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…read more
Some areas of Lapa are not that safe. However, you can safely enjoy what Lapa has to offer by sticking to the safest zone of the neighborhood — the heart of Lapa. Lapa is the most popular area to enjoy Rio de Janeiro’s nightlife and you should not miss a night out in Lapa. Nevertheless, the neighborhood should not be explored on foot at night. Instead, you should take a taxi from your hotel to the exact address you want…read more
There are several excellent cafés, bars, and restaurants in Ipanema. If you are a foodie, you will find several different cuisines, dishes, cocktails, deserts, premium beers, and good wine. Day in day out you can try Brazilian as well as international culinary such as Japanese, Arabic, Italian, and others. Bear in mind that Ipanema is not cheap though. Food and beverages overall prices (as well as hotel rates and entertainment admission tickets) match those of European and North-American cities. Prepare…read more
Barra da Tijuca is quite safe at day time in busy areas such as the beach as well as at night at restaurant rows such as Condado de Caiscais. By the way, Barra has excellent dining options. Most tourists — foreigners and Brazilians alike — should not miss dining, for example, at Porcao, which is the most famous Brazilian steakhouse in Rio de Janeiro (and there is a Porcao restaurant in Barra). Barra (as it is popularly called) has many…read more
You may be concerned how safe Botafogo, Largo do Machado, Catete, and Gloria are. Let’s analyse each of these areas separately: Botafogo is the neighborhood in the back of Copacabana. It’s a tipycal middle-class neighborhood, primarily residential but with dozens of shops as well as a few hotels such as Mercure Botafogo Mourisco, Mercure Rio de Janeiro Botafogo, El Misti Hostel, and Ibis Botafogo (the latter under construction as of this writing). Botafogo is generally safe at day time as…read more
If you are considering staying in Leblon you may be wondering how safe Leblon is. As a general rule, Leblon is quite safe at day time. In fact, Rio de Janeiro is overall safe for tourists and for locals. However, Leblon has many side streets that are rather dark at night, due to the excess of trees and/or lack of proper streetlight. Besides, Leblon is a small neighborhood (approximately 50,000 inhabitants), and not as lively as Copacabana (approximately 150,000 inhabitants!).…read more
Wondering how safe is Ipanema neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro? First of all, Ipanema is quite safe. In fact, you will feel safe right upon arriving. However, staying safe will depend also on the decisions you make on a daily basis; common sense is a must. Let’s divide Ipanema in three areas — Ipanema Beach, Ipanema sidewalk, and Ipanema neighborhood (inland). Ipanema Beach – The beach is rather safe at day time; you will feel completely safe. Tips to stay…read more
How safe is Copacabana is a common question prospective visitors ask before booking a hotel in the most popular beach neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. Copacabana beach safety rules should be learned before heading to Brazil. In Copacabana live more than 150,000 inhabitants — the majority of them is made of Brazilians born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, plus a considerable number of Brazilians from other cities in Brazil, and finally a small minority of foreigners who have chosen…read more
Nowadays it is easier to stay safe in Rio de Janeiro than the prospective traveler might imagine. However, at some point in the past there were a lot of news on how unsafe Rio was or could be for tourists, regardless the neighborhood they chose to stay. In fact, Rio de Janeiro has seen some not-so-safe years in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Fortunately, the scenario has improoved a lot for local inhabitants as well as for visitors from Brazil…read more
There is no such a thing as tourist taxis in Rio de Janeiro. By definition, a tourist taxi would be a taxi that takes only tourists, and that does not officially exists in Rio de Janeiro. However, there are taxi stands near or right across certain hotels in Copacabana where you can take a cab whose driver specializes in driving tourists to the airport (GIG or SDU), to Christ the Redeemer, to Sugar Loaf, and to other attractions in Rio…read more