Rio de Janeiro Travel Forum

I will be in Rio in Late Feb for a weekend.

I want to go see Sugar loaf and the christ statue but don't want to join a tour as I want to go early to beat the crowds and the heat.
I was thinking of hiring a taxi to get me there and also have him wait for me. Will that be expensive? The tours seem to be about $100 so surely it can't be as expensive as that?

Also, I'm a bit worried about safety, I keep reading all these horror stories of muggings etc. I'm staying in Leblon and have no intention of walking the streets at night, any hints, tips or warnings you wish to share??

leblon is a good part of rio and quite safe even at night.
it's a middle upper class part of rio and not as touristy as ipanema.
you could not chose a better place to stay in my opinion.

hiring a taxi and letting him wait for you to see things should be very easy.
i don't know the exact price, but it's not that expensive to hire a taxi for a few hours.

Both the mountains are easily accessible without a tour. At Corcovado, you have a choice of taking the cog railway to the top or driving up in a taxi. I would suggest taking a taxi (or the bus) to the base, riding the train (fun!) up and back down and getting one of the many taxis waiting at the base station when you are done. Right next door to the base station is the Museum of Naif Art, with some interesting paintings. SugarLoaf also usually has taxis waiting at the base station to pick up a fare. On the top, take some of the leafy paths and look for the little "mico" monkeys in the trees.
Try one of the samba clubs in Lapa, like Carioca de Gema, to hear some live music. If you go by taxi, there will be many waiting to take you home just outside the club.
It is reasonable to be out at night--you don't have to hide on your hotel. Leblon is a walkable neighborhood with lots of people out and about on the main streets. Take taxis for distances and don't wear/take anything that will call attention or that you don't want to risk losing. The feeling on the street once you get to Rio does not correspond to what you may have been imagining from all the scare rumors you might have heard.

A good informational site is www.ipanema.com

Thanks. Thats a very good website!

No problems of safety in Rio...just go there and have fun...!
Go on a sunday at the shore in Ipanema...wonderful city!

Are you travelling alone? I often had a taxi driver for the day when I was on my own in South America - as long as you're with someone you feel safe with (a decent hotel will find you someone) it's an enjoyable way to see a place. I had a taxi for a day in Rio and while I can't remember the price, I'm sure it was less than $100...

I did have a few weird experiences revolving around taxis and guides in Rio which might be worth repeating. I was struck by how much more clued up many Cariocas are to tourist money-making opportunities than people in the rest of Brazil! Our taxi driver ended up blagging a trip up Sugar Loaf - he just joined the queue with us (my dad and I) and being polite English tourists, we didn't like to send him back to the car. Once as the top he delivered an unending lecture on various points of Rio life*. Which would have been great except for my dad, who doesn't speak a word of Portuguese and ended up standing around like a spare part.

The other odd thing was a trip to a favela (something I have very mixed feelings about). Booked it from a leaflet in the hotel. Realised upon arrival at the favela that the bloke at reception had ignored my leaflet and just rung some guy he knew to take us to a random favela. He also thoughtfully gave the guide my room number so he could pester me in the evening...

Moral of these stories: you'll have no end of colourful experiences with local guides - but be firm with people!


*A high point was his teaching me all the slang words he knew for men's urinals. There are a lot.

I will be staying at the Sheraton in LeBlon 2/14-20. Will you be there then? I'm a single gal traveling alone as well..live in Chicago so anxious to get to the beach!

Hiya

No I'm going to be there a week later. Shame, we could have hooked up!

Hired a taxi with an English speaking driver last November to visit Corcovado and the Santa Theresa district of Rio (lovely old colonial buildings and a street car which you can travel on for free if you stand). The driver firtst took us to the view point half way up to the Christ The Redeemer statue then dropped us off almost at the top of Corcovado (you can't park there) and returned later as arranged with us. It cost about £45 for 3 of us. We were staying at the Copa Sol and arranged it through reception there, as we wanted an English speaking driver - our Portuguese being non-existent! Also, we three women had no problems with safety at all. If you get a chance, take a favela tour - not the open-topped 4x4 ones, but with the well-respected company who've being running these tours for years and support the schools and other projects in the favelas.
We visited Rocinha and Vila Canoas and it was very interesting and good to see something other than the tourist areas.