great summary, Sly. As a gringo who was in Rio more than my home city, and speaks basic Portuguese, I am and always will be apaixonado ( in love with ) the marvelous city, and Brasil in general. I could not have said it better myself. If you visit, learn some Portuguese, don’t make yourself a target, do your research, relax ( but be aware ) and enjoy everything Rio has to offer. It’s truly a special place.
I Just officially bought my vacation package to Rio yesterday on travel Tuesday 😂 I’m super excited to go in January 2023 for the very first time ever. I’m half Brazilian from my fathers side and my mother is Puerto Rican but I was born in the United States and have been to Puerto Rico so many times I can’t even count but I never got to experience brasil or it’s culture. Im fluent in Spanish tho and understand Portuguese I just have to perfect and get better at speaking it but I’m super excited and can’t wait to see my beautiful motherland 😍
This is most certainly THE BEST editorial ever spoken, ever written on Rio's culture, be it on the social, cultural and even artistic levels. I'm glad you mention Rio's hyper-activity and the fact that one has to be on a constant watch out. But, in the end, it all does work out. I'm a playwright and theater director and am constantly there (and in Sao Paulo) and yes, the credit card hurdles, the CPF thing, all true.... all so familiar.... all so damn strange for a country that wants to be 21st century but, in the end, it's all good, all ok. Especially after watching your video (which I'm sharing on social media and everywhere). CONGRATS !!!
The beauty of Rio de Janeiro is you will never get bored in a whole lifetime. For me is was paradise ✨. I was in Rio de Janeiro for new years eve on Copacabana Beach in 2019. With 3 million other people it was one of the best experiences of my lifetime ❤. I enjoyed your videos 📹 Rio, you gave an unbiased opinion. I lived in Buenos Aires Argentina for 10 years. You should give Argentina a visit but I think you would need a month or so to get a real feel of Buenos Aires. For me Buenos Aires was a combination of New York City, Paris France and Washington D.C. You should look up a Blogger name Ace who spent over a month in Buenos Aires.
ohh you give me wish to go there :) you comfort me to go to try to visit this place for sure :) and your real feelings about it, it looks beautiful, lively, and friendly life in the streets as i am not so interested into museums. I have a friend that lived there for one year for a work project, and she felt in love with this place and culture..
Hey 👋 Sly don't forget! We people born in Rio we are Cariocas... Yes people we Cariocas we are the best represents for the country 👏😀 Brasil . YES BRASIL!
I find it very interesting that none of your cards worked there. When I went to Brazil in 2018, I only used my credit card (VISA) no issue whatsoever. This is new to me.
Stimulus is the perfect word to describe the Rio effect. The views, the climate, the smells, the sounds, the people all impact on you all the time you are there, in the best possible way too. They all make you relax to the extreme.
Thanks Sly, really accurate take on Rio. I wanted to know whether you found it expensive? With everything going on overseas, would it be a good place to be even temporarily vs other northern hemisphere countries going through high inflation. During Lula's term, the reais mostly under 3 $ vs the USD.
I was there in March. I found it to be incredibly cheap. For me it was still easy to spend too much living like a king the entire time. But it was worth it. Here are the price ranges for common expenses: AirBnB- For the beach neighborhoods,$800-1200 per month if you book for a month, otherwise 300-500 for a week, or $30-60 per night. Hotels can be similar per night in but vary. Hostels are much cheaper if you're down for that. AirBnBs can be even cheaper than what I mentioned the further you get from the beaches (ie, downtown, cento, etc.) 5-star meal (filet mignon, grilled octopus) $40-60 for two people, including drinks. Eg- Aprazível or dining @ the hilton hotel. Fogo de Chao was the one exception ($100 for two) but it was one of the fanciest dining experiences I've had. Regular nice restaurants (filet mignon): $30 for two people and drinks Brazilian diners (that cater to locals, outside of tourist spots) $4-5 for a huge fish filet, rice, beans, veggies, drink Burger king: similar to US prices Bike rentals: $6-8/mo for a 4x rentals per day (cost of additional rides are negligibly, like 25 cents). Note; Set up a Bike Itau account before you visit Brazil and get a visitor CPF number if required, otherwise rentals may be difficult or impossible. You'll be glad you did. Uber ride: $2 for a short ride, $6-8 to get wayyy up downtown. Sodas and beers: $1-2 typically, at the beach or in a bar Mix drinks: $5-6 Clothing: You can find stylish $5-10 shirts, $12 shorts at South & Co. and Taco. And you'll blend in better than your gringo clothes from home. I've heard of rentals for $500/mo from tourists I met. I met locals who pay $4-500/mo for their basic apartments. Lula livre!
Very interesting 👍 video. Did you ever feel unsafe walking 🚶♂️ in the streets during the daytime? So many people don't wanna go there because of safety concerns
Thanks. I would say Rio is more tourist/foreigner-friendly and has more attractions to visit and see. However, Salvador Bahia was a good experience although I barely touched the surface. I just wouldn't recommend Bahia for a first-timer.
I like your videos and commentary. I have one personal concern. Are mid and full size cars banned in Brazil? I am 6'-51/2" tall. If I call an uber and one of the locals shows up in a shoebox, that's not going to work.
Brazil sounds like a very nice and fun place to visit...But I'm not interested in traveling to Brazil because I can't speak the language. I have visited several Spanish speaking countries in the last 10 years, in Central and South America. It's very important to be able to speak some of the language in a foreign country to get by, but I'm not interested in learning Portuguese...learning how to speak Spanish is difficult enough for me.
Brother if you can speak Spanish then Portuguese will be a breeze. The most difficult thing about Portuguese is the pronunciation which you can pick up over time. Spanish and Portuguese are so similar. I have friends that are Portuguese and they can easily understand Spanish because it's so similar to Portuguese. Some of the vocabulary is exactly the same. Unless your going to be in Brazil for months at a time all you need is the basics which you can learn in a month. It's your choice but I feel Brazil is too amazing a place to miss out on because you don't know the language.
I would still visit even if you don't speak the language. You'll have a great time and the people there are accustomed to foreigners, so it won't be that difficult to navigate.
There are no negative points. Rio and Copacabana are over rated. Brazil is a huge country, go see other places. Too many people are selling Rio and Copacabana (two different locals) incorrectly. The things I've seen in copa have yet to topple South Beach, MIA as the most beautiful place. Copa is like if Manhattan, NYC had a beach.
I've been to both places several times and there is no way in hell Sobe comes close to what I've seen in Rio. The only thing that South Beach has more of than Rio is cocaine lol.
Your comment is all over the place...Everywhere has negative points and can improve. Copacabana is a neighborhood in Rio. Preferring Sb over Rio is your opinion.
Good video! I think you are right, about the tourists! Rio is maybe not the place for older+60 single men, because this is a city for young people, which like to party every night! so better got to SE-Asia! And Brazil is not a save destination!
Rio will never be the same after they closed down club HELP in 2010! They have been struggling ever since for because Western countries no longer think it is fun.
I like your blog "sly", but you leave me disappointed as well, especially when you visited Mexico. You never went to none of the famous ancient monuments nor talked about the different museums in Mexico, which you did in this blog about Brazil. However, i still like your blog.
