Rio de Janeiro

Orale · June 25

Didn't see a topic on the city. I went a couple of weeks ago and thought it was a really fun city with good to great food, friendly people, and some of the most beautiful scenery I've seen in an urban setting anywhere in the world. I stayed in the tourist section of the city where Copacabana and Ipanema beaches converge. Despite being winter, the weather was high 70's to low 80's throughout the week and the beaches were packed everyday. I avoided the favelas and never felt unsafe, though I didn't explore the nightlife. The prices for most things were pretty inexpensive by American standards. The highlights for me were a sailboat cruise with spectacular views of the city and lots of beach time. It was a 9 hour overnight flight from Houston, so not too bad a trek to get there. The trip was a last second add-on to my current month long stay in Buenos Aires where I'm working remotely, but I'd definitely recommend Rio as a stand alone trip.

CycleTex87 · June 25

Great pictures. Takes me back, did the same thing in back in the late 90's or so.

Hank_Hill · June 29

Went for the first time last November. Truly an amazing city. We stayed in Leblon and never felt unsafe but this is a very nice area and I was with my Brazilian wife so when we did venture out to more seedy areas (not favelas mind you) I just kept my mouth shut and let her talk. The beach is a mad house but in the best way. Coming from Maui where beach culture is much more reserved the hustle and bustle of food and alcohol vendors was great for me. I’ll be back many times and am considering buying a place/getting citizenship for retirement if the dollar remains this strong there.