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Brazil has been a dream for so long and when I finally booked the tickets, I started to read all sorts of reviews about how dangerous this country and especially Rio is nowadays.
We landed in Rio at the end of November 2018, and while waiting for our Uber, I had all kind of scenarios in my mind (for example that somebody will steal our luggage while waiting at the traffic light or that the driver will point a gun at us and leave us in the middle of the road with nothing.)
I was COMPLETELY wrong.

First days we were going out with almost nothing at us, scared to even take photos, thinking that might attract unwanted attention and increase our chances to get robbed in the most violent ways possible.
I am not saying you shouldn’t be cautious with your belongings/ things while traveling, but frankly, there are higher chances to get robbed in Barcelona than in any other city.
I’ve learned my lesson, not to trust others opinion, but to go, experiment it and get your own conclusions.

We have spent approx. 2 weeks in Brazil:

• 3 nights in Rio de Janeiro
• 2 nights in Sao Paolo
• 3 nights in Iguazu
• 3 nights in Buzios
• 3 nights in Rio de Janeiro

So far, Rio de Janeiro is one of the most beautiful cities that I have seen. We’ve spent a total of 6 nights here, but honestly, I would go back anytime to visit or even live there as a Carioca.

FLIGHT

We had our flight from Milan (with a stop in Porto) to Rio de Janeiro (Porto – Rio: 10 hours and 30 minutes) with Tap Portugal. It was my first time flying Tap. The plane was quite old, the entertainment is not good at all (you cannot even choose your movie, but watch what they are playing) and the screens were outdated. Luckily, we had 4 seats for ourselves and that helped a lot. Pricewise though, well, that is a different story. It was a good deal at 315 euro roundtrip/ person.

THE CITY

First 3 nights we stayed at the Miramar Hotel by Windsor on Copacabana – which was simply amazing. Miramar it’s a 5-star hotel with breakfast included and the most amazing rooftop swimming pool.

So if you are looking for a hotel in Rio, then look no more. Check it out here or book it without hesitation.

Because we’ve landed later in the day, the first contact with Brazil was the view of Copacabana in the evening and a small favela located at the back of our hotel. Breathtaking!!

Just like any other tourist, we’ve spent our first day visiting the statue of Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor). Took an Uber over to Cosmo Velho, to the train station and then we took the train up to Corcovado, the forest-carpeted mountain where the Christ the Redeemer stands/ poses majestically. Price of the train = R$ 79 (high season). We bought the tickets on the spot from a ticket machine, using our credit card. No queues. Things can get a bit crowded once you are reaching the top, where the statue is located. The view from up there is spectacular if you get lucky and there is no fog. Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida fashioned the face of the statue. Also, in 2007 it was declared one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. The statue is the symbol of Rio de Janeiro and can be seen from many corners of the city.

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In the afternoon we went to the Botanical Garden (R$ 7), which is one of the greatest tropical botanical gardens and arboretums of the world. It’s definitely worth a visit.

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On our 2^nd day, we booked a walking tour in Favela Santa Marta. There you can see a different side of Rio. This is the favela where Michael Jackson recorded “They don’t care about us” in 1996, long before the favela was pacified. Recently, the favela has been undergoing a process of urbanization. Several popular houses were built with sewage, water piping, and installation of electrical cables. One of the most important works done in recent years in Dona Marta was the construction of a cable car that facilitates the transport of residents to higher areas of the hill. Since 2008 the favela has no more drug trafficking.

There are around 1000 favelas only in Rio with more than 600.000 people living there.

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For the afternoon, we decided to go and see Selaron Steps (close to downtown). It’s a good spot to take nice pictures, enjoy some good quality caipirinha and local food nearby at affordable prices.

For sunset, we took a cab to Praia Vermelha and bought a ticket to the Sugar Loaf (R$ 99). The cable car stops in “Morro da Urca” first, then get you to the Sugar Loaf after. The tour has 360º scenery of stunning landscapes and the sunset is AMAZING (like everything in Rio after all…)

As the afternoon was going to be exciting (spoiler alert), we took it easy with our 3^rd morning, meaning sunrise and a walk on Ipanema, while listening to The Beatles – the girl from Ipanema.

We packed our luggage and off we were to Aeroporto de Jacarepaguá in Barra da Tijuca, for an extraordinary helicopter ride over Rio. What is really exciting is the fact that this helicopter has no doors!! So, while in Rio, it’s a must.

Vertical Rio– R$ 690 /person for 30 minutes of flight

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Helicopter ride: Checked! Next stop: Sao Paolo. We went straight to the main airport to catch our flight (Rio’s traffic can be crazy).

I will write about Sao Paolo and Iguazu Falls in a separate post. Now let’s get back to the last 3 days in Rio. We arrived in the afternoon, by bus, from Buzios and checked in at Rio Othon Palace. This one had an even better view, being the tallest hotel in Copacabana. The hotel does seem a bit outdated. The room was nice and breakfast was ok-ish, but you cannot compare it with Miramar. Value for the money – very good.

There was no schedule for the rest of the day, so we just walked on Copacabana beach until it got dark. This was the 4^th day in Rio.

The 5^th day started with a tour of the famous Maracanã Stadium, but not before stopping at the Sambadrome, the place where samba schools parade competitively each year during the Rio Carnival.

The price of a guided tour of the stadium is R$ 60 /person.

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The sun was shining and the day was bright, so we wanted to see one more time, Rio from above. Best place: Doña Marta Viewpoint. Taking a cab/Uber is the easiest way to get there. The viewpoint is situated 364 meters above sea-level, on top of the pacified favela of Santa Marta.

Another beautiful spot that in Rio is Lage Park, where you can enjoy a cup of coffee and a cozy cafeteria, located in the inner yard of the historic mansion next to the pool.

And not to be missed: sunset on Ipanema. Speechless. You have to go there and see it, in order to believe me:

We saved the 6^th day in Rio for 2 walking tours with https://freewalkertours.com/es/

First one started at 10.30am and the second one at 2 pm:

– Downtown and Lapa Historic Tour which included Cinelândia, Escadaria Selaron, Lapa, Catedral Metropolitana, Confeitaria Colombo, Praça XV, and Paço Imperial

– Olympic Boulevard and African’s Heritage Tour which included the greatest graffiti in the world by Kobra and Pedra do Sal.

Both tours are highly recommended, we enjoyed them a lot.

A special place for me was the Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading, visited between the 2 walking tours mentioned above. It is a library and lusophone cultural institution, located in the center of the city of Rio de Janeiro. It was elected the fourth most beautiful library in the world by Time magazine and the Cabinet has the largest collection of Portuguese literature outside of Portugal.

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Before heading back to Europe, we spent the last day at the beach.

Useful information:

• Taxis are highly affordable, so my recommendation is to use either Uber (where you can pay by card through the app) or app 99 (where you can pay cash at the driver)
• You can pay by card almost everywhere, so a bit of cash should be enough (I am using the transferwise card right now, for non-euro countries)
• It is indicated to carry a credit card with you; sometimes the debit card is not recognized
• Try all the local food (is so, so delicious)
• Have a lot of caipirinhas
• Buy a local sim card with internet (frankly, we had no time to do that, but there were moments when we really internet in order to order an Uber, so we had to beg it on the street…)
• Take with you mosquito spray and use it without fear. Mosquitos are some kind of beasts there
• Use sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat
• Be vigilant all the time, but do not overreact
• Prices are reasonable, even if Brazil is the 8^th largest economy in the world
• Buses are great, more comfortable than any bus I’ve tried in Europe
• The infrastructure is impressive

3 nights in Buzios:

Because we really wanted to see a tiny part of the beaches around Rio, we chose to go to Buzios for 3 nights. Coming back from Iguazu by plane, we took the bus from the airport with the company 1001(R$ 140/person roundtrip) and they dropped us in front of the hotel – PortoBay Búzios (check it out, it is paradise).

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We also booked a boat trip to Arraial do Cabo with Venturini, which I highly recommend – R$ 155/person. The area is very safe and very quiet. We loved it.

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