Copacabana Beach at day time — plenty of locals having a great time!
In a 6 million-plus-people city such as Rio de Janeiro there are certainly bad areas to avoid. But as in most major metropolitan areas around the world you can perfectly visit for days or weeks, or live for months or years without ever suffering any personal attack.
You should not at all avoid or postpone a trip to Rio de Janeiro because of safety issues; that was a thought to consider in the 1990’s. As a matter of fact, Rio de Janeiro is much safer nowadays (as the 2016 Olympics approaches).
However, here are some of the areas and places that you should avoid walking when visiting Rio de Janeiro:
Copacabana, Ipanema, Leme, Leblon, and Arpoador Beaches at night
These are the top 5 beaches where most tourists hang out in Rio de Janeiro. At day time there are plenty of locals (see photo above), but at night time most locals don’t walk on the beach sand or sit on the sand to see the stars (see photo below). Why not? Because at night the beach is rather deserted, and deserted areas should be avoided in Rio de Janeiro. However, locals do spend time at night on the beach sidewalk, especially at peak time (6-8 p.m.); join them!
Do as locals do — avoid walking on the beaches at night except if, for some reason or event, the beach is full of Cariocas (natives of Rio).
Copacabana Beach after sunset — no one on the beach. Stick to the sidewalk, as locals do.
Downtown Rio de Janeiro
Hardly anyone lives in Centro (Downtown Rio), which is the business area. At night, on weekends, and public holidays the area is quite deserted. Do you think you should avoid walking in downtown at those times? Sure! This is one of the potentially dangerous parts of Rio de Janeiro (dangerous for tourists as well as the locals).
Downtown Rio completely deserted on weekends. Avoid this area on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone
This area is huge, encompassing several neighborhoods and districts. Regrettably, this is the least interesting, recommended, and safe area for a tourist to hang out. In fact, most of the crime in Rio takes place in that area, although there are some good commercial establishments, natural sites, residential areas, and attractions in the North Zone.
Don’t panic! Most tourists don’t need to get around in this area, and if you want to avoid potentially dangerous areas such as the North Zone, you should stick to the areas where hotels are located and avoid exploring Rio de Janeiro on foot at night and areas with no pedestrians.
Planning a trip to Brazil and thinking of visiting Rio de Janeiro? Do you want to stay away from high crime areas in Rio de Janeiro? No need to focus on the places to avoid in Rio de Janeiro, just naturally avoid the bad areas and places by following the recommendations, maps, itineraries, and suggestions presented in My Rio Travel Guide — the most useful guide book to Rio de Janeiro.
Click below to have a great time in Rio!
