I am traveling to Rio in Brazil and spending shabbat there. Where are most of Rio's synagogues located (ideally looking for orthodox sephardic but willing to be flexible of course)? There seem to be quite a few in the Copacabana area but that area sounds a bit dangerous to walk around at night (ie when returning from shul on Fri night) and rather limited in terms of activities to the beach during the day (would prefer an area with interesting architecture, picturesque back streets etc).

Does the Flamengo area have any synagogues nearby? What about Botafogo?

Maps of Rio online are bad and few and far between anyway, and none has a searchable street index.

Any advice from travelers who've done this in the past?

I can't recall seeing any synagogues in Rio although they well be situated in the back streets of Copa. However it is quite common to see orthodox jews on the AA951/950 flights to JFK (their garb always looks slightly incongruous in Rio's hot climate) so there must be quite a community there.

As for returning on a Friday night I personally wouldn't have any fears walking in Copa using common sense precautions. In any case taxis are so plentiful and cheap that there's no reason to be on the street for too long. I have a detailed street map of Rio so if you need advice on safe locations let me know. In Copa the relative danger of a location can vary quite a bit depending on the street so I may be able to help.

Just got back. For future reference for others who might be interested:

-- Chabad in Leblon is the place to go Friday night.
-- There's a sephardic (Syrian tradition from Aleppo) synagogue in Ipanema that we visited also.

Both are easily walkable from Leblon/Ipanema area hotels. It's best to walk on the Avenida Visconde de Piraja and its continuation (rather than the beachside road) for safety reasons.

Just got back. For future reference for others who might be interested:

-- Chabad in Leblon is the place to go Friday night.
-- There's a sephardic (Syrian tradition from Aleppo) synagogue in Ipanema that we visited also.

Both are easily walkable from Leblon/Ipanema area hotels. It's best to walk on the Avenida Visconde de Piraja and its continuation (rather than the beachside road) for safety reasons.
Did you go to any kosher restaurants in rio?
sao paulo has some amazing synagogues and kosher restaurants!

Did you go to any kosher restaurants in rio?
sao paulo has some amazing synagogues and kosher restaurants!

Didn't make it to any. But would love to go back to Brazil, so please post your Sao Paulo recommendations here for a future trip...