destination: Rio de Janeiro

Does Rio de Janeiro need an introduction? The Brazilian destination par excellence, few visitors will leave Brazil without a stay in Rio. Rio is a city of extremes built on an absolutely unique location that has no rival on Earth. A city that makes a profound impression on its visitors.

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1. WE LIKE THE MOST

The impossible and unbelieavable geography of the city, trapped between the mountains and the sea. Rio is absolutely unique.

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2. WE LIKE THE LEAST

The permanent sensation of lack of safety in so many places in the city, including important tourist sights; the agressions against the environment commited on a daily basis as the city expands; the seediest part of Copacabana.

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3. HOW TO GET TO RIO

By land, air or sea, Rio is, together with São Paulo, the main entry point to Brazil. Rio has two airports: its international airport (GIG) is known as Tom Jobim or Galeão. Its domestic airport (SDU) is known as Santos Dumont. It is also a port of scale for many cruising ships. There are buses converging from all Brazil at Rio’s Terminal Novo Rio bus station.

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4. BE CAREFUL WITH

Crime, it can happen anytime.

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5. FAVOURITE PLACES

The Corcovado Mountain, the Sugar Loaf, Ipanema, the Botanic Gardens, São Conrado, the Confeitaria Colombo

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6. PIECE OF ADVICE

• we have published two blog posts with ideas on what to do in Rio if you have 24 hours or 48 hours in the city.
• to go to the Sugar Loaf mountain (Pão de Açúcar) using public transportation take the subway (metrô) to the Botafogo station and from there a bus to Urca.
• to go to the Corcovado mountain using public transportation, take the subway to the Largo do Machado station and there a bus to Cosme Velho.
• unless you want the sun in front of your camera, go to the Sugar Loaf in the morning and to the Corcovado in the afternoon. Both places are really wonderful after the sun has gone down, with the city lights at your feet. Be aware that on a foggy day visibility at the top can be non-existent.
• from the rooftop bar of some hotels in Copacabana there is an excellent view of the beach
• if you have the chance to drive along the Avenida Niemeyer, that links the neighbourhoods of Leblon and São Conrado, and continues to the Barra da Tijuca, do it. It’s an unbelievable road between the mountain and the sea
• Rio seen from above is a breathtaking experience; flights coming from São Paulo land at Santos Dumont airport, touching the mountains on their approach to Rio; there are helicopter flights all day long
• those seeking for an adrenaline rush can contemplate hang-gliding in Rio de Janeiro

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7. LINKS

Rio Guide (local government, TurisRio (state government), Trem do Corcovado, Sugar Loaf. There is also an official app for smartphones.

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8. WEATHER FORECAST

The weather in Rio for the next 10 days.

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9. GOOGLE MAPS

Our anotated map of Rio de Janeiro on Google Maps.

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10. PHOTOS

Our Rio de Janeiro album on Flickr.

ACCOMMODATION IN RIO:

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10. ACCOMMODATION ON RIO DE JANEIRO

You can search for accommodation in Rio through our Hotels Combined search engine, a unique free tool that searches multiple hotel reservation websites simultaneously to help you find the lowest rate instantly. It eliminates the need to search major websites one by one in order to compare prices and availability. An amazing time and money saver!

The results open on a new page.

If you are looking for cheap accommodation in Rio de Janeiro, there are dozens of hostels in the city. Rooms range from typical backpacker accommodation with shared dorms and a lively social calendar, to more upmarket boutique hostels with private ensuite rooms, stylish decor and hotel-style facilities. To make sure you get availability in the best hostels, you can book a hostel in Rio de Janeiro online before you travel with HostelBookers, a hostel booking website, where you can look at photos, videos and customer ratings of each property before you book.

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