All right, this is an article blog post about traveling to Rio. If you aren’t a South American traveler, there are a few tips that you need to know:
1. Just be very cautious. Keep your head on a swivel. Don’t travel with anything very expensive. Don’t be flashy when you walk around on the streets.
2. For Rio in particular, it’s very much a beach town. Things move very slowly. Service is slow. People tend to take their time when they’re doing anything, and it’s a very congested type of area. There are very limited places to go. It’s nice to visit, but you should expect more of a relaxing kind of time during the day. There are plenty of nature hikes. You can party at night or during the day depending on the time of year, but primarily everyone just goes to the beach and then at night goes to a restaurant or goes out for the evening.
• Lapa is a very popular place for young people who like to drink and party.
• Leblon is the nice, upscale place for people who are a little bit older and have a little bit more money. There tends to be a little favoritism toward paler skin.
• Then there’s Barra da Tijuca, which is pretty far away. It’s worth visiting, but you would need a car. You can take the metro, but when you’re there you need to take an Uber, get a car, or use transportation to get around. It’s not as walkable as Zona Sul. Botafogo is very nice, with lots of restaurants and things to do.It’s highly recommended that if you do come and you enjoy the beach, Carioca Coastal Club hosts an international beach meetup every Saturday at Thai Barraca in Ipanema. It’s a very good way to start your trip off, meet some locals and other travelers who speak multiple languages, and everyone is very friendly and informative whenever you need something.