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Published: February 21st 2015
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We got to Rio by bus from Angra dos Reis. We rented a one bedroom apartment from Where In a Rio, www.whereinrio.com. Jasper Veelentors was the person who helped us, he can be contacted at jasper@whereinrio.com. Where in Rio rents apartments and villas. Our apartment normally rents for around $150.00 per day but is more expensive during Carnival. You can find cheaper hotels and hostels but it is best to reserve early. Our apartment is in Arpoador, it is the area between Ipanema and Copacabana. We are two blocks from Ipanema beach and two blocks from Copacabana beach so we liked this location. The areas that are nicest in order of most upscale to least but still good to stay in are Leblon, Ipanema, Arpoador and last Copacabana. I would stay in these areas. The beachs in Leblon and Ipanema are cleaner than Copacabana. When my son was in Rio he stayed at a hostel in Lapa, Lapa has more night clubs than any other area in Rio.
If you are planing on going to the Sambodromo you need to buy your tickets in advance. This is not New Orleans where the parades go through the streets. It is a
competion between different Samba Schools. The Sambodromo can seat 90,000 spectators. You can buy your tickets on line from RCS Travel & Tourism. The Sambodromo is divided into 13 sections, you pay for a ticket in a section, the prices depend on your section and the night you attend. Serie A competitors parade on the Friday and Saturday before Fat Tuesday and are in a lower category of school. The top schools parade on the Sunday and Monday before Fat Tuesday. If you can afford it attend on Sunday or Monday nights. If you cannot afford it buy a cheaper ticket on Friday or Saturday. The Champions Parade is the Saturday after Fat Tuesday and features the six highest scoring schools from Sunday and Monday night. The parade starts at 9:30 pm and goes on all night long until around 6 or 7 the next morning. The event is outdoors and most of the seats are cement steps. The tourist generally sit in section 9. It costs more than the other sections but you get an assigned seat and a cushion. We wanted to have an assigned seat so we could get up to use the restroom or buy food
and know we had a seat when we came back. Turns out a lot of old people were seated in section 9 and after each group paraded they left. This opened up better seats and we ended up in the front row. The locals stayed for the entire show so unless you arrived very early you might be stuck in a bad seat for the entire night. No matter where you sit or what night you go this event should not be missed. We ordered our tickets way in advance and did not buy the transportation option because it was expensive $55 each. After being in Rio and seeing how crazy crowded the city was we decided to buy the transportation option.
It rained from 8:00 pm to 1:00 am the night we went. We watched the weather report so I had on a rain jacket and rain pants. Our bus was late and we did not arrive until 9:30 but since we had assigned seats it was fine and we did not miss anything. We really appreciated the easy return trip. Each school parades for 1 1/2 hours, at the end of each schools parade you can leave
and the bus will take you back to where they picked you up, which will be a hotel. Since we were staying in an apartment we caught the bus two blocks from our apartmnet at a hotel. We stayed until 6 am and I was glad I did not need to look for a taxi or fight the crowds on the metro. The metro runs 24/7 during Carnival.
Another big part of the Carnival experience is watching or being part of a Blocos. Blocos consist of a group or band formed by residents of the same neighborhood. The groups may have a theme and meet at a starting spot and the group rides in a slow moving truck usually with dancers, singers and a band. The groups register and the streets are closed during the parade time. 587 groups registered in 2015. The largest Bloco has one million people attend and is held in Centro. If you google Bloco schedule and the year you are going you can find the schedule and starting points. These parades start as early as 8 am or as late as 11 pm. The group sings one song over and over, so if you
follow you can sing along and dance behind the truck. At first we had a hard time finding our first Blocos but as Carnival went on we had a hard time keeping away from the large Blocos crowds. Street vendors follow along selling beer, water and shots. Every day during Carnival people are walking around in costumes 24/7. The costumes can be anything from a full costume to a hat. You must be careful at the Blocos, our landloard said it was safe to bring our camera but the camera along with our money and keys to our apartment were taken. our landloard had his iPhone taken at a Blocos on Saturday night. So only take enough cash to buy a beer and leave your phone and camera in your room. Carnival is a wild and unique experiance and you should put it on your bucket list. Don't wait until your too old to stay up all night at the Sambodromo. Dancing and singing helped keep us awake because we are not night people, also a Red Bull and Coke.
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