stimpy

Hi, we'll be going to Rio post-carnival in mid-Feb for about 8 days. Looking for hotel ideas and trip ideas away from Rio. I'm thinking Bahia, but I'll take any advice I can get. I'll probably book the Sheraton or I-C in Rio using points for a few days. But after that I'm open.

TIA!

USAFAN

Last March/April we went to Brazil. Very interesting is Iguassu and Itaipu. You should go to both sides, Brazil and Argentina, we did it on 2 nights, one day. We also went to Salvador de Bahia; big town with a colonial Africa feeling. People say, Bahia has great beaches. We went to one on an island off Salvador.
Near Rio is Petropolis; king's town in the mountains, nice cool.
We had a TAM Brazil Airpass http://www.tamairlines.com/

stimpy

Thanks for the info. I'll probably rent a car for touring around Rio. Can you drive easily to Bahia from Rio?

USAFAN

I looked at Expedia. It's 1,000 miles, more or less.
The flight is 1h 45min.
http://www.tam.com.br/b2c/jsp/default.jhtml

I am an "active car renter", have rented in Mexico City (to San Miguel de Alliende), Dom. Rep, Naples/Italy, Rome, Paris... I did not rent in Rio, and I am not sure, if renting is such a good idea. Taxis are not expensive. And I don't know any nice places nearby, other than Petropolis.

Some of my bookmarked links:
http://www.braziltourism.org/

http://www.braziltourism.org/links.shtml

http://www.brazilnuts.com/getChild.asp?obj_id=3

http://www.brazil.org.uk/index.php

http://www.gringoes.com/

http://www.embratur.gov.br/en/home/index.asp

http://www.riodejaneiro-turismo.com.br/pt/

http://www.bahia-online.net/index.htm

Angostura

Neither the Sheraton nor the Intercontinental are very well located. The Marina Palace (on the beach in Leblon) or the Everest (a block off the beach in Ipanema) are good, reasonably-priced options in the best areas of the city. (I'm not very fond of Copacabana.)

Depending on how much time you have, a trip to the coast/islands to the West of Rio is well worth it. Either a B&B on Ilha Grande (http://www.ilhagrande.com.br/) if you're the adventurous sort, or one of the resorts on the mainland in Angra if you're not (the Blue Tree is quite good). In the same direction, Paraty (about 4 hrs from Rio) is a well-preserved 17th century port town w/ plenty of good restaurants. If you have less time, an overnight trip into the mountains is a good bet. Dinner at Locanda Della Mimosa (www.locanda.com.br) is worth the 90-minute drive all on its own. It's also a good place to stay, as is the Pousada das Araras (www.pousadadasararas.com.br).

If you're going to rent a car, pick it up on the way out of town. In the city, it's much easier and cheaper to get around by taxi.

oiRRio

All good advice from Angostura particularly the bit above. Taxis are cheap, plentiful and very honest. Simply put, always hail a moving taxi, be careful taking taxis from the rodoviário (central bus station) and you shouldn't have any problems.

The coast road to the west of Rio is very scenic. I would pick one of the destinations he lists and go there by coach unless there are 3 or more in the group. Coaches are safe, comfortable and you can take in the view at your leisure. If you decide to drive get out of the city during the day. Whatever your risk tolerance it really isn't a great idea to be on the linha amarela, linha vermelha or Avenida Brasil after nightfall.

If you're going just after Carnaval try and catch the Parade of Champions on Sat. night (Feb. 12). This will give you a very good idea of what the Carnaval parade itself is like.

There does seem to be a bit of a crime spree aginst tourists at the moment even by Rio standards e.g. there have been quite a few incidents in Copa at night and Leblon beach during the day. Normally I would put it down to sensationalist reporting but a couple of frequent visitors I know feel it is more dangerous than normal at the moment. Hopefully it will have died down somewhat by Feb but it's worth keeping an eye on.

Angostura is right in implying that Copa is a little more downmarket than Ipanema. However, I spent quite a bit of time in Rio and the only two muggings I saw both occurred on the main street in Ipanema in mid-afternoon. Also the closest I came to being mugged was between Arpoador and Ipanema. It was early evening and I had football gear on to play beach soccer. You don't need to be wearing a hawaiian shirt and gold watch on the beach at 2am to be a potential target.