Rio might be our favorite capital city in South America. Not only because of it’s amazing coastline and beaches, but also because of the open vibe and the welcoming people. We happened to be there in March 2019, during carnival, which we cannot recommend highly enough…it is an unbelievable experience. If you have the chance go for it!
Prices during carnival are obviously way higher, especially for accommodation. The cheapest deal we found was 40€ per night for an Airbnb room in an apartment of a local. Just for your info, a dorm-bed in a hostel costs the same or sometimes even more during carnival.
Even if you don’t visit Rio on those days, expect to minimum pay 15€ for a dorm bed and over 25€ for a private. The safest districts to stay in are the famous Ipanema and Copacabana. We liked Ipanema more, ‘cause it is a bit more alternative and easy, while Copacabana is full of big hotel chains and malls (which for us kills the backpacking vibe). Other alternative districts are Leblon (but more expensive) and Santa Teresa (not at the beach, but full of street-art and hip bars).
In Rio you can easily stay a week, as there is so much to do, besides lying at the beach. The city is full of famous sight-seeing spots like the famous sugar loaf, the stature of Christ the Redeemer, the Selarón stairs and much more. Very recommendable is also doing a hike. Normally that involves leaving the city and going into a national park, not so in Rio. There are several spectacular mountains or hills inside the city. Pedra bonita, Dois Irmaos, Morro da Urca, just to name a few.
If you don’t want to use the public transport in order to get to all these amazing sights, you can count on Uber. A 15min. Uber ride costs you more or less 3€. It is therefore pretty affordable, especially if you split the costs with others.
Regarding your safety, there is no need to be over worried. Even if the crime rate in Rio might be higher than in your home-town (depends obviously on your home town/city), it doesn’t mean that you cannot go anywhere. You simply need to be attentive to what happens around and close to you, not bringing any valuables to the beach is already a good start, not showing off your Iphone 5000 helps too 😉 Also at night try to not walk too far from your hostel, bar or whatsoever, especially not alone. If you stick to that you should be alright and you will surely have an amazing time.
As you know we try to keep these Sum-Ups short and informative, if you want more information feel always free to contact us via Instagram or shoot us a mail.