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[jondells]

What are some good hostels to stay in while in Rio?

[whereshegoes]

Where abouts do you want to stay? There are some pretty good places in Copacabana....is that where you are thinking or something more downtown?

[jondells]

I'm not really sure, but probably Copacabana or Ipanema. Which part of town would you recommend?

[whereshegoes]

I spent most of my time up at Ipanema but that was because I was staying in a rented condo. It was a little less touristy and busy and certainly wasn't as busy as far down the beach....Depends what your looking for.

Party scene? Copa

Quieter relaxation? Ipanema

[jondells]

Probably Copa then.

[whereshegoes]

Luc went to Rio recently and he stayed at Mellow Yellow in Copa. He said it was good but you should make sure you book in advance.

Good luck!

[andrea]

We stayed at the Mellow Yellow in Copa, and it was ok. They were way overbooked for Carnival so it was a bit cramped. If we ever went back, we'd stay in Ipanema for sure. Copa was ok but the beach was nasty (we literally had to push trash away from us in the water). We found Ipanema's beach much nicer and the area of town more conducive to just hanging out.

Andrea

[jondells]

Just leaving Rio and I have to say that Ipanema would be the place to stay that I would recommend. Both Copa and Ipanema are a walking distance apart. I stayed at a hostel (Las Colinas Residencia) which was pretty crappy, but had good people staying there which made it quite enjoyable, but was between the two. Very good location, but I'm sure there are other hostels in the area with better facilities.

[joanna_2006]

I stayed at Hostel Harmonia in Ipanema. I think its good, friendly owner, and close enough to the beach!!

[joanna_2006]

Hi all,
I have been travelling in SA for 2 months now, and is now in Argentina and about to end my trip in 2 weeks time.
I just want to share with you my bad experience in Manaus so that you do not repeat this.

I was approached by this agent called THOMAS or TOM at the Manaus airport about tours to the amazon, he has a girl with her who has just come back from one, and her also recommends the tour (even when I spoke to her in private, she did not complaint about anything).

So, another girl from England and myself have booked a tour through him. Just to make a long story short, I booked a 7 days tour which he promised is going to be 4 days at the lodge and 3 more days upstream. However, I waited for pick up at the lodge at day 4 and no one comes to pack me up, i was forced to stay with the lodge and spend the rest of the 3 days at some sites nearby.

I also met a lot of people at the lodge who booked their tour through Thomas, and they were all being promised for things that never happened, either about location, tour duration, accomodations, etc.

When I returned to Manaus, I contacted Thomas and finally got part of the money I paid back, but I did realised through talking to other people that I am still paying somewhat on the high side after getting some money back.

And, most importantly, its not about money, but the time that i have spent at the amazon was more than needed if I did not go upstream. And Thomas basically promised everything that you asked for and assured you that you will have it.

SO, IF YOU ARE APPROACHED BY HIM, DO NOT TRUST HIM!! YOU SHOULD GO TO A REPUTABLE TOUR AGENT, ALTHOUGH YOU END UP IN THE SAME LODGE, YOU PAY LESS AND GET ACCURATE INFORMATION ON WHAT TO EXPECT!!

[kris]

I was approached by this agent called THOMAS or TOM at the Manaus airport about tours to the amazon,SO, IF YOU ARE APPROACHED BY HIM, DO NOT TRUST HIM!! YOU SHOULD GO TO A REPUTABLE TOUR AGENT, ALTHOUGH YOU END UP IN THE SAME LODGE, YOU PAY LESS AND GET ACCURATE INFORMATION ON WHAT TO EXPECT!!

sounds like manaus isn't all what it cracks up to be, and is full of con men like christiano in this story here

[Jessica_CDN]

Good warning! THanks for posting it. Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience though....

[dynamo1000]

I had a different experience with Thomas, he got me a nice hotel room and the tour was great. We went up the Rio Negro on a riverboat and saw a lot of animals like pink dolphins, huge spiders, piranhas, different snakes and more. The guide Leonardo spoke excellent english and really knew everything about amazon wildlife. He caught an alligator of 2 meters with his hands. Of course you need to watch out in Manaus, a lot of bad tour operators. You can find Thomas everyday at the Airport. His site is amazonwildtour.com.

[stevejames]

I'm afraid I've had to moderate your post by removing the link because it featured nudity. A very TINY amount of nudity, if you catch my drift

I'll leave it up to the Travelpod team whether to delete this topic altogether. Whilst you are clearly angry and want to warn others of the mistreatment you've had at the hands of this person, I'm not sure that getting personal in this way is suitable for the forums.

[ricardodias]

Hello! In São Paulo there is many hotels good, safe and comfortable, but you need to choose one to assist to their needs. There is a very good guide of hotels, the hotels.com, that shows very interesting details on location and services that the hotel offers. Enter there, the site is that: http://www.hoteis.com/

[leslieshay]

This thread is a few years old but I am currently looking for accommodations for a two week stay in Rio in November and would love advice on where to stay from hostels to hotels or any other alternatives.

This will by my first trip ever to Brazil and I will be meeting up with friends and hanging out most of the time so I am not worried about being near the tourist attractions or the beach. I just need a clean and safe place to stay..that's all....it would be great to have some privacy though instead of a hostel if I could afford it.

I would use a hostel as my last resort. I want to be able to stay as long as possible once I get there, at least two weeks.

HELP! Advice needed!