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IntroductionGoing to Rio was always on my bucket list and I finally had the chance to go for a week! This was one of my favorite trips. You have the beach, the mountains, and the city easily accessible. I was surprised at how much I liked Rio and I’m definitely coming back!
Safety You may have heard that Rio is unsafe. However, I felt like Rio was just any other city in terms of safety. I mostly stayed in the South Zone (Copacabana, etc) which is known to be one of the safer parts of Rio. I felt fine walking to a restaurant for dinner, but I will say that you don’t want to be out too late and some parts of the city can feel sketchy at night. If you just apply your street smarts you’ll be okay, like:
If I was a woman I would be more vigilant, but a Google search on Rio’s safety will give you a lot of good advice. But, it shouldn’t deter you from what the city offers! Transportation Uber is very affordable, but I would recommend downloading the app 99 and trying the Moto option. The app 99 is a South American version of Uber and I found that it was consistently cheaper than Uber. The Moto option is just a motorbike where you sit in the back of the person’s bike. They’ll give you a helmet and you hold on in the back! I actually liked this option because 1) it’s cheaper, like some rides I took were <$1 & 2) it’s sometimes faster than a car since they can weave through traffic. However I wouldn’t recommend this if you’re going through a lot of hills since it gets a little scary. Public transportation is relatively easy to navigate. The Rio Card is the city’s version of their transport card. When you arrive at the airport, walk to the BRT stop (which is just a bus) and get a new card from the machine. You can use a credit card to top the card up. The card itself costs money though. You can top up the Rio Card at any metro stop, but sometimes the ticket machine was broken whenever I wanted to top up. Taking the bus and metro were simple where you just tap to get on. I saw the locals use contactless payment to get on, but my card didn’t work for some reason. *** bolded = highly recommended
Nature
food
Attractions
Just passing by
CarnavalIntroduction
I was lucky enough to see the first 2 days of Carnaval which I 100% recommend doing, if you’re able to visit around that time! It was one of the biggest highlights of my trip. The research online can be overwhelming so I’m going to try and simplify it here. Think of Carnaval as an unofficial holiday meets spring break. The whole city turns into a “party” aka “blocos” where it starts at a certain point or time, and the crowd slowly moves from one point to the other. Every bloco plays different music, has a different “size” in terms of number of people, and a different vibe. It’s not party central all the time, but you’ll definitely see the city become more energized as it gets closer to Carnaval. I found these blog posts (links one, two and three) to be helpful to orient myself with all things Carnaval (credit to the writers)! Logistics A Google search can show you which blocos are happening where, when, and which days. I used these guides (particularly the last 2 links) to scope out the blocos.
There are blocos during all hours of the day (literally), but you don’t need to go at a specific time. For example, I went to the 7am Amigos da Onca bloco at Praia do Flamengo, but I was too tired to get up at 7am. So when I went at 12pm, the party was still going strong. Also, the websites will give you an overall location/pin but just follow the crowd and you’ll see the party (trust me). To get to the blocos, I recommend taking the metro or a Moto bike. Traffic gets really bad and the roads could have lots of people. The metro is relatively safe, just keep your head on a swivel and you’ll be fine. However, if you go out late at night, I would recommend an Uber to get home. Meeting people I was a little hesitant at first because I was traveling solo, but I actually ended up meeting some new people. A few days before Carnaval, I looked at Reddit to see if there were other solo travelers and I added myself to a group chat with 1,000 other people also in town. Everyone was posting their plans so it was easy to scope out what worked in my schedule and what I felt like doing. I would just exercise stranger danger cautiously, but the people I met in the chat had good intentions and just wanted to vibe! If I went solo I would still have had a great time, but Carnaval is more fun with other people. And also, safety in numbers! However, I would recommend that you get a good group of friends to go. Safety I felt like it wasn’t super unsafe, but you do want to be sure you’re paying attention to your surroundings. The blocos, metro, etc will be CROWDED. So I would only bring what you need in a fanny pack and put it in front of you. You only need a few reals (there will be street vendors everywhere selling food and drinks and it’s not too expensive), your phone, a power bank, sunscreen (it gets REALLY hot - the sun is no joke), and water plus anything else you need! Be vigilant with your phone since there are pickpockets (according to what I’ve heard, but I didn’t get pickpocked). But overall, if you apply the safety rules to any other music festival or concert you’ve been to, you’ll be fine. To see what it was like, look at these videos! Sambradome
Now, the parade at the Sambradome is probably what you think about when you hear Rio’s Carnaval. Think Disneyland parade crosses a sporting match, where every year, the samba schools compete to see who has the best performance and it goes throughout the days of Carnaval until the last day where the top schools compete! It’s worth going to and it’s fantastic - the choreography, dancing, floats, etc. are all over the top and the performances are absolutely amazing despite it being very touristy. Before the event The link to buy tickets is here. LIke a sporting event, there are different ticket tiers with varying costs, from the Grandstands (just your typical seats) to all inclusive packages. I purchased a seat in the Grandstand since it was cheapest, but seating is first come first serve. If you get there later, there will be no seating and you’ll have to stand! It’s all part of the experience. When you buy your ticket, you’ll be able to see where the seats are based on the “sector”. The parade goes from one side to the other, and the link will also show you a picture of where each sector is located in relation to the parade. I bought my seat in Sector 6, which I highly recommend because it’s right in the center. Therefore, you’re able to see both left and right as the performers progress. It’s really a scene to behold. You don’t want to buy them too late because tickets get more expensive as it gets closer to Carnaval. I got mine for $30 pretty early but on the day it could go to $150+! A few weeks before Carnaval, you’ll get an email listing out 1) directions to enter the venue, what you can bring, etc) and 2) your ticket where you’ll need to download an app similar to Ticketmaster to transfer your ticket. Then you should be all set! During the event On the day, taking the metro is the easiest way to get to the venue. A lot of the roads near the venue will be blocked off, which makes it hard for Ubers to get in. Even though the official event start time is 9pm, the floats didn’t start coming down until ~9:30pm, so there’s some wiggle room. I got there at around 8pm and there wasn’t much of a queue to get through security. Most seating was taken by then, where you had to go higher up to sit. However, those that arrived later than 9:30pm had to stand. The event goes literally all night. When I left at around 1am, 3 schools had performed. And someone I met said that at 7am, the parade was STILL going. You should listen to your body if you feel too tired to stay but I’m sure if you stayed the whole time you would get the full experience. When leaving the venue, you might have to walk a little bit to find an open street to call an Uber. The area gets a little sketchy at night, so don’t hesitate to stay closer to where the crowd is and then ask your driver to see if they can drive closer. To see what it was like, look at these videos! |
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