DAY 1
We got our flight at 7:00am from Porto Alegre, a city on south of Brazil, and got to Rio around 9:30am. We headed straight to the Taxi boot and for R$99 (U$58) the helpful lady set us up with a Taxi to Botafogo, the neighborhood of BeachBackpackers Hostel (http://beachbackpackershostel.com/) which was the place we booked through HostelWorld (http://www.hostelworld.com/).
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| Kilo Restaurant |
After the lunch we went to the supermarket, bought some things like water and snacks for later and came back to the Hostel. On the Hostel we slept for around 1 and a half hour and decided to see what Ipanema Beach had to offer. Talking with the nice repeptionist she instructed us on the best way to get there, which was by subway, just a few blocks from our Hostel.
The beach is beautiful, with Kiosks renting beach chairs and umbrellas. The water is cold, clear (not crystal clear, but clear enough) and the waves break not very far away.We thought about renting chairs and an umbrella but decided to walk on the famous Ipanema Boardwalk. The Boardwalk is super nice. Lots of beautiful people walking, kiosks selling coconut water, beer, food etc... There's even a special lane for people who want to run or take a bicycle ride.
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| Ipanema Beach |
The temperature was ultra-high, something like 37 C or XX F, even with sunblock and proper clothing (just a t-shirt and shorts) it was not pleasant. To get away from the sun we sat below an umbrella on a kiosk and ordered 2 Brahma chopps (tap beer) which were very good J. The lesson here is this: Don`t go to Ipanema beach at 3 on the afternoon on a hot summer day. Go after 5:30pm.
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| Kiosks at Ipanema Beach |
We chat a bit with the guy running the Kiosk and he told us Lagoa (Lake) “Rodrigo de Freitas’’ was just a few blocks away, a place we had to know. We went walking and man, what a gorgeous view. Lots of high class real state around it, people running, biking etc… We bought Coconut water and walked around to enjoy the view. After about 15 minutes walking we found a guy who was renting bicycles, R$10 (U$6) for 1 hour and a half. We went through all the lake and it was really fun, recommended!
Back, on the way to the hostel we stopped at a local store on the corner to enjoy a good Açai with Bananas bowl, delicious! On the Hostel we chilled out a bit with the other guests, took a shower and eat the two burguers we had previously bought on the supermarket (warming them on the microwave).
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| A very good Açai with Banana |
Since we had only 2 days at Rio we decided on going to the Lapa neighborhood and know the city`s nightlife. We got the bus, wait, actually it was kind of a Mini Van that stops on the same places as the Bus, and on the way made friends with Drica, a local from Rio who was heading to Lapa also and would tour us around. Lapa is Rio`s most bohemian neighbourhood. There`s lot`s of bars, some nighclubs (usually playing Samba) and people drinking on the street. It`s not super safe so if you wanna go try to take other people with you, if you`re on a group it`s a lot safer.
Drica showed us the stairs where the video clip from Beautiful from Snoop Dog was filmed. The place at night is kind of scary because there`s only locals, the ambient is cheap and has a shady atmosphere. I have to admit that if I wasn`t with Drica I would not want to be there. We meet Drica`s friends, grab really cheap beers on a Bar nearby and headed to a Jazz Show Drica said was sensation of the night, the place everybody would go.
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| Lapa Stairs |
The Jazz show was packed. It was on the middle of the street with street vendors selling anything from beer to fast-food. We did not stay much though, because Ceres shoes started to hurt her feet. We got another Mini Van that left us near our neighborhood Botafogo plus a taxi that let us at the Hostel.
DAY 2
The plan on day 2 was to know “Pão de Açucar”, or in english the “Sugar Loaf”. We woke up, enjoyed the breakfast from the hostel, asked which bus to take and went straight there. On the Bus we met a nice guy from the Northeast of Brazil who was also travelling and going to see the Sugar Loaf. Getting there, the line was small, we paid R$60 / person (U$35) for the tickets and went to the first cable car, that stops on Morro da Urca, a hill smaller than Pão de Açucar. Up at Morro da Urca you already have a gourgeous view of the city.
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| The view from the cable car |
If you think Morro da Urca is gorgeous you're going to forget it once you set foot at the Sugar Loaf. Being on top of the city and having the best view from Copacabana Beach feels incredible.
After enjoying the view we went to Copacabana Beach with the friend we made on the Bus. This time we dive on the water but mostly stayed at the sand talking with our new friend, enjoying the view and eating snacks we had on our bag. As the sunset started Me and Ceres decided to go to Forte de Copacabana, an old military building that's just for tourists now. Our friend had a flight to get so we exchange contacts and said goodbye.
We went to the Forte by walking on the Copacabana's Boardwalk which we both thought was better than Ipanema's because the kiosks seemed better organized.
Inside the forte there's a famous Deli called "Confeitaria Colombo" but we didn't order anything there because there was no table available. The view you have from the Forte is very nice and worth the R$3 tickets. Unfortunately the photos weren't good because it was night.
DAY 3
We woke up early, got the bus to Rio de Janeiro bus station and from there went to Cabo Frio (the bus tickets cost R$40 / person or U$ 23). The bus was nice and we slept through almost the whole two and a half hour trip. The nice thing about it is that when the bus crosses the Rio - Niteroi Bridge you have one more beautiful view of Rio.
On arrival we went to Solar das Conchas inn ( http://www.pousadasolardasconchas.com.br/) which is very good for the price (R$90 (U$53) / day for the 2 of us). The inn had a transfer service which was essentially a car that took you wherever you want for a price a little less than a taxi. First thing we did after dropping our bags on the room was to get this transfer service and go to Arraial do Cabo. After 15 minutes we arrived and on the way there you already could see the great beaches! We went straight to the boat ride that we had already saw on the internet as super recommended.
The boat ride is very cheap costing just R$30 (U$17) / person for a 3 hours trip and you can get it at Praia dos Anjos. You also have free water, soda and caipírinha free on the boat during all the trip.
The first beach the boat drops you is called "Prainha". When we got there I went crazy with the crystal clear water. The only thing you might find unpleasant is that the water is a little cold, but nothing that stops people from a good dive.
After Prainha the boat takes you to Praia da Marinha (Navy's Beach) which is a beach protected by Brazil's Navy where you can only stay 30 minutes, can't take anything that can become trash like food or aluminium cans and can only go arrive there by boat. On the way to Praia da Marinha we had a wonderful surpise, Dolphins!!!!
When you arrive to Praia da Marinha, you realize it's the best beach ever. No trash, clear water, just people and the beatiful nature around you.
Unfortunately our camera ran out of battery, but search for "Praia da Marinha" on google if you wanna see amazing pictures. After that we went to Praia do Forno which is not nearly as good as Praia da Marinha.
DAY 4
On our last day we decided to know Cabo Frio beaches. First stop was Praia das Conchas, a small beach near Praia do Peró. The water was a little dirty (they said that usually it's a lot cleaner) and the beach was crowded but it was nice anyway.
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| The lighted building is Forte de Copacabana |
Inside the forte there's a famous Deli called "Confeitaria Colombo" but we didn't order anything there because there was no table available. The view you have from the Forte is very nice and worth the R$3 tickets. Unfortunately the photos weren't good because it was night.
DAY 3
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| View from the Rio - Niteroi bridge |
On arrival we went to Solar das Conchas inn ( http://www.pousadasolardasconchas.com.br/) which is very good for the price (R$90 (U$53) / day for the 2 of us). The inn had a transfer service which was essentially a car that took you wherever you want for a price a little less than a taxi. First thing we did after dropping our bags on the room was to get this transfer service and go to Arraial do Cabo. After 15 minutes we arrived and on the way there you already could see the great beaches! We went straight to the boat ride that we had already saw on the internet as super recommended.
The boat ride is very cheap costing just R$30 (U$17) / person for a 3 hours trip and you can get it at Praia dos Anjos. You also have free water, soda and caipírinha free on the boat during all the trip.
The first beach the boat drops you is called "Prainha". When we got there I went crazy with the crystal clear water. The only thing you might find unpleasant is that the water is a little cold, but nothing that stops people from a good dive.
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| Arriving at Prainha |
After Prainha the boat takes you to Praia da Marinha (Navy's Beach) which is a beach protected by Brazil's Navy where you can only stay 30 minutes, can't take anything that can become trash like food or aluminium cans and can only go arrive there by boat. On the way to Praia da Marinha we had a wonderful surpise, Dolphins!!!!
When you arrive to Praia da Marinha, you realize it's the best beach ever. No trash, clear water, just people and the beatiful nature around you.
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| Praia da Marinha |
Unfortunately our camera ran out of battery, but search for "Praia da Marinha" on google if you wanna see amazing pictures. After that we went to Praia do Forno which is not nearly as good as Praia da Marinha.
DAY 4
On our last day we decided to know Cabo Frio beaches. First stop was Praia das Conchas, a small beach near Praia do Peró. The water was a little dirty (they said that usually it's a lot cleaner) and the beach was crowded but it was nice anyway.
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| You can buy anything from the moving carts |
When we were on the rocks we saw scuba divers fishing for seafood which was really cool.
We also went to Praia do Peró which was next to Praia das Conchas, overall a bigger beach that was cleaner than Praia das Conchas (which is unusual according to the locals).
We didn't stay long at Praia do Peró because we wanted to know Praia do Forte. And what a great surprise! Praia do Forte was really, really good! Kind of a middle term between Praia das Conchas (small) and Praia do Peró (really big), Praia do Forte water is clean, not so cold and there's also nice waves for you to swim on. The infrastructure is very good also with the kiosks having waiters that brings you anything you want. We had a great time there.
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| Not expensive huh? |
Next day we got our flight home and now this is just memories. Thank you for following the report of this awesome trip!
