Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro

This is the time to book a trip to Rio de Janeiro for the February Carnival, Rio’s top festival event of the year. It takes place at the peak of the austral summer, when Cariocas, Rio’s residents, really get down and party for days. The festivities attract thousands of people from all around the world and if you can get away, you should come down and see it.

Thing is when you will in fact make the trip all the way down there, might as well combine it with visiting some of the other highlights of that part of the world. For example, you can add to the carnival a side trip to the UNESCO natural wonder of Iguassu Falls at the border of Brazil and Argentina.

Another alternative is to spend a few days on the beach, either before or after the festival. Come to think of it, it may be best you go to Buzios, a fine small town with more than two dozen fantastic beaches within reach. While you could go to Buzios before or after the carnival, given that Buzios is not exactly a quiet little place, but the opposite, it may be best you go there before the carnival as Buzios’ bars and nightclubs will keep going all night, so to stay here will tune you up for the party at the Rio carnival.

One more possible place to add to your Rio carnival stay is to extend the trip down to Buenos Aires, another legendary city, and so after you dance samba in Rio you can tango in Buenos Aires thereafter.

No matter which itinerary option you will eventually settle on you will have great time.

Contact us for Rio de Janeiro carnival tour pricing, and more details on tour alternatives.

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Rio de Janeiro is famous for its samba, bossa nova, its February carnival and soccer but what most people retain in mind is pictures of its landmark views and vistas with Rio’s key symbols in it.

Two of its most recognized symbols are that of the outstretched arms statue of Christ the Redeemer mounting the Corcovado peak, and that of the Pao de Acucar, or Sugar Loaf, the solid granite monolith of some 1300 feet surrounded by deep blue waters of the Guanabara Bay.

Many calendars and posters depict these two landmarks from various viewpoints, so which are indeed the best to visit for that classic picture postcard shot of Rio?

It says that it’s best to visit the Sugar Loaf first before climbing any other summit. The views from its top of Botafogo beach, Leme, Copacabana, Ipanema as far as Leblon beach are stunning, as is the view of the towering Corcovado peak looking toward the mountains.

Excellent views can be had by taking Rio’s yellow trolley up to the mountain to Santa Teresa neighborhood. This is indeed one of Rio’s oldest neighborhoods which grew in the 18th century when during yellow fever epidemic many Rio’s residents tried to escape the sea-level mosquito-infested downtown of Rio for the cooler air of Santa Teresa’s higher ground.

Another hilltop of note for fine views is not far from Santa Teresa. With its prominent location above the Botafogo neighborhood and studded with a Baroque landmark chapel of Nossa Senhora da Gloria do Outeiro, the hilltop offers another stunning panorama of Rio de Janeiro.

Behind the high-rises lining the Ipanema beach there is Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, a natural lake that sits surrounded by Rio’s mountaintops. Anywhere around the lake brings fine views of Rio, all worth the trip around its perimeter, and especially if one decides to venture to Rio’s Botanical Garden, Jardim Botanico, located not far from the lake’s edge below the ridge of Tijuca National Park.

But to encompass all the major symbols of Rio de Janeiro, there is only one place to find the best panoramas of Rio – it is on the high road of the Parque Nacional da Tijuca, the Tijuca National Park.

Driving up the winding road of the national park one comes across number of stunning views that should not be missed.

One of the best is the panorama from the Mesa do Imperador, the site of the royal picnic of Pedro II. Next it is the Vista Chinese, or Chinese View, hailed as having the best views of the summit of Corcovado in the foreground, with Botafogo beach on your left and Copacabana on your right and the Sugar Loaf as a backdrop.

For yet another alternative impressive panorama of Corcovado peak, Sugar Loaf and the beaches around is provided from the viewpoint of the Donna Marta Belvedere, which summit, few feet short of 1200 feet, is some 1,000 feet lower than that of Corcovado’s 2300 feet above sea level.

When Chicago was not selected and in fact came last, one of the arguments noted were the Chicago city crime statistics. Of course Rio de Janeiro is well known for the very same factor – violence. This week alone there were 40 people shot dead in Rio, end result of drug gang warfare.

Let’s face it, Rio de Janeiro is a metropolis of 6 million inhabitants, and as in any city of this size anywhere else around the world, the tourists in Rio best know where to go and where not to go.

Tourism was reported to have grown in 2008 over 2007 by some 7%. Of that, a third were tourists from other countries. The increase seems at first to be fairly significant but statistics showed that the increase was the lowest of all the major cities in Brazil.

In view of the fact Rio has been awarded the 2016 Olympic games and the planning committees in Rio already started meeting to decide the steps they need to take, curtailing crime is one of the key priorities to lure more tourists into the city, and not just for the games that are six and half years away.

So is Rio de Janeiro dangerous? Being geek tourist with a money belt hanging on your belly and speaking loudly in a foreign tongue you will not doubt be targeted. That money belt as a camera in your hand is a calling card for being hit indeed. Be discreet!

Best keep to Zona Sul, watch over your shoulder, do not linger as if you are lost, do not dress in expensive clothing, wear prominently any jewelry, leave bags unattended even in sidewalk restaurants, walk alone in deserted streets, especially at night and especially near any favelas.

Common sense does it, as anywhere. If approached to shell out your money, don’t fight it, hand it out, and that includes to little kids, especially if there are more than one and you are alone. They are poor and have nothing to lose.

To avoid most of these situations as much as possible stay in and move with crowds.

Bottom line spread out your valuables, namely cash. Leave some behind in your room. Never carry all your credit cards on you. Nor your cash.

Mellow out and you’ll love in it Rio de Janeiro. People are friendly and cops are all over and the closer to the games, countdown having already started, there is bound to be heavier police presence on the streets with week after the next.

Rio de Janeiro is a charming city and being paranoid there will only make you miss the ambiance that is unlike in any other city anywhere else.