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[dlmelvin86]

Hey everyone, me and a buddy are going to Rio for NY and will be there from dec 26 - 4th jan. We just booked so we had about 2 available options in hotels around our price range. We decided to book the Lancaster Hotel over the Savory something?

After looking on a map it appears the lancaster is right in the middle of the red light district in copa! lol

Anyways we plan on visiting the christ statue and sugar loaf. Spending the days on the beach and going out to bars and clubs at night.

What are some of the best places we should go to during our stay? Also how much money should i bring for about 9 days?

I heard how bad the mugging is in copa at night so ima buy a leg wrap to hide my money. and bring some old wallets to put like 5 dollars in them with old credit cards just in case. lol

Anyways, any advise or suggestions would be much appreciated!

[starlagurl]

Check out some of the TP blogs first: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-city/...neiro/tpod.html

I also like to read the lists of things to do at TripAdvisor before I go: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g30...de_Janeiro.html

[mmbcross]

Well at least you are going with the right attitude, lots and lots of lol's.

The Savoy is on Copacabana Avenue, an extremely noisy street, so make sure you get an interior room if you go there. The Lancaster is on Avenida Atlantica facing Copacabana Beach. If you can get a ocean front room, take the Lancaster by all means. Don't worry too much about the red light district, it may seem to you that the whole of Copacabana becomes a red light district later at night. You can watch the amazing fireworks sitting at the sidewalk cafe right in front of the Lancaster, then just slip across the street to the beach with your offering to Iemanja at midnight.

New Year in Rio is awesome. I see you are party animals, so you will have a blast, and probably need another week off to recover when you get home.

Don't bring money, bring your ATM card. Even through there will be a charge each time you extract cash from the ATM, it's better to pay that and have less cash on your person. You will also make out on the excellent exchange rates that the ATMs offer. One drawback is that ATMs usually cough up large bills, so slip into a bank as soon as you can to get lower value bills.

Regrettably Rio has a pretty grim record for muggings and such, so you seem to be taking wise precautions. Good advice for wherever you go in the world is to blend in with the locals as much as possible so you don't stand out like a sore thumb.

Enjoy!

[kathryn77]

Key tips, to avoid standing out from the locals in Rio:

If you're a guy, and you have a 't-shirt tan', get rid of it pronto - even if you have to use fake-tan or something. No guys in Rio have t-shirt tans, and me and my friend used to laugh at the 'fresh meat' walking along the beach, blatantly just arrived! If we noticed, the professional thieves had an easy job! If you really REALLY want to blend in, buy a pair of speedos - seriously! All the Brazilians wear them...! (I realise that's extreme! )

If you're female, try and copy the clothes style of the cariocas...bright clothes, short skirts, and unfortunately the non-existant bikinis - any size, any shape, one size seems to fit all....or not...and can be bought on the beach

Money tips - girls, that's what your bra was made for alternatively, a very attractive small carrier bag , can be helpful as a disguise. Guys - shoes Thieves are professional, and they'll look for signs of money-belts etc. The above is no guarantee, but I lived there for 5 months, and had nothing happen to me. Another good tip is to avoid wearing jewellery that looks expensive (e.g. a watch) which acts as a magnet to thieves.

On the beach, avoid taking anything expensive in case you fall asleep in the heat. At night, avoid the beach (unless you're with a large group and have absolutely no valuables on you if you want to hit the beach bars)

The only time I ever heard of anyone getting mugged in Rio is if they did something silly themselves (e.g. deciding to go to sleep on a ledge in Lapa! True story x 2!) Don't miss Lapa, it's fab for the Brazilian Baile Funk, but don't go to sleep there either!

[kathryn77]

On the beach, avoid taking anything expensive in case you fall asleep in the heat. At night, avoid the beach (unless you're with a large group and have absolutely no valuables on you if you want to hit the beach bars)

Obviously you can go on New Years Eve by the way! Everyone wears white clothes for that, as a sign of peace for the New Year - so jealous!!