Corcovado
Picture of Corcovado with a simple automatic camera
We were lucky because the weather was really nice. We could see really far away. To climb to the top, we would advise to take the Tramway even if it's $15. Try to go on the right side of the wagon, it's where you'll get the best view on the way to the top. Expect some delay at the bottom, it could be crowded. What is surprising from the Corcovado is that you barely see the favelas from there. It's a good visit to do at the beginning of the trip because it will give you a good idea of the geography of the city. Notice also during the drive to the top how rich properties and favelas are mixed.
Sugar Loaf
View of Copacabana beach from Sugar Loaf.
Taken with a 28mm on Kodak Gold 200
It's worth to wait 1 hour in line to take the lift. On the top of the
loaf, you get a great view of Copacabana beach as well as downtown Rio
de Janeiro. If you walk down a little bit you will see on the other side
the bay and you'll have a view on Niteroï. When we went there we were
really lucky because it was pretty empty. Don't hesitate to shoot panoramic
pictures and concatenate them, it's maybe the best pictures we did. It
gives afterward a good base to our memories. To give you and idea,
we took 9 pictures to realize a 280° view at the corcovado.
Beaches
Here is what you can glance at while taking a nap of the beaches. We particularly appreciated the beach which is at 60 miles south of Rio. It's a surfers' beach and you can see good looking guys and pretty chicks in tiny bikinis! Otherwise if you stay in Rio, nice beaches are located in Copacabana or Ipanema area. Those beaches are several kilometers long . You can play volley or soccer every 50 meters. Be careful with your wallet, don't do as many tourists, don't leave it on your towel, you won't find it after your bath !! (Even leaving your T Shirt may be risky!)
Favelas
Here is a view of what you can see around Rio. What is really impressive is that you can have both favelas and wealthy houses nearby. Favelas are usually "built" on slopes, and you wonder how it doesn't crash. Don't try to visit them (even if you speak Portuguese). And if you really want, their are some tours organized and you may come back alive from them. You don't see too many people from the favelas in the streets of Rio because police is guarding the entries. Therefore, you can't visit favelas, and people who live there can't come in town. The life in these favelas is quite peculiar because it's totally disconnected from Rio. They don't have social security, they don't benefit from the city infrastructure and they have no relations with the city. We heard that Drug Organizations pay for school and minimum help to the fevelas. Anyway it's surprising how both categories of people live "together".
Botanical Garden
When you arrive in Rio, it's the first place where you can see rain forest species. They have done a beautiful job with this garden. They have a lot of species, especially orchids. It's worth spending a few hours walking among the flowers, trees, ...
Eat
During this 2 week trip, we ate in many places, and never got sick. We
didn't take any special medicine or treatment, or cared to prevent problems.
We didn't avoid tap water, we even eat grilled meat on markets. Maybe we
were lucky, I don't know. But don't hesitate to drink SUCOS! They are really
fantaaaaaaaaastic. They do them with fresh fruits: pineapple, mango, banana,
.... You will really want to try them all, and you will take pleasure to
learn this vocabulary (maracuja, caldo de cana, mango, abacaxi, ...). You
will also find VITAMINAS, it's even better than Sucos, they put milk in
it (It's close to the milkshake). You can't resist it.
Otherwise they cook really good food. What we really appreciated were
the restaurants where you have a buffet and you pay the food by kilo ("Comida
a kilo"). They usually have a good variety of choice. The typical meal
in Brazil (feijoada) is made with boiled meat served with red beans
and manioc flour . It makes you really thirsty, but it's good.