A Few Things You Should Know Before Going to Rio

I recently came back from a Girls Trip to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (May 2019.) While I have some of this information fresh in my head, I decided to share with my fellow Travelsetters, a few things you should know prior to traveling here.

Money

Prior to traveling to Brazil, or any country for that matter, I am a strong advocate of researching the exchange rates and exchanging some money (at least $100.00) for the country’s foreign currency. In Brazil, they use the Brazilian Real, which is about ¼ the worth of an American Dollar. This means 1 US Dollar should get you approximately 4 Brazilian Reals.

Prior to traveling to Brazil, I exchanged about $300.00 in US currency to Reals. Listen, if you are only going to Brazil for a few days (I was there 4), you likely do not need to exchange this much money. However, I knew I planned on buying Brazilian art while there so I made sure to exchange enough for food, souvenirs, nightlife, expenses on tours, AND lots of art! Based on how my girls and I spend differently, I think you will be OK with $200.00 exchanged into Reals (so about $800.00 Reals.) Like I said, maybe exchange $100.00 prior to arrival and exchange an additional $100.00 at a money exchange kiosk in town (NOT IN THE AIRPORT—those exchange rates are RIDICULOUS!).

Expensive Cheap City

The best way for me to describe Rio is an expensive cheap city. So technically, your money can go really far, but you find yourself spending more of it.

For food, we chose two expensive restaurants; and the rest of the time we ate at local eateries and cafeterias that charge for food by the weight. I recommend going to local eateries, where they speak little to no English, because the food is usually the best.

S/N: I really enjoyed Churrascaria Palace for a Brazilian Steakhouse experience (one of the expensive restaurants). But for full disclosure, one of my friends got really sick after eating a questionable sausage while there—I do not eat pork so I didn’t try it. Though, I didn’t get sick at all and thought everything delicious.

Uber

Make sure to download the Uber App before traveling to Brazil. Literally, the costs of an Uber in Brazil is a fraction of the cost of a cab. I think we spent a total of under $40.00 for Ubers all through Rio (even almost ending up in one of the Favelas—whew!) for the three of us TOTAL. So basically, about $13.00 each for four days.

We were scammed one time by choosing a personal driver from the airport, who a friend of a friend recommended, and although he spoke English and was helpful, he totally overcharged to get us from the airport to Ipanema. Once we started pricing trips through Uber, we ditched him the rest of the trip.

Flights

Try to get a nonstop flight or one through a well-known airline if you have layovers. We flew American nonstop down, however, all ended up on different return flights because it was actually Latam airlines who was the carrier and we booked through different sources.

I actually got stuck in Peru on the way back because of Latam airlines—but that story is for another blog.

Where to Stay

Two of the main and safer places to stay in Rio is Ipanema or Copacabana.

These are both areas very near the beach and more so cater to well-off Brazilians and tourists.

We stayed in Ipanema and loved it. This area is lined with little bars and restaurants. It gives a city and artsy vibe all at once. It also hosts the Hippie Fair on Sundays (where I got a few art pieces.) A short walk from the center, you hit a quieter part of the beach with beach bars and everyone trying to sell you a beach chair. We all definitely felt safe walking around Ipanema, even at night.

Copacabana is much more touristy. We went there for our nice dinners. The beach is much more crowded with random people asking to take your picture. Still lots of beach bars and little beachside restaurants. I do feel like in Copacabana, the people are a bit more aggressive when trying to sell you something. So it was fun to visit, but we were glad to go back to the quieter parts of Ipanema.

We stayed in an Airbnb over a hotel, and I highly recommend it. Airbnb simply offers well-spaced accommodations, for usually a better price than a hotel. Also, we each had our own bed and two bathrooms versus having to share beds and one bathroom that usually comes with a hotel. So, I recommend researching Airbnb’s website when deciding where to stay in Rio and thoroughly looking at reviews, locations, etc.

Visa

At the time of our visit, Brazil still required Americans to purchase visas to enter their country. The Brazilian visa costs $44.24 at the time, and they gave me so much push back before they finally approved a picture for it.

However, as of June 17, 2019, Americans are no longer required to obtain a visa prior to traveling to Brazil (side eye). So count yourself lucky if you have future plans to travel to Brazil.

Overall

The above is a non-exhaustive list of things I believe you should know prior to traveling to Rio. Of course there is more like what sights you should see (Christ the Redeemer), tours you can book, and favored nightlife (Lapa area). But I basically ran down a few of the more prominent things I believe everyone should know before traveling to Rio.

If you have more tips, feel free to email us!

Happy Traveling Travelsetters!!

Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil