So I've spent lots of time in South America, but very little time in Brazil, and I've never left the airport in Rio. I have a November trip to South America planned with my wife and daughter. We're going to be in Argentina and then up to Iguazu. I currently have a flight back to the USA from Rio, and need to decide whether we should spent some time in Brazil and whether we should visit Rio.
My wife, also a world traveler, is nervous about Rio. I can't really blame her -- there are lots of bad stories out there. We don't need "perfect safety" (like I don't think twice about visiting European cities that have regular terrorist attacks), but I also don't want to visit Rio if it's truly dangerous for tourists. For example, I know lots of people are shot in Chicago, but tourists who stick to downtown would never know this if they didn't read the media stories. We're obviously not going to have a good time if we have to be paranoid about safety.
So what's the real deal? Can we have a safe (short) enjoyable visit to Rio? Or should we skip it and spend our time elsewhere? If we do visit Rio, how should we arrange transport, where should we stay, and what should we do (and not do)? Thanks!