As plans during a world trip frequently change, the chance of a short stopover in Rio de Janeiro came out of nowhere. My goal was at least to see the big 5 of Rio:
1) Cristo Redentor
2) Sugarloaf Mountain
3) Copacabana Beach
4) Caipirinha
5) Churrasco
And due to bad weather, that was it. Not that much more than that. But at least I walked to all of these monuments. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the way to the first station of Sugarloaf Mountain, so in the end, it was around 80km these days.
But before digging into the five monuments, some words about feeling safe in Rio. Yes, Rio is the 5th dangerous city in the world. But there is a lot of light and some grey in between. First of all, yes, running as a tourist by night in the favelas (a slum which is highly populated…) does not only sound like a foolish idea. Generally, going outside at night is not recommended in most parts of the city. Copacabana and Ipanema have at least the reputation to be safe, but I would not do that. And during the day? Leave your Rolex at home and have some small cash notes if someone tries to rob you. Give them the cash you have, and they will leave you alone. During the five days, I never felt unsafe. Sometimes, I thought it felt unsafe because everyone said it was dangerous. Summary: Don’t be stupid; walk only in safe areas and stay home by night or take an Uber from A to B instead of walking. That’s it.
In addition, like in every other big tourist city, they try to scam you. In small shops or on the street, never use your credit card. I heard from a Belgian couple buying water for five Real, and on the credit card terminal, the seller just added two zeros. 500 Real (100 EUR) is a costly water. Also pretty famous is the caipirinha “inflation”. Within 200m on the beach, you might pay everything between 10 and 50 real for a caipirinha.
Cristo Redentor
The famous statue on top of the mountain is watching over Rio. You can use the train (approx. 20min) up to the hill, or you can walk. The walk is about 5km, and somehow, in between, it’s harder than I thought. It would help if you had good shoes and (depending on your fitness) between 90 minutes and two hours of time.
When I arrived up there, Cristo was hidden in the cloud. So I craped a beer, and 45min later, everything was fine again 🙂
Even on that very rainy day, it was hard to walk up there due to the crowd trying to take a picture. The view across Rio is nice but not comparable to the view from Sugarloaf Mountain.
If you walk up, you can take the train down again.
Sugarloaf Mountain
It’s two mountains. You have to use the cable car to go up there.
After the first ride, you will be in an area with children’s playgrounds, cafes, restaurants, and everything you need. You can take the next cable car to the absolute top from there. There is a rumor that you walk up to the first stage, but I couldn’t find the stairs, so I took the convenient cable car.
Up there, you have a 360-degree view across Rio, which is just stunning. Plan time up there, drink coffee, eat something, and enjoy the view!
Copacabana Beach
Copacabana will surely be on the list if you google the most famous beaches. As Ipanema Beach will be too. Copacabana is “just a beach”. Yes its nice, a lot of bars to get your caipi, sun, amazing waves, and sand, but in the end, nothing special to be honest. The harmful sites are notable: injection needles lying around from drug consumption during the night, many “local traders” trying to sell you something, and constantly fearing that you cannot leave your stuff unattended as they will rob you. Ipanema Beach (just a 10-minute walk away) is smaller and, from my point of view, more beautiful.
Ipanema Beach
Caipirhina
There is nothing to say here: have one at the beach. Everything around 10 to 15 real is normal, but they are just good, go for it 🙂
Churrasco
The famous meat on the sword! A lot of restaurants are offering it. You pay for an all-you-can-eat buffet, and they will continuously bring you some meat until you are done. In addition, they bring you a lot of cheap stuff: fries, rice, onion rings, salad, etc., etc. Also, you can walk by a buffet with even more stuff. And all of that is really, really good. But by eating this, you are losing the focus: meat!
The buffet with two drinks is usually around 40€
In addition, I had some other fantastic food in Rio 🙂
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