Post by emilyinchile on Oct 19, 2014 13:18:28 GMT -5
Confeitaria Colombo for a snack. Google image it, it's gorgeous and has delicious pastries. Definitely go to a churrascaria - someone else or the internet will have more up to date recs for that. I was invited to Porcao by a family friend, and it really was good, but I'm sure that you pay a hefty mark-up for the name. On the opposite end of the spectrum, getting a juice and snack at any of the lanchonettes on practically every corner is one of my favorite things about Rio. They're all fresh and delicious.
3 or 4 nights is plenty to see the highlights. As far as safety goes, basically ditto RnV. I have been to Rio by myself and felt fine being out at night in well-populated, well-lit areas, but I didn't carry much cash or anything fancy. Don't take valuables to the beach either. Oh, and last time I was there my ATM cards were cloned at the airport (I tried two and couldn't get cash with either, but someone else was able to get plenty of cash out with them a couple weeks later!). It was a hassle more than anything else, since both banks refunded my money, but because of that I would take some reais with you to have upon landing, only use ATMs in well-observed areas if possible (the ones at the airport are upstairs in a little alcove where no one really goes), and keep an eye on your accounts for a few weeks after getting back.
Where is your Antarctica trip departing from? Buenos Aires or Ushuaia? If you're departing from Ushuaia, you'll probably still need to fly to Buenos Aires (and possibly change airports) to catch a flight to Ushuaia, since there aren't that many flight options. Also, keep in mind that domestic flights to Ushuaia are notoriously issue-prone (esp. on Aerolineas Argentinas), so you or your luggage may arrive up to 24 hours later than you book. (On our ship, one passenger and one crew member were deleyed 12+ hours, and at least two people's luggage was delayed to a later flight. While the girl received hers the next morning, the guy didn't get his before the ship sailed and was stuck wearing borrowed clothing and gear for the entire trip.)
If you are meeting your expedition in Ushuaia, it's worth giving yourself an extra day there just in case. And Ushuaia itself is worth a few days. Spend at least one exploring Tierra del Fuego National Park and one to cruise the Beagle Channel (it's worth the up-close views even though you sail through it on the larger expedition ship, and in our case given the delayed crew arrival, we didn't sail the channel until after dark).
All of that said, there are a lot of flights from Rio to BA, so it's definitely an easy option.
Now to answer the Rio questions...
You can definitely see the highlights in 3-4 days: - Pão de Açucar (Sugar Loaf) - Corcovado (& statue of Christ the Redeemer) - Escadaria Selarón & Santa Teresa - Copacabana & Ipanema beaches
When is your Antarctica trip? I stopped in Rio for a few days on the trip back for work, but since I went early in the season, I was in Rio in early December, and it was still too cold to spend much time at the beach. I did swim (since it was only my 2nd time in Rio, and I'd never been swimming at Copacabana), but the beach was quite empty, and it was frigid. The only way I managed to stay in for more than a moment was to remind myself that only a week earlier I'd been swimming in Antarctica while it was snowing! If your trip is later in the season, it's more likely that you'll have the opportunity for proper beach time. When I visited at Christmas/New Year's (amazing) it was definitely beach weather when it wasn't raining!
With 3-4 days, I don't think you'll have a lot of time to do much beyond the obvious attractions, and honestly I don't think any of the lesser-known attractions top the well-known. One thing you can do in addition is to watch the sunset at Arpoador if you have a clear day. Scramble up the rocks at the east end of Ipanema beach and find a place to sit and watch (consider bringing an extra layer to sit on, since the rocks aren't all that comfortable), and maybe buy a beer from one of the guys walking around with coolers.
I would also recommend the Parque das Ruínas if you visit Santa Teresa. It's a cool little place to wander around, there are some nice city views, and the structure makes a great photography subject. Beyond that, Feira de São Cristóvão (a market with food/products from Northeastern Brazil) is kind of fun, and I would recommend it, especially in the evenings when there's music and dancing.
The MAC Niteroi is interesting when it comes to architecture and if you like contemporary art, the museum isn't bad (not great, but not bad). It used to be neat to have lunch at the Niteroi fish market, but it's been cleaned up a bit and isn't as exciting.
I've had mixed experiences going out for a weekend night in Lapa, but that can be a fun time if you're up for nightlife. I've heard good things about the botanical gardens from my boyfriend (who used to live in Copacabana), but I never made it there. I also wish I'd visited the inside of the Cathedral at some point. Another thing that I think would be awesome but is extremely weather-dependent and I never got to do is to go hang-gliding.
Restaurants... Zazá Bistrô in Ipanema is good (though their menu isn't very extensive so I wasn't as thrilled on a second visit). The Boteco Belmonte at General Osório in Ipanema doesn't look like much, but their open empadas are one of my weaknesses (Especially the carne de seca with catupiry!) Feira de São Cristóvão has some good places to have feijoada. Speaking of northeastern dishes, there's a good stand making acarajé that sets up alongside the park near Siqueira Campos in Copacabana a few days each week (You can also sometimes find some women in traditional Bahian dresses running a stand at the south end of Copacabana beach just before the port). If you're exploring the historic district in Centro, Confeitaria Colombo is pretty touristy, but I love the historic charm, and the pastries are worth a stop.
More than individual restaurants, I can recommend food. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Brazilian_dishes In my opinion, the following are all worth trying: churrasco, feijoada, moqueca (esp. the version made with coconut milk), bolinho de bacalhau, pão de queijo (good for breakfast), acarajé, aipim frito (fried cassava chips, also called Madioca frita or Macaxeira frita), and brigadeiro for (incredibly sweet) dessert.
And drinks... Of course you should hit up the corner juice stands whenever possible! A dictionary comes in handy, but some of my favorites are fruits I'd never heard of before like acerola and siriguela. I also like abacaxi com hortelã (pineapple with mint). Obviously water straight from the coconut is a must, though fewer and fewer of the fancy new beach shacks offer it. When it comes to caipirinhas, try a few different cachaças to find out which you prefer. My personal favorite is Fulô (especially Nêga Fulô). And given your final destination, you'll probably want to try a Boa Antarctica beer, just for the name and logo! (The Antarctica Original is better, but it doesn't have the penguin on the label.)
Safety... Since my boyfriend was sometimes working while I was on vacation visiting, I walked around alone quite a bit in Copacabana and Ipanema, and I never had problems. Even walking around alone in Centro during the day, I never felt unsafe, though I did take precautions like not carrying valuables that I didn't really need, making sure my belongings were well protected, and not stopping to blatantly stare at a map. First and foremost, keep your wits about you and keep a low profile. Criminals will almost always go after the easiest target, so your best defense is simply to not be the obvious target.
After dark it can be much more dangerous, so take night-time security warnings seriously. Avoid Centro, and take a taxi at night to riskier areas like Lapa or Feira de São Cristóvão. If you really want to walk along the beach in the evening, avoid Copacabana Beach north of the Copacabana Palace hotel. Ipanema and the south end of Copacabana are fine, but it's probably safer to skip the midnight stroll and do this earlier in the evening.
Avoid the minibuses (vans that pick up and drop off passengers on demand). Public buses are generally fine, especially during the day, and I've used them with no problems. The subway is also pretty safe, and I've never heard of a problem there among everyone I know.
Honestly, the only times I really felt unsafe were while driving. That's mostly because I've heard a lot of stories from ex-pats who've lived in Rio 5+ years ago. I won't repeat them, since I haven't heard of anything comparable happening more recently, and I've seen some of the improvements that have been put in place to improve the situation. So I don't think it's worth propagating the paranoia (that I wish I didn't have).
The biggest security risk is credit card scamming. Look for devices that may have been attached to the ATM, and try to stick to those that are inside banks, especially those with restricted access and (even better) staffed with security guards. I've never had an issue (knock on wood) but you may want to stick to a credit card or a debit card that's linked to a low-balance account in case it's compromised. And definitely keep an eye on the account status after to ensure nothing is amiss. Try to leave your other cards locked up at the hotel, since muggers have been known to force people to withdraw as much as possible from the cards in their wallets.
Hopefully it goes without saying that you shouldn't wander around a favela on your own.
Rio certainly isn't as safe as many cities, but I do feel that there's a lot of media hype that makes it seem worse than it is. It definitely requires some caution, but it's not like Johannesburg.
Confeitaria Colombo for a snackFeijoada on Saturday Google image it, it's gorgeous and has delicious pastries. Definitely go to a churrascaria - someone else or the internet will have more up to date recs for that. I was invited to Porcao by a family friend, and it really was good, but I'm sure that you pay a hefty mark-up for the name. On the opposite end of the spectrum, getting a juice and snack at any of the lanchonettes on practically every corner is one of my favorite things about Rio. They're all fresh and delicious.
3 or 4 nights is plenty to see the highlights. As far as safety goes, basically ditto RnV. I have been to Rio by myself and felt fine being out at night in well-populated, well-lit areas, but I didn't carry much cash or anything fancy. Don't take valuables to the beach either. Oh, and last time I was there my ATM cards were cloned at the airport (I tried two and couldn't get cash with either, but someone else was able to get plenty of cash out with them a couple weeks later!). It was a hassle more than anything else, since both banks refunded my money, but because of that I would take some reais with you to have upon landing, only use ATMs in well-observed areas if possible (the ones at the airport are upstairs in a little alcove where no one really goes), and keep an eye on your accounts for a few weeks after getting back.
Sorry to bump this and sorry not to extend thanks sooner, but thank you all for your responses. We just finalized our plane tickets yesterday so we are going to Rio! I'm excited. We'll be there in the second part of January so hopefully the weather will be good enough for some beach time - it looks like it should be and our hotel apparently has a "secure" beach area so I will probably just hang out there for simplicity's sake.
Carrying your DSLR will be fine during the day. My boyfriend carried his around everywhere we went (and he doesn't actually look Brazilian), and it's definitely worth having it if you're doing something like heading up to Sugar Loaf around sunset (a nice time to visit, since you get both day and night views). However, if you're going out later in the evening, I'd leave it at the hotel just to be on the safe side.
Sorry to bump this and sorry not to extend thanks sooner, but thank you all for your responses. We just finalized our plane tickets yesterday so we are going to Rio! I'm excited. We'll be there in the second part of January so hopefully the weather will be good enough for some beach time - it looks like it should be and our hotel apparently has a "secure" beach area so I will probably just hang out there for simplicity's sake.
GilliC thank you for all the advice in general but specifically around Antarctica. We are flying to BsAs a day ahead of schedule (either from Rio or Iguazu, still trying to figure that out). We then are lucky enough to be on a charter flight with everyone else on our cruise from BsAs to Ushuaia so hopefully that will make it an easy transition. We get into Ushuaia and cruise the Beagle Channel with our cruise group before we set sail so that should be fun. H and I actually spent four days in Ushuaia back in 2009 so it will be fun to return!
One other question - it says don't carry anything flashy with you while out and about. I don't tend to take jewelry when I travel and I carry a very basic tote, but I do tend to take along my nice DSLR. Is that a bad idea? I can't tell if taking a nice camera to major tourist sites is dumb.
We only took our nice cameras out to the major tourist sights and I always felt safe doing that. I didn't take it just out walking around and exploring. I had a smaller camera that could fit in my wristet or boobs (hey, whatever works!!).