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Rio de Janeiro Travel Guide

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For other places with the same name, see Rio de Janeiro (disambiguation).

Rio de Janeiro [1] is a large city in Brazil, on the South Atlantic coast. Rio is famous for its breathtaking landscape, its laidback beach culture and its annual carnival.

Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro

Contents

Districts

Rio de Janeiro is largely divided into four regions:

  • Zona Sul (South Zone) including Copacabana and Ipanema. Contains some of the more upscale neighborhoods and concentrates the largest part of the city's tourist activity.
  • Centro including Santa Teresa. The city's financial and business center also has many historic buildings from its early days.
  • Zona Norte (North Zone). The Maracanã stadium and more.
  • Zona Oeste (West Zone), a suburban area including primarily the districts of Jacarepaguá and Barra da Tijuca, popular for its beaches.

Understand

Sugar Loaf mountain
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Sugar Loaf mountain

It is not an uncommon mistake to point out Rio as Brazil's capital, as in fact it was until 1960. Beaches such as Copacabana and Ipanema, the Christ The Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) statue, the stadium of Maracanã and Sugar Loaf Mountain (Pão de Açúcar) are all well-known sights of what the inhabitants call the "marvelous city" (cidade maravilhosa), and also the first images to pop up in someone's mind, along with the Carnaval celebration.

Sadly, most people also know Rio for its violence and crime. The drug lords and the slums or favelas are the tip of very old social problems. The favelas are areas of poor quality housing, slums usually located on the city's many mountain slopes.

The inhabitants of Rio, called cariocas, are known for being easy-going and friendly, in contrast to the more reserved citizens of other cities like Sao Paulo.

Official tourist information can be obtained from Riotur

Get in

Rio is one of the country's major transportation hubs, seconded only by São Paulo.

Distance from some capitals:

By plane

  • International and most domestic flights land at Tom Jobim International Airport (better known as Galeão). Tel. 3398-5050 (fax 3393-2288). This airport is 20 km away from the city center and main hotels.
Baía da Guanabara (Guanabara Bay) from Urca mountain
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Baía da Guanabara (Guanabara Bay) from Urca mountain
  • Santos Dumont airport Tel. 3814-7070 (fax. 2533-2218). Gets flights only from Sao Paulo and a few other domestic destinations. Located right in the city center, by the Guanabara bay. Airlines that service Santos Dumont are: GOL, Varig, TAM, OceanAir, and Team.

Air-conditioned bus service operated by Real[2] departs every 30 minutes and runs between both airports and further to Zona Sul (along the beachfront in Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon) and Barra da Tijuca. A single ticket costs R$ 6.

Taxis, though considerably more expensive, are also a convenient way to reach the tourist areas.

  • Flying to Rio de Janeiro from the USA and in general from anywhere in the world is getting expensive. Airlines are charging customers fuel surcharges between 25 and 85 dollar each way. Still we want to go to Rio de Janeiro and it is worth the visit and every cent we spend to get there.

From the US there are non stop flights to Rio de Janeiro only from Miami with American Airlines and from Atlanta with Delta Airlines. From New York, Dallas, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston and most of the USA, you have to make a stop in Miami or in Sao Paulo to get to Rio.

The best seasons to travel to Rio de Janeiro with low airfares are from February (after Carnaval) to May and from August to November. Tickets from New York, for instance, can cost as low as U$699.00 including taxes. Buy your flights far in advance, do not wait till the last minute hoping to get a US$300 round trip ticket.

By train

Rio's glorious Central Station, or Central do Brasil, made famous by a movie of the same name, serves mostly local commuter lines (SuperVia [3]), so it's unlikely that you'll arrive through here. It's worth a visit just to see it, though.

By bus

The long-distance bus depot, Rodoviária Novo Rio, is located in the North Zone's São Cristovão neighborhood. Taxis and coach buses can get you to the South Zone in about fifteen minutes; local buses take a bit longer. Frescão air-conditioned coaches can be caught just off the bus station. The coaches connect the station to the city center and main hotel areas of Copacabana and Ipanema. Bus companies include :

By car

Rio is connected by many roads to neighboring cities and states, but access can be confusing as there are insufficient traffic signs or indications of how to get downtown.

The main interstate highways passing through Rio are:

  • BR-116, which connects the city to the southern region of Brazil.
  • BR-101, which leads to the north and northwest, and
  • BR-040, which will take you in the central and western areas.


By boat

Ferries (barcas) connect neighboring Niteroi to Rio de Janeiro and arrive at Praça XV, in the city center.

Get around

By taxi

A cab is one of the best ways to move around Rio. Most of the tours will cost around R$15, and the car can usually hold four people. You can ask a cab for a city tour, and arrange a fixed price (maybe around US$20). The main taxi companies include Central de Taxi, Ouro Taxi and Yellow Taxi. After getting into the taxi, check if the taximeter has been started. If not, ask the taxi driver to do so. You may be ripped off by some taxi drivers. Avoid the blue, green, and white taxis as they tend to charge considerably more for the same ride.

By car

Traffic within some parts of Rio can be daunting, but a car may be the best way to reach distant beaches like Grumari, and that can be an extra adventure. In Rio, most road signals are placed after the curve you were supposed to take, and do not help unless you already know how to go there. Buy a map, and have fun.

By bus

Buses are a cheap and nice way to get around by day. By night they are more scarce but you can ride them anyway. Buses usually cost R$ 1.90, but some buses with air conditioning charge higher fares. Keep an eye out for pickpockets when the bus is crowded, and don't be surprised if your driver goes a little faster than you'd like.

Bus lines with a * means that this bus has a variant. It means that there may be a bus with the same name, same number, same origin, even same destination but with a complete different tour. Ask the driver, he won't mind.

Buses with air-conditioning will have a little higher fare than those without.


By subway

The Metrô Rio subway system is very useful for reaching areas from Copacabana to Downtown, although the rest of Zona Sul is not particularly well-served and it closes after midnight (it's open 24 hours during carnival). The air-conditioned subway is clean, comfortable, and quick, and in 2006 it received bilingual Portuguese-English signs and maps to make the life of millions of foreign tourists easier. There are two main lines. Line 1 has service to Copacabana, the Saara district, and much of Downtown, as well as Tijuca, where you can visit Corcovado. Line 2 stops at the zoo, soccer stadium, and State University. The two lines intersect at Estácio.

Recently the last wagon of each train has been marked women-only with a pink window sticker, in order to avoid potential harrassment in crowded trains. Some men, however, are still to get used to this separation and many women, who are accostumed to hassle-free everyday travel in Rio's subway, also think the measure is unnecessary. Anyway, if you're a man, avoid getting into trouble with local security and stay off the pink-marked wagons.

See

Beaches

Rio's beaches are undoubtedly one of the main reasons why travellers visit the city. Copacabana and Ipanema are by far the most famous, but there are many others, each with a distinct character. Travellers should be aware that most beaches are polluted, and bathing is not advisable in any of the non-oceanic beaches (except for those in the island of Paqueta). The beaches that are often proper for swimming are Copacabana, Recreio dos Bandeirantes, and Grumari. Some of the most noticeable are (ordered from North to South):

  • Flamengo (by the bay)
  • Botafogo (by the bay)
  • Praia Vermelha (oceanic, but often polluted)
  • Leme (oceanic)
  • Copacabana (oceanic)
  • Arpoador (oceanic)
  • Ipanema (oceanic)
  • Leblon (oceanic)
  • São Conrado (oceanic, but often polluted)
  • Barra da Tijuca (oceanic, but often polluted)
  • Recreio dos Bandeirantes (oceanic)
  • Grumari (oceanic)

It is also worth visiting the beaches in Paqueta, particularly:

  • Praia da Moreninha (on the Guanabara Bay, but often proper for swimming)

Sights

  • Corcovado [9]
  • Pão de Açúcar
  • Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas
  • Maracana
  • Parque Lage
  • Jardim Botanico

Buildings

  • Mosteiro de São Bento (Saint Benedict's Monastery) (1663)
  • São Francisco da Penitência church (1773)
  • Biblioteca Nacional (National Library) (1910)
  • Theatro Municipal (1909)
  • Ilha Fiscal Palace (1889)
  • Lapa Aqueduct (1750)
  • Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (1906)
  • Casa França Brasil (1820)
  • Paço Imperial (1743)

Museums

Parque Lage and Corcovado
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Parque Lage and Corcovado
  • Museu Nacional
  • Museu Histórico Nacional
  • Museu Nacional de Belas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts)
  • MAM - Museum of Modern Art
  • Museu da República
  • Museu do Índio (Museum of the Indian)

Parks

  • Jardim Botânico [10]
  • Parque Lage
  • Parque do Flamengo
  • Parque Guinle
  • Campo de Santana
  • Quinta da Boa Vista

Do

Carnival

Still the greatest reason for visiting Rio seems to be the Carnival. This highly advertised party lasts for almost two weeks and it is well known for the escolas de samba (samba schools) that parade in Centro, on a gigantic structure called Sambódromo (Sambadrome). During Carnival, Rio has much more to offer though, with the blocos de rua, that parade on the streets. There are now hundreds of these street "samba blocks", that parade almost in every neighborhood, especially in Centro and the South Zone, gathering thousands of people. Some are very famous, and there are few cariocas that have not heard of "Carmelitas", "Suvaco de Cristo", "Escravos da Mauá" or "Simpatia É Quase Amor".

The rest of the year, samba shows are popular with tourists, and are held at several venues like Plataforma and Scala. These are expensive and not really representative of Brazilian culture, they present a lot of almost naked women and bad musicians, a tourist trap (much like the real thing.) Much more interesting and genuine, though, are the night practice sessions held by the various samba schools in the months leading up to Carnival. You will find only a small number of tourists here, and I promise you will be served the best caipirinhas of your trip! These go on into the wee hours of the morning, with the fun really only starting at 1-2 A.M. A good cab driver should be able to hook you up, and cabs will be available to take you back when you are samba-ed out. Salgueiro [11] and Mangueira [12] are good choices, as they are two of the larger samba schools, and are located relatively close to the tourist areas in a fairly safe area.

Note that a change is afoot that may make this genuine experience a thing of the past (or more convenient, depending on your viewpoint) for all but the most savvy tourists. The local government is in the process of building a complex of buildings where many of the samba schools are expected to move their practice halls and float-construction facilities from the gritty warehouses typically located in or near their home favelas. One can expect many more tourists, and shows made-up for the tourists as the tourist bureau milks this facility for all it's worth year-round.

The following is a list of some of the samba schools:

The newest addition to the municipality's attempt to make money off of tourists is the Samba City.

Music

Rio was the cradle of three of Brazil most important musical genres: samba, choro, and bossa nova. In recent years, there has been a boom of traditional samba and choro venues. A lot of them are in the downtown district of Lapa. There are good and cheap nightlife options, where you will see some of the best musicians of the country. Any of the city newspapers provide pointers to the best shows.

If you're not such an anthropological type of tourist, you can check out the same papers for tips on other kinds of music. Being a big city, Rio has big and small clubs that play almost every kind of music. The major mainstream clubs mostly play whatever's on the Radio - which is usually whatever's on the USA radios and MTV - but the underground scene has a lot to offer on Rock, E-Music, Rap and such. The best way to find out about those are the flyers handed or left at hostels, cinema and theater lobbies, nightclub lines, etc.

And here's a summary of Rio Clubs and Nightlife

New Year’s Eve celebrations

Rio hosts the country's largest and most popular New Year’s Eve celebrations. The huge fireworks display and music shows attract 2 million people to the sands of Copacabana beach every year. People dress in white for luck and toast the arrival of the new year.

Hang Gliding and Paragliding

Hang Gliding in Rio de Janeiro started in the mid 70’s and quickly proved to be perfectly suited for this town due to its geography with steep mountains encountering the Atlantic ocean which provides excellent take off locations and great landing zones on the beach. Operators include:

  • Rio Hang Gliding [13]
  • Guia 4 Ventos [14]

Panoramic flights

If you have the money the following operators give you panoramic flights in helicopters:

  • Cruzeiro Taxi Aéreo [15]
  • Helisight [16]

Favela (Shantytown) tours

The following operators offer tours of Rocinha:

Pan American Games

Many tourist attractions in Rio de Janeiro as well as some urban facilities such as the subway are being revamped for the Pan American Games that will take place in 2007, when the city expects to draw a lot additional tourists.

Learn

Buy

Always bargain; this can lower prices considerably. But naturally merchants won't bargain unless you ask, especially if you are clearly a tourist. To tourists, items can easily be overpriced by a factor of 10 especially in highly informal markets such as Saara or on the beach.

  • A typical Brazilian hammock shouldn't be more than R$20-30 but they can sell for up to US$150.
  • A beer on the beach should cost around R$3.00
  • A caipirinha can be had for the same price (around R$3.00) and you get a great show as the ingredients are produced from a cooler and lime slices muddled before you eyes
  • You can get coconut water for R$2.50
  • For trinkets, your best bet is the "hippie fair" in Praça General Osório in Ipanema every Sunday.
  • For a sterile norte-americano-style shopping experience, head to the malls in Barra da Tijuca. There's also the Fashion Mall [19] in São Conrado.
  • For a cheap price, head to Norte Shopping in Del Castilho (the 456 or the 457 bus can leave you in front of it. Take them at Praça General Osório in Ipanema) or to the Nova América Outlet Shopping in Del Castilho too (take the subway and leave it on Del Castilho Station. It has a passage to the shopping).

Great bargains can be had on Brazilian-made clothing, as well as some European imports. Imported electronics are insanely expensive due to protective import duties. For example, you will find digital cameras sell for about twice what they sell for in the U.S.

Store managers in Rio often speak some English, as this gains employees an almost-automatic promotion. But "some" can be very little, so it is useful to learn at least some very basic Portuguese. Just knowing basic greetings, numbers, and how to ask directions and prices will get you at least a "B" for effort, and despite finding that store clerks may know more English than you Portuguese, it can still come in handy to know a bit of the language. Spanish is likely to do you much less good than you may think, but if you know Italian, you may find it of more use than you might expect. Don't be afraid to resort to writing numbers, pictures, or resorting to pantomime. (I had a hilarious incident where I was trying to ask for a shirt with a picture of a bird, and instead got directions to the airport.) Clerks will often tap out prices for you on a calculator.

Eat

Rio de Janeiro lacks little in choice when it comes to food - you can probably find something to fit any craving. A good approach to local food is "comida a kilo" - buffet style restaurants where you pay by the weight of the food on your plate.

Don't miss Brazil's national dish, feijoada! For connoisseurs of meat, nothing beats a good rodizio.

Southern churrasco has also claimed its stake (and steak) in Rio. Marius has arguably the best rodizio in town. Porcão has 5 restaurants around Rio, whereas Carretão has a good and cheap(er) rodizio.

Brazil has the largest population of Japanese outside of Japan, and sushi has become widely popular in Rio too.

Travellers with fatter pockets may also splash out a bit at the Dias Ferreira street in Leblon, Rio's up-and-coming restaurants row.

Drink

What

  • Botequim (pronounced 'boo-chi-KEEM') - These quite unpretentious bars with simple appetizers and lots of ice-cold chope (draft beer) are everywhere and are almost inseparable from the carioca lifestyle. Try Bracarense (85, José Linhares street, Leblon), one of the most traditional.
  • Juice bars - Of particular note for an often hot and muggy city are the refreshing juice bars, found on nearly every corner in the city. Choose from dozens of freshly squeezed fruit juices - mix two or three fruits together or simply try the freshly squeezed orange juice. For a delicious Brazilian special try the açaí, a smoothie made from a deep purple fruit from the Amazon.
  • Caipirinha, a drink made of cachaça (a Brazilian liquor made of sugarcane juice), lime, sugar and ice cubes.

Where

  • Kiosks along the boardwalk at Copacabana and Ipanema beach stay open all night.
  • The Irish Pub - Ipanema, Rua Jangadieiros 14A, Praça General Osório - Best on Monday nights.
  • Devassa - Leblon, Av General San Martin 1241, - A bar that's Best on Tuesday nights.
  • Shenanigans - Ipanema, Rua Visconde de Piraja 112A, on the Praça General Osório - Best on Wednesdays, this second-story Irish bar shows only a green awning at street level. Has imported beer, American pool, imported sports on TV.
  • Lapa - A good bet for Thursdays, several bars and clubs, but the party is in the street. It can also be a very exciting and packed place on weekend nights. Be sure not the bring valuables, as there are a lot of pick-pockets operating in the area.
  • Melt (pronounced meelch by locals) - Leblon, Rua Rita Ludolf 47A - Thursdays - this 2-story club sports an upscale bar downstairs and a dance club upstairs.
  • Bombar Leblon, good club.

Sleep

While Rio's fancy hotels are along the beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana, there are lots of small and cheap, but clean, hotels around Flamengo and Catete.

The street in front of the strip of tourist hotels in Copacabana can be seedy, due to both garishly-dressed tourists, and a few opportunistic locals ready to take advantage of them. The apart-hotels in Ipanema are a much more pleasant alternative, being both better appointed and in a nicer neighborhood with fewer tourists.

Accommodation in the city centre is convenient only for business travellers. The surrounding areas, however, are far from pleasant at night, being completely deserted and lacking decent restaurants and leisure options. The central Santa Teresa neighbourhood, however, is quite departed from the city centre life and has plenty of pleasant bed and breakfasts and a significant nightlife.

Given Rio's rise as a fashionable destination with creative and fashion people, some hotels that cater to the design-conscious crowd have also been popping up at the most upscale neighborhoods.

The city also has a large selection of apart-hotels, which provide apartment-style accommodations with kitchen facilities. Private condominium apartments can also be rented short-term at excellent rates, and can be found on the Internet. This is probably a preferable means of finding one of these than the notes that will be passed to you by anonymous persons on the street.

Accomodation in Rio is probably Brazil's most expensive. There is a relative shortage of hotel rooms on the cheaper range and booking in advance is recommended. Moreover, prices for most accommodation can more than triple during New Year's and Carnival. Those are very busy periods and booking well in advance is recommended. Note that most hotels in tourist areas will only sell 4-day packages and charge in advance - even if you want to stay only for a couple of days during those events. Other than those, the busiest month is January - summer holidays in Brazil.

Budget

If hostel life is more your style, they are easy to find in Rio. The more expensive ones boast locations that are short walking distance to either Ipanema or Copacabana beach, however if you prefer to stay in Lapa, Botafogo or another area, there are many options.

Mid range

  • Cama e Café is a B&B network in Rio with careful selected hosts. Attracts a lot of European travellers and good way to get to know the city.

Splurge

Most luxury hotels are in Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon.

Stay safe

In order to fully enjoy your trip the traveller should pay attention to simple things. Avoid the downtown area, especially Saara, after dark. Although downtown is a relatively safe place during the day, after dark all the people who work there have already gone home. If you are going to a theater or a show, it's all right; but do not wander in those dark streets by night. Go to Copacabana beach, all lighted and policed during the night, though it's not entirely safe for tourists that look obviously like tourists at any time.

Avoid wearing jewelry or other signs of wealth if possible as these attract attention. Thieves have been known to run past targets and tear off necklaces, rings, and earrings without stopping. Earrings are particularly dangerous as tearing them off often harms the owner.

Favelas are a big problem in Rio. These slums grew from being impoverished neighborhoods but are now large areas ruled by drug dealers. If you want to keep your nice vision of Rio, you don't need to go there. However, they are amazingly huge, and a new experience for some-- there are some travel agencies who take people on tours there. If you want to go, pay one of those agencies. Never, never go to a favela by yourself, or with a unknown guide. The tour operators have "peace treaties" with the local drug dealers. If you don't have one, you'll be in trouble.

At night, especially after traffic has died-down you may hear what sounds like explosions. This is not as menacing as it sounds, though it is still indicative of somebody up to no good. These are often firecrackers set-off as signals in the favelas. It might mean that a drug shipment has arrived and is in-transit, or that the police are making a raid into the favela. It is a signal to gang operatives who act as lookouts and surrogate police to be extra-vigilant.

Some drivers in Rio are certifiably insane, and seem to stop for nothing. In particular, they will go whizzing around corners without even slowing down. The crosswalks are located some considerable distance from corners for a good reason. For your safety, cross at the crosswalks - not closer to the corner - and watch for cars regardless of traffic lights.

Get out

  • Niteroi - The ferry between Rio and Niteroi, a city across the bay, is a pleasant and cheap trip. There are a couple of kinds of boats, ranging from very cheap and slow to fairly cheap and fast. Niteroi does not have many tourist attractions, but it does have a wonderful unique view of Rio and an intriguing contemporary art museum, which looks like a flying saucer jutting out over the sea. Also, it has one of state's the most beautiful beaches, Itacoatiara, which can be reached by the bus numbered 38.
  • Buzios
  • Ilha Grande
  • Paraty
  • Paqueta -- Though not exactly outside of Rio, because it is an island and can only be reached by a 70 minutes boat ride, this district of Rio makes an excellent (and inexpensive) day trip.
  • Petrópolis - In the mountains outside Rio. A good place to cool down when Rio becomes too hot.
  • Teresópolis - Another mountain town, near Petrópolis.
This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!


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