Brazil was one of the most gut-wrenching trips I’ve taken since Panama. Gut-wrenching in both the good and bad sense. While you’re strictly told to avoid the favelas, I saw and heard more guns on that trip than I’d like to admit in the places I least expected. That said, I probably have a few more years of courage left in me, so it didn’t necessarily ruin my trip. Besides, I’d already flown over 4,000 god damn miles, stressed myself for weeks over getting a visa, and expeditiously renewed my passport. At this point, I was determined to have a fantastic time. Here are my highlights to guide you through Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
SAO PAULO
I was only in Sao Paulo for two days – really a layover to quickly check out the city and check off another festival from my list. But I didn’t expect that I’d leave craving for more (more spaghetti, that is).
It’s been almost one month since my trip, and I am still dreaming about this spaghetti! The spaghetti for two is a must. Seriously – made my top three. The amount of leftovers for two people was very generous! (It tasted delicious even served cold.) Spare some time before or after to check out some of the other bars and restaurants in the area – all owned by the Mancini family.
VILA MADELENA
Check out this cute bohemian-vibe neighborhood, adorned with beautiful graffiti walls and lined with bars and restaurants. There’s plenty of great photo ops here! Check out Bar Astor if you can, too. This was like one of a few bars that could actually make a good drink. Being a huge fan of a well-crafted old fashioned, this bar was a golden find. Most of the bars or restaurants anywhere in Brazil didn’t make these. Also, for those vodka soda lovers out there, keep in mind that Absolut and Smirnoff are typically the only choices. Bar Astor had pretty much every kind of vodka though! The locally brewed Bohemia beer is pretty good,too.
ELECTRIC ZOO
Going to Tomorrowland has definitely been on my bucket list. While totally unfortunate they cancelled TL, I was happy to see ezoo announce its first year right around the same time TL was supposed to happen.
If you happen to visit Sao Paulo and go to ezoo, I seriously recommend hiring a private car. For anyone who has been to any festival, you’re well aware of the less than great transportation woes of getting to and from the festival. ezoo is held at the race track, Autodromo de Interlagos (45 minutes from our hotel). It’s the same place they hold Lollapalooza Brazil. The website suggests taxis and buses, but for someone not familiar with the city or language, I decided to play it safe and spend the extra money. He dropped us off, waited/parked nearby for 5-6 hours, and took us back to city. Total cost was $300 USD for two people (included tip).
MUNICIPAL MARKET
For some culture and culinary flavor, check out the Municipal Market. Try to get there early, because there’s always a huge crowd of people, but it gets even worse after noon. Definitely be mindful of your surroundings, and keep a watch out for pick pocketers. It’s a great place to try new food or just great to people watch.
RIO DE JANEIRO
DOIS IRMAOIS HIKE – Also known as the ‘Two Brothers’ hike, this was seriously the highlight of my trip, and probably the third craziest thing I experienced this trip. I’ll keep the first two to myself! 😉 I will echo the other sites where you may have read about this hike. You have to go through a favela in order to get to the entrance of the mountain. There’s no other way. I also echo that it’s not that bad. Before we get into the details, check out this view from the top!
Be prepared to have 10 reias handy so you can pay the $R5 for the scooter or van ride up and $R5 for the ride back. Alternatively, you can walk about 1 mile from the entrance of the favela, through the favela itself, to the base of the hike. I wouldn’t recommend it – and I would recommend saving your energy for the actual hike.
Request to be dropped off at the entrance of Vidigal Favela. It’s right near the Sheraton Hotel.
Be mindful the driver will literally STOP here and refuse to go no further. In fact, my driver said “This is a favela. It is not safe to go in. It’s dangerous and I won’t drive you any further.” Umm, well, shit. I’m sure you don’t know me, but believe me when I say, ignore that and GO IN!! Ask the driver to find the scooter taxis and drop you off there. That way, you can hop out of the taxi and right onto the scooter. The scooter ride was an adventure in and of itself. Take the van if you want to play it extra safe, keep in mind they aren’t as many vans around though.
Just be smart. Go early enough so there’s enough daylight by the time you’re done hiking to safely get out of there. Don’t flash any money or anything expensive. Even though we only saw about 15 people on the hike that day, it is a known tourist spot, so it’s popular enough to be traveled. If you plan early enough, there are tours you can book with groups and a guide. Plus, how do you pass up this freaking view?
Details: Moderate-level hike, about 1 mile up, takes approximately 3.5 hours (about 30 minutes at the top to take in the view). I wouldn’t suggest going the day after it rained, because it’s a little slippery and there’s a few sketchy parts of the trail. Bring some good hiking shoes, cash, water, a snack, sunblock and bug spray. Of course, do NOT forget a camera! You can bring a few extra reias to buy water at the entrance of the hike, and grab a drink about 1/5 way up the trail. The vendor serves waters, soda, and acai smoothies.
Another spot for a great view of the city! I would suggest waiting about an hour before the sunset to head over here. To get up the mountain, you take a cable car up for R$40 ($13 USD). You can enjoy a beer up at the top, and wait for a spot to clear out to watch the sunset. A very romantic spot. Another perk of getting here around sunset – there were no lines!
Don’t worry about getting an uber, there’s a long queue of taxis right outside.
CHRIST THE REDEEMER
If you’ve made it this entire way to Rio, you have to check this one off your list! It’s one of the 7 Modern Wonders of the World. It’s really easy to get to, and again, I suggest going right before sunset to avoid crowds (which helps to get a picture in front of the statue without dozens of people in your background!) and get both a day and night view of Jesus. The statue lights up after dark…pretty cool.
Another suggestion is to hire a taxi or uber to drive you there, wait there, and take you back. Once you get up there to see the statue, it doesn’t take very long. It’s worth it to have them wait for you since hailing a cab or getting an uber up there isn’t very easy. In fact, when I tried to figure out the best way up, I kept reading you needed to take a cab to a train and then to a bus and back. Sounded way too complicated and inconvenient. I ended up finding a cab driver who would offer to go up and wait for me to be done. He said the entire experience could be enjoyed in 20-60 minutes (which was true). Total cost was $30 USD roundtrip from Copacabana.
After drop off, you have to purchase a ticket ($18USD) and hop on a bus for 5 minutes up to the actual Redeemer statue.
COPACABANA AND IPANEMA BEACH
Rio beaches are no place to relax. Within just a few moments of laying down, you’ll be greeted in succession by different vendors selling sunglasses (fay-bans), grilled shrimp (made on a portable grill); fresh fruit, and caipirinha (Brazil’s national cocktail, made with a sugarcane liquor, so very sweet); clothing; etc. I’m the first to admit I’m a germophobe who typically would not be caught eating street food of any kind, so I steered away from buying anything. These seemed to be independently owned, so I was pretty cautious to eat or drink anything. You could pretty much buy anything on the beach, it was really a neat people watching experience. Overall, the vendors were really respectful . If you don’t want anything, simply say “no thank you” and most of them will leave you alone.
LAPA (ESCADARIA SELERON)
Quickly check out the famous steps Escadaria Seleron and some street vendors, but I definitely felt very unsafe here. I would suggest coming here during the day, and definitely wear comfortable, flat shoes! There are cobblestone streets everywhere.
SANTA TERESA
Check this super artistic neighborhood out before heading to Christ the Redeemer for some live music or the graffiti art. There were tons of tourists in this area, so I didn’t feel that unsafe.
RIO EATS
- Venga! – must try the grilled octopus
- Don Camilo – try the seafood pasta
- Churrascaria Palace – try everything you can! Make sure you understand what they’re serving though.
- Soy Japa – There is a huge Japanese population in Rio, so plenty of Japanese and sushi joints to choose from. This was by far my favorite one. Check out the Uramaki Soy roll. Fairly reasonable prices, too. $10.50 USD for a specialty roll.
- Bar Astor – check this out for delicious cocktail and the seafood pasta
GETTING AROUND
- Download the Easy Taxi or Uber apps. I personally used Uber a lot to avoid handling cash, but found on a number of occasions that taxis were much more convenient. With taxis, you normally didn’t have to deal with a driver trying to figure out exactly where to pick you up if you were in an obscure location. Carry cash for taxis.
- Do take caution with riding the taxis – a couple of them tried to offer a free ride in exchange for visiting a few local vendors. Sounds like the scam I fell for in Thailand. Read about that here.
- There were tons of buses, so another option. I personally did not take any buses around town though.
- Renting a car- I would not recommend driving yourself, especially with all of the warnings on the high levels of crime. Don’t draw any more attention to yourself than necessary.
- Bike sharing – there were a bunch of bike sharing terminals around town.
BEFORE YOU GO…
- VISA – In addition to needing your passport, don’t forget about your visa. Allow a minimum of two weeks for processing before your trip, but seriously don’t wait that long!!! In Florida, you must apply in person (in Miami). What?! However, I found out you have the options of driving down to the Brazilian consulate, filing by proxy using a relative of colleague, or hiring a third party. Please be aware that the office doesn’t take appointments. Walk-ins available from 2-3:30pm M-F. How convenient, right? I ended up using CITB and it was such a great decision. They were very helpful throughout the application process, and will walk you through everything to ensure your application is done accurately to avoid delays. You will have to pay an additional fee for using them, but check with your work for any discounts. I ended up sending in my application on a Saturday and received everything back on Thursday.
- CPF Number – This is similar to a social security number in the United States. You might run into issues where you’ll be asked to provide this number – I ran into this issue when I tried to buy tickets to ezoo. You don’t need one, just put in 11 zeroes or ones to override.
- AT&T Day Pass – I used International Day Pass, which allows you to pay a flat $10/day to use your current plan’s talk and text in select countries. Check with your wireless provider – I know Verizon offered the same deal.
- MONEY – You can exchange money at the airport, but there are plenty of ATM machines. I have an HSBC bank account that I always keep handy when I travel overseas. Be mindful of ATM operating hours (many close earlier, before dark). Otherwise, most places accept credit cards.
- HOW TO PACK – Leave all your flashy jewelry and clothing at home. For the most part, Brazil is very warm. Wear light and casual clothes that you can layer on for the cool nights. I recommend wearing flat shoes due to the cobblestone streets. Plus, it’s super casual here – dress low-key. Also, bring bug repellant with deet if you plan to go hiking through the forest. Bring sunblock for everything.
- POWER ADAPTERS – Don’t forget to bring a few converters (super cheap on Amazon). Other packing list tips here.
- TripAdvisor over Yelp! – There’s much more reviews on Trip Advisor.
- TUDO BEM! – A lot of people spoke English, but others were very open to Spanish if you don’t speak Portuguese.
- MONITOR STRIKES – It’s crazy to think about this, but it’s a reality. On one of the last days in Rio, there were threats of a widespread strike, potentially impacting businesses and the ability to travel. For instance, there were protests in Sao Paulo, blocking major highways.
Finally, do your research before you go. There is a lot of beautiful things Brazil has to offer, but it also has a very high violent crime rate. Be safe and you’ll have a great time! Obrigada, Brazil.
