I'm heading to Rio for Carnaval 2008 alone and I'm super excited but also a little concerned about going to the party alone as a single female. I'm blonde and small and will therefore probably stick out as a target. Other than not carrying valuables and trying to blend in as much as I can, any tips on how to stay safe, or better yet, hook up with other people to go to the party with? I'm staying in a hotel this time rather than a hostel which I usually do, which is going to make meeting people to go with a little tougher ... Thanks!
Reply to this Hey Jenni,
Some Hostels with bars allow you to pay a small fee and enter the hostel and have a drink, there you will meet heaps of people and you can arrange to meet up with them.. safety in numbers.
But no matter what, you are a gringo and will stand out anyway!
Have fun
Reply to this Hey Jeeni
I'm heading there too also on my own , where you staying ?
there is a tour group I found that you can buy a package for 4 days , I'm coming from BA .Live in london
Reply to this I'm staying at the Rio Presidente Hotel. How about you? We should definitely meet up!
Reply to this Don't know where I'm staying yet , be happy to meet up , do you live near london . we could opt for a plan , I could stay there haven't booked , was going to go down hostel route , but am happy with hotel , esp if it's near the beach ?
what s the web address?
Reply to this hi i will be in Rio also for the carnival and will be staying at a hostel, and i've also been there 3 x before so if you have any questions i may be able to help.
If you would like to meet up i'm sure i will have a little group tgether by then and i know some great back packer hang outs
Reply to this Sounds excellent, Kevin. Would love to meet you. Let's maybe exchange e-mails. Mine is
Eliza, I live in Vancouver, Canada, otherwise we could have met up and made a plan. 😊
The hotel has a four night package for pretty reasonable rates, and it's right by the Sambadrome.
http://www.riospresidentehotel.com.br/inti/novi.htm
Reply to this Hey Jenniu how are things.
The hotel your staying looks cool, when do you arrive there? Are you staying there for the whole time in Brazil or are you moving elswhere?
I will be flying out from uk & staying in ipanema from 22nd Jan until the 5th Feb. Then i travel up the coast to Buzios and Vitoria.
Have you booked any days at the sambadrome? Or got any Gala balls planned out?
My email is
Chat soon
Take care
kev
Reply to this I'm coming in on 30th Jan and may now opt to stay at the hotel florida as it's with a tour group I'll be traveling previously before with , I do like the look of your hotel Jenni , does anyone know how safe it is to get about town? like jumping in a cab going from one hotel to another?
eliza
Reply to this Hi eliza,
Taxi is the best and safest way of travel but you do need to make sure the cabbie puts on the meter or you agree the price before.
Day time it is safe in most areas to walk around but not advised at night in any.
The area around the sambadrome is not the best so always get taxi from a to b around here.
kev
Reply to this hey guys, how are you? ill be at the carnival too, im very, very excited. im nic from london, 31 years young and i am now unemployed, by choice that is! Its time to have some fun in south america and do this travelling thing i have always envied other people for. im leaving london on theh 24th december and ill be in buenos aires first, then to rio from the 1.2.2008 ready for carnival. do you fancy a beer when in Rio or is that a silly question? My email is
. Eliza, if you are in london this week give me a shout. by for now, Nic Reply to this hey Nic
I am in clapmham and may be around , don't know where you live butI am around a bit in te day too
I hjaven't brought any gala tickets , can you buy them out there ? whats the going rate ?
Reply to this hey eliza, lets meet tomorrow if you can, or thursday, or friday, i'm a man of leisure so anytime really. , lets say west end that way its the centre for both of us. my email is above or txt me
. look forward to meeting you. nic. ps; dont worry about buying any gala tickets, we'll be ok - i have enquired.. Reply to this Hi,
I'm Brazilian, but I don't live in Rio, I liv in Sao Paulo. I think you will LOVE our Carnaval.
Thus, I can tell you some tips...
1) Be carefull about prices... brazilian workers make a lot of money with foreign people saying wrong and very expensive prices for cheap things, before ask "How much it cost?" try to look how much other people (Brazilians in the preference) are paying for it.
2) Make friends, brazilians are so friendly and peaceful, we love try to speak english, and we love meet people... enjoy, don't be afraid.
3) Take care of your bags, unfortunately, like other places with crowd, the thieves stole who don't pay attention.
4) If you need the police fone is 190, but I'm sure that you Carnaval will be wonderfull and you will kiss a lot.
What you need to know? If you need, You can ask me!
Regards,
Débora
Reply to this Hiya--
Also a single female traveller from Canada, a bit concerned about safety but not going to let it get in the way of having a great time!! Taking a much needed 2 month leave from work... staring in brazil and ending in peru--- I will be taking a Tall Sail Ship adverture with GAP tours from Paraty to Rio and land on Feb. 2nd --- just in time for Carnaval!!!
Staying in Copacabana, which I am told is an decent area - close enough walk to Ipanema beach area.
Would really like to meet up with some other single travellers to party with! Lived in the UK a couple years ago, now in Canada and I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to endless amounts of sunshine 😉 I travelled quite a lot, first time on my own-- looking forward to meeting new people along the way.
Here is my email address if u'd like to potentially hook up ---
Be great to hear from you....
Christalina
Reply to this Thanks everyone for the responses! Rio is coming up and I'm so excited I can't believe it! This is a dream come true for me for sure! I really don't know Rio well at all yet, but what do you all think about setting up a meeting time/place somewhere? Kev was mentioning backpacker hang-outs ('cause I'm all about meeting cool backpackers!) 😊
We could set up a time and place and whoever's around and feels like going can show up. And if only one or two people do, well, there's tonnes of others around. 😊
Reply to this Jenni,
That sounds like a great idea....
I get into Rio on Feb.2nd, anyone keen to meet up that evening around 7ish? Somewhere in Copacabana or Ipanema beach would be good.
Leaving these Canadian grey skies in a week...can't wait!
oh-- and if anyone will be in Paraty from Jan. 23rd to 27th-- i'll be getting some serious sunbathing in if u'd like to join!
Yeah.....
Reply to this I'm so pleased I just found this by chance on google! I just booked my flights to Rio for 2 weeks time! I am so excited!!! Also travelling on my own so a bit wary.my email is
. Would definitely be up for meeting up and any info on the carnavale/hostels or any excited banter :-) Reply to this Hi there, Me and 2 friends are also in Rio for the carnival. The 7th we will fly south to floripa for a few days. We hired a large appartment on the copa cobana and maybe we can do some drinks at ours to meet other travellers. If people like this idea sent me an
and this is also my MSN. By the way we are from holland but living close to london in the UK. We are flying out with BA the 31st.
Look forward to meet some new people
Mike Reply to this 
