Brazil Travel Blog » Rio de Janeiro

24 hours in Rio de Janeiro

Tony — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:24:45 +0000

Copyright © 2010 Tony Gálvez. Read the original at http://www.braziltravelblog.com/2012/02/02/24-hours-in-rio-de-janeiro/. If you find this text at a location other than the Brazil Travel Blog it is an unauthorized use of the blog material.

So here we are back in Rio. Lonely Planet’s A perfect day in Rio de Janeiro, published quite a while ago, contains quite a few ideas for 24 hours in Rio. Mind you, if you were to visit all the places listed on the article you would need much more than just a day. Nonetheless, plenty of excellent ideas from where you can pick and mix. Make sure you compare the information from Lonely Planet’s article with the one given at 48 hours in Rio de Janeiro – what to do, where to go.

Our blog’s main entry on the most visited Brazilian city is destination: Rio de Janeiro. If you’re planning a trip to Brazil we strongly advice you to purchase International Travel Insurance.

carnaval de rua 2012, the Rio carnival on the streets

Tony — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:25:11 +0000

Copyright © 2010 Tony Gálvez. Read the original at http://www.braziltravelblog.com/2012/01/27/carnaval-de-rua-2012-the-rio-carnival-on-the-streets/. If you find this text at a location other than the Brazil Travel Blog it is an unauthorized use of the blog material.

Over the last few years the Rio carnaval de rua, the carnival on streets, has experienced booming popularity. Admittedly, the carnival on the street lacks the sumptuous visuals of the Sambadrome parades. But it is no match when it comes to force, energy, espontaneity and popular participation. To take part in the street carnival, after all, no purchase of expensive tickets is required. Actually, you don’t need to purchase any tickets at all.

The official website of the Rio tourism authorities has just launched the official guide to the Carnaval de Rua Rio 2012 where you will find the dates and locations of the street parties. The core of the party are the blocos, carnival groups parading throughout town.

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destination: Rio de Janeiro
dates of the 2012 carnival in Brazil

Rio de Janeiro as seen by its population

Tony — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 07:03:39 +0000

Copyright © 2010 Tony Gálvez. Read the original at http://www.braziltravelblog.com/2012/01/19/rio-de-janeiro-as-seen-by-its-inhabitants/. If you find this text at a location other than the Brazil Travel Blog it is an unauthorized use of the blog material.

Professor Bayard Boiteaux’s blog released a few months ago the results of a survey where cariocas (inhabitants of Rio) where asked how they see the place where they live from a tourist point of view: Como o carioca percebe o Rio,como produto turístico?

Here’s the translation of some of those findings. In brackets, the percentage of replies for each option.

What is the tourist icon of Rio de Janeiro?

Corcovado Mountain (40%)
Sugar Loaf Mountain (28%)
Maracaná (10%)
Copacabana (8%)
Floresta da Tijuca (6%)
Sambadrome (5%)
Botanic Gardens (3%)

Do you see Rio as being a tourist city?

Yes (70%)
No (30%)

Which tourist sights have you visited?

the beaches (50%)
Quinta da Boa Vista (22%)
Sugar Loaf Mountain (15%)
Corcovado Mountain (12%)

What are the main problems of Rio?

traffic (35%)
dirt (28%)
safety (20%)
rocketing prices (14%)
public transportation (3%)

What are the most positive aspects of Rio?

the joyful nature of its population (30%)
informal character (25%)
natural beauty (20%)
wide range of leisure activities (15%)
football (10%)

Always interesting to learn how the inhabitants of a tourist destination see themselves. Our HQ for all the info regarding Rio de Janeiro is this blog’s entry: destination: Rio de Janeiro.

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New Year’s Eve in Rio de Janeiro 2011 – 2012

Tony — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 08:37:48 +0000

Copyright © 2010 Tony Gálvez. Read the original at http://www.braziltravelblog.com/2011/12/21/new-years-eve-in-rio-de-janeiro-2011-2012/. If you find this text at a location other than the Brazil Travel Blog it is an unauthorized use of the blog material.

Most of you have probably heard of the big (massive!) party taking place every year at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro to celebrate the New Year. The most famous Brazilian réveillon (as it is known the New Year’s Eve) offers options for all tastes and budgets. From the free open air party at the beach to exclusive and pricey private parties. You will find some details in English at Concerts and fireworks make up New Year’s Eve in Rio; plan to be there and the full line-up at Rio’s official tourism website: Events calendar: réveillon.

Always bear in mind that while partying in Rio during the New Year doesn’t need to be a costly event, finding decent and affordable accommodation for the period is quite a different story.

Our main blog post on Rio de Janeiro is destination: Rio de Janeiro.

Brasil 360° Experience – panoramic videos of Brazil

Tony — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 07:43:43 +0000

Copyright © 2010 Tony Gálvez. Read the original at http://www.braziltravelblog.com/2011/12/19/brasil-360%c2%b0-experience-panoramic-videos-of-brazil/. If you find this text at a location other than the Brazil Travel Blog it is an unauthorized use of the blog material.

The Brazilian tourism authorities recently launched the website Brasil 360° Experience, with versions in Portuguese, English and Spanish.

While most travelers are familiar with panoramic and 360° photos, 360° videos will be a novelty for many. As the image moves, the viewer can change the angle of vision and point the camera in whichever direction he chooses. It is a technology that produces surprising and fascinating results. Brasil 360° Experience aims at surprising the views with moving images of a handful of Brazilian tourist destinations.

The website contains videos of Rio de Janeiro, Cuiabá and the Pantanal, Curitiba and Foz de Iguazú, Manaos and the Amazon and Salvador de Bahía.

The page contains a link “Know more about…” that takes the reader to the Brazilian Tourism Portal, a true liability for the promotion of Brazil as a tourist destination. At the portal, when the tourist tries to find out more information about, say, tourist attractions in Rio de Janeiro, he or she will find the following screen:

Worry not. If you want more info on the destinations covered by the new website, you can check our very own entries for those destinations:

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institutional videos: Rio de Janeiro

Tony — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 11:13:23 +0000

Copyright © 2010 Tony Gálvez. Read the original at http://www.braziltravelblog.com/2011/11/02/institutional-videos-rio-de-janeiro/. If you find this text at a location other than the Brazil Travel Blog it is an unauthorized use of the blog material.

This is the ninth on a series of videos produced by the Brazilian tourism authorities. They all have a common theme: those states that will host 2014 World Cup games. During the coming weeks we will present all those videos here in the blog. They are shortish videos, with conventional but beautiful images of the states and its main destinations. Today’s video is a bit different from the other videos on this series. It is devoted exclusively to the city of Rio and not to its state and we haven’t been able to locate and English-language version of the video.

Rio de Janeiro:

We have plenty of information on Rio de Janeiro region here at the Brazil Travel Blog. Check it out at destination: Rio de Janeiro.

Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, the most expensive 4* hotels in the world

Tony — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:04:55 +0000

Copyright © 2010 Tony Gálvez. Read the original at http://www.braziltravelblog.com/2011/10/26/rio-de-janeiro-and-sao-paulo-the-most-expensive-4-hotels-in-the-world/. If you find this text at a location other than the Brazil Travel Blog it is an unauthorized use of the blog material.

According to an international hotel price index just published, Río de Janeiro has the most expensive 4* hotels in the world. São Paulo comes second on the list. When all hotel categories are taken into account, Rio de Janeiro features in 9th place while São Paulo takes the 21st place.

The top placings of Rio and São Paulo are due to a large extent to the power of the local currency, the real. While hotels in both cities are expensive, an overvalued real makes them even more so, in particular on the eyes of the foreign traveler. If you’re looking for accommodation on any of those two cities and are bewildered by the range of prices you’re finding out, rest assured the problem is not yours. It is the reality of accommodation in the two largest Brazilian cities.

This blog has one main entry devoted to Rio de Janeiro and another one devoted to São Paulo: destination: Rio de Janeiro and destination: São Paulo.

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1746: Rio de Janeiro’s tourist information phone line. In English too!

Tony — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 09:52:37 +0000

Copyright © 2010 Tony Gálvez. Read the original at http://www.braziltravelblog.com/2011/10/10/1746-rio-de-janeiros-tourist-information-phone-line-in-english-too/. If you find this text at a location other than the Brazil Travel Blog it is an unauthorized use of the blog material.

The Rio de Janeiro local authorities have just launched a new telephone service offering assistance to tourists visiting the city. Attention is provided in Portuguese, English and Spanish. The number is 1746.

The official website makes no mention of the service – in fact, a series of services provided by number 1746 are listed and tourist information doesn’t feature among them. Weird thing. We learned of the existence of the service through Panrotas magazine – Novo atendimento telefônico ao turista é oferecido no Rio.

The service is available 24 hours a day and apparentely it can be reached through apps developed for the most important smartphone systems.

The launch of the service is brilliant news. Finding a tourism professional conversant in Spanish or English is no mean task in Brazil. We don’t know yet how well the service works and what is the reliability of the information provided (we tested a similar service in Salvador and couldn’t help the information we were looking for).

Rio de Janeiro on the verge of its worse dengue fever epidemic in history

Tony — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 08:14:25 +0000

Copyright © 2010 Tony Gálvez. Read the original at http://www.braziltravelblog.com/2011/09/28/rio-de-janeiro-on-the-verge-of-its-worse-dengue-fever-epidemic-in-history/. If you find this text at a location other than the Brazil Travel Blog it is an unauthorized use of the blog material.

Rio de Janeiro’s mayor has just made a worrying announcement. This coming summer Rio is to face its worse dengue fever epidemic in history. The conclusion was reached through the comparison of current and old data. So far this year, and long before the summer months when most cases are recorded, Rio has seen 160,000 cases of dengue fever with 121 deaths.

An informed traveler is the best possible traveler and for that reason we want to refer you once again to our blog post 10 facts about dengue fever in Brazil. It was written with the help of a medical specialist on the disease and it contains information on dengue fever.

Thinking of cancelling your trip to Rio because of the upcoming dengue fever epidemic? We don’t feel you should necessarily do that. Get the information and understand the risks associated to dengue fever before you take such decision.

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Rock in Rio live on YouTube

Tony — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 07:07:10 +0000

Copyright © 2010 Tony Gálvez. Read the original at http://www.braziltravelblog.com/2011/09/23/rock-in-rio-live-on-youtube/. If you find this text at a location other than the Brazil Travel Blog it is an unauthorized use of the blog material.

If you couldn’t make it to see the return of Rock in Rio to its origins, YouTube brings you the chance to watch some of the shows live. Turn to Rock in Rio’s YouTube channel. Today’s the first day, so don’t miss it. Great initiative.

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destination: Rio de Janeiro