Trip to Rio
 

Ok i randomly booked a trip to rio mid june for a week. I need you guys to help me plan it, as in what to do and where to go. I come in to Rio and fly out of Rio and have a week. Appreciate if you guys helped plan what to do and where to stay. Up for everything i guess its just a case of making the best use of time.

Thanks in advance.

Mike

hmmm no one has anything to suggest...

It is not that anyone has nothing to suggest, it is just hard to make suggestions to a question that contains very little specifics. What would be the point of suggesting things to do if they all turned out to be things you didn't care for? We don't even know if you plan to stay in Rio the entire week or are willing to make excursions elsewhere. And for hotels, we have no idea of your price range, so should high end establishments be suggested or low end or something in-between? Before making your next post I would suggest you look at other threads in the Brazil forum which contain a lot of information about places to go, places to stay, things to do, and things to be careful about. When the Brazil forum was recently created, a lot of older threads concerning Brazil were moved into it. Then, if certain items strike your fancy, come back and ask questions that are more focused and that provide the readers with a better idea of your likes and dislikes, price range, whether you are traveling alone or with others, etc..

And one other point. If you are a US Citizen and do not currently have a visa for Brazil, you will need to obtain one. There are threads about that as well in the Brazil forum.

Also what are your interest-beach, museums, hiking, etc. Also, you should read the various Brasil threads for tips on personal safety. You may want to do some online research and then come back here for specific questions. A good website is ipanema.com.

Thanks guys. Well a few specifics. I would like to do the Amazon subject to i have the time to do it. I am open to travel around. Hotel would range anything between $100-200. Would like some beach time. I would want to do some museums. Unless its a brilliant hike i could skip it. Basically try to cover the maximum i can within a week.

I guess i was trying the easier way of having people suggest what to do rather than look up older threads.

Thanks for the website.

I guess i need to try and read the brazil forum in more depth and take it from there. Once again thanks guys.

I used this outfit to do a 5-Day venture on the Amazon. I believe they had day trips as well and can tailor a trip to your needs. http://swallowsandamazonstours.com/

Depending on where you want to travel you might look into the Brazil airpass, details here: http://www.staralliance.com/en/press/brazilairpass-prp/

But remember, Brazil is pretty big and a week isn't much time. If you want to see more than Rio and its surrounding areas, consider picking perhaps two places to go and then plan on coming back to see more. :-)

For the Amazon you'd need about 3-4 days, unless you just want to arrive there and go back.
It's quite a long flight from Rio to Manaus, and then you need to take a boat or something to go out of the city.

Thanks qfrodo and neuromancer. I guess 7-8 days surely not enough but thats about all i can manage now. I guess i would have to settle with Rio and the Amazon and leave the rest for later.

You will want to see the Cristo and Pao de Acucar. Do both on a clear day. You can hike in the Tijuca forest, walk around the botanical gardens, take the bonde up to Santa Teresa. There are a bunch of museums, though I think the only one I actually made it to was the Carmen Miranda. Enjoy the beaches in Copacabana and Ipanema, or further out in Barra or Sao Conrado. The Parque do Flamengo is also nice, with great views of Sugarloaf and you can watch the Brazilian boys playing soccer, volleyball and lifting weights. Try to see a football game at the Maracana, take a tour of the favelas and go to Lapa on Friday night.

You can do day trips to Petropolis and Teresopolis, though this area was hard hit by recent floods so I don't know what their status is at the moment. Outside of Rio, there is Parati and Ilha Grande to the west or Buzios, Saquarema and Arraial do Cabo to the east. June is off season, so you should have these areas largely to yourself.

I had plans to do lots of sightseeing, but the beaches are addicting so I spent much of my time there.

Thanks trebex. I guess will have to pick the sightseeing or the amazon. Cant be doing both else i end up with 0 beach time. Thanks for the advice.

Well, you could do both. A few days in Rio and then a few days in the Amazon. If you're heading to the Amazon, you can certainly skip the Tijuca forest and the botanical gardens in Rio. It may be a bit rushed, but if you have a short time and you don't think you'll get back to Brazil for a while, then go for it.

You can easily spend a week in Rio, maybe with side trips to Buzios, Paraty, Angra dos Reis, Petropolis, Niteroi, e.g.
Rio itself has so much to offer when it comes to sights, beaches, restaurants, nightlife, activities and cultural stuff.
My personal favorite guidebook to Rio is "Rio for Partiers". Excellent guide to restaurants, nightlife and beyond, all written in an informal language.

Trebex - that is something that i could do or just entirely skip the amazon as jeffi suggested. I am not so big on the amazon but since i will be there and not sure when next i thought i might as well go for it.

Just do Rio and neighbhours wise or do Rio and Amazon ??

I don't think you'd go wrong either way. If the Amazon is something you really want to do, then go for it. If you can take it or leave it, then leave it. Or why not look into flight costs from Rio to Manaus. If the price is good, that's an incentive to go.

Its more a case of take it or leave it i would think, let me figure out the cost to fly and take it from there.