If Brazil is your secret dream, here are some practical tips to visit the beautiful and multicultural Rio De Janeiro independently.
Here are some practical tips for traveling to Brazil as well discover Rio de Janeiro on your own.
How to reach us
With a flight of the Spanish company Iberia, for example, after about eleven hours, you can arrive at Rio de Janeiro Galeao International Airport. The airport is located on an island 15 km north of Rio, connected to the mainland by bridges and freeways.
Local time is five hours less than Italian time. Customs formalities are fast and precise.
Rent a car
The various are located directly at the airport car rental companies. In this case it is better to make an online reservation to get advantageous prices and not waste time on the spot to choose. One of the very popular car rentals is the Localiza company.
To drive in Brazil you need an International Driving License with the 1968 Vienna Convention. To obtain this license, you just need to go to your own civil motorization in Italy, which issues it in a month, for a cost of 42 euros. The license is valid for three years and only in the partner countries.
The main roads of Rio and Brazil in general are well maintained, the signs and road signs are clear, but be careful not to make mistakes and perhaps find yourself in some dangerous area, such as favelas.
Speed cameras are placed almost everywhere, and it is advisable to comply with traffic regulations to avoid being charged with fines on your account.
As for hotels, if you don't want to spend a lot, especially at certain times of the year such as carnival, it is advisable to also consider accommodations outside Rio de Janeiro.
Where to sleep in Rio De Janeiro
A Itaborai, for example, on the other side of the Guanabara bay, overlooked by Rio de Janeiro, theIbis of the well-known chain, offers advantageous prices and new rooms with breakfast included. The hotel is about fifty kilometers away, but with a fast freeway in forty minutes you can reach all the attractions of Rio.
Another solution, in periods of low tourist influx, is to book, in advance, hotels on online agencies of a higher category, which often offer very affordable prices.
The Hotel Windsor Guanabara, for example, it offers spacious rooms, with stunning views of the bay and the streets below. A magnificent outdoor swimming pool on the rooftop is the right setting to round off the Brazilian days, not to mention the wide choice of the breakfast buffet, included in the price.
In addition to traveling by rental car, Rio's taxi drivers are very convenient and take them to their destination without worrying about finding a parking space.
As for the money, I recommend changing it a little directly at the airport, just to have something in your pockets, then ATMs are everywhere where to withdraw comfortably.
However, it is better to always have cash, credit cards are not always accepted, even if even the hawkers on the beach are equipped with the POS of the ATM cards. The Brazilian currency is the Brazilian Real and four reals are roughly one euro.
Rio de Janeiro is a very diverse city and offers different panoramas and landscapes.
Rio is in fact located behind the Tijuca forest, a mountainous area, very green, and the Corcovado it is one of these mountains, 709 meters high.
Various hills are occupied by the favelas, some of which are dangerous, others instead "tourist" where to go with guides. However, in general, walking around the city is quite safe, the important thing is not to show off jewelry or expensive items that could attract attention.
Better not to go into solitary places and in the evening, for the rest, if you take the right precautions it is difficult for something unpleasant to happen.
The main beaches
Ipanema, Copacabana and Leblon they constitute the main beaches of Rio and are very long, sometimes crowded. These beaches are divided into Postos, areas frequented by different social strata.
10 practical tips for visiting
1. Pao de Azucar one of the symbols of Rio, where you can take a cable car to the two stations located at different heights, from where you can admire both the bay and the beaches on the different sides.
2. The historic center, where the first nucleus of Rio de Janeiro was formed, with neoclassical and colonial buildings, such as the monasterio de Sao Bento, the Cathedral de Nossa Senhora de la Candelora, Palacio Tiradentes, the Municipal Theater.
3. The Downtown area with modern buildings and skyscrapers, long straights and luxurious shops.
4. The neighborhood of Lapa with the famous Celaron staircase, covered with ceramics, and the Arches of Lapa, an old aqueduct with tram tracks connecting Rio to the Santa Teresa district.
5. The Metropolitan Cathedral, a modern cone-shaped concrete building.
6. Confeiteria Colombo, with the network of narrow streets arranged in a checkerboard pattern with historic buildings. The Confeiteria Colombo - historic and art-deco style - offers a wide choice of cakes and pastries.
7. The large parks: along the bay and here are the museums and monuments, embellished with plants, benches, paths and cycle paths.
8. Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas: a large artificial lake behind the beaches with cycle paths and views of the mountains behind.
9. The botanical garden with centuries-old trees and long palm-lined avenues.
10. Petropolis: for an unusual destination, out of town, you can go to Petropolis, a hundred kilometers north of Rio.
Here the Brazilian rulers loved to stay in the summer months, away from the heat of the coast. Palaces and parks are the main attraction in addition to the primordial vegetation of Park of the Serra de los Orgaos.
What to eat
To taste the typical Brazilian cuisine you can go to the rodizi or churraschi, restaurants specializing in meat, especially the mythical one filet steak, a delicious cut of beef.
Prices are affordable and in addition to eating plenty of meat, since the price is fixed, you can serve yourself at the buffet of vegetables, side dishes and colorful Brazilian desserts.
This and much more has to offer the Brazilian Carioca city, a multicultural megalopolis, with different contradictions, but with an exceptional tropical charm.
