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Hotel Class: 
3.5 Stars - 57 Opinions
Rua Joao Lira 95, Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, 22430 210, Brazil
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of people enjoy staying here
57 Opinions
The Selaron staircase.
Plataforma Show
Botafogo
Ipanema Beach on a crowded day
Hi there,
I'm travelling to Rio in late October and I found the best hotel deals on this website http://www.riodejaneiro-hotels.travel. The rates were much cheaper than other websites, but I'm a little bit dubious about the reliability of the website. Has anyone else booked a hotel with this site and how did it all work out? any info hugely appreciated! thanks!
I have not used this operator, but being a long time travel professional, there are some flags to consider. First, - I am not saying that they are not legitimate, however these are some of my concerns. The name of the webside is misleading. It is really the website of WHL Travel and Blue Ocean Tours.
Usually you can tell a lot about a operator, by their affilictions, like IATA and AFTA, and local affiliatuions as well. This operator has none, but is actively solociting for such affiliations. (see under "About Us"). I cannot find any affiliations whatsoever. That usually means that they are new or "newish", or it could be that they are not being considered as an affiliate operator for whatever reasons. Further, they are not a "Brazilian" operator, as they are attemting to be a world wide operator.
Again, I am not saying that they are not a legitimate operator, but rather giving you information that I consider important when choosing an operator. Take my input for what it is worth, and draw your own conclusions.
Thanks very much for your advice, I will definitely take it on board. appreciated!
When I went to Rio, a Brazilian friend suggested I hire a guide for both safety reasons and ease of movement. He picked me up at the airport, drove me straight to the hotel and would come by to tour me around whenever I wanted to. I was thus able to visit the "favellas". the pao de acucar etc. with the luxury of a private guide. All of this for less than 10$ US per hour (car, gas, translation included).
Okay, you're so very fortunate! You get to travel around the globe, see everything you ever wanted to see, get to meet the nicest people, get to see the best views possible (my god Corcovado!), ...
Some people are less fortunate, and they can't always help it! I used to think that whoever is poor can always try to find a way out, but I'm afraid in Brasil that is not the case... My tip is to buy things from vendors on the street. Things that are safe to buy are:
- bus/metro tickets (good to see that public transport authorities also try to solve poverty)
- candy, such as chewing gum
- lottery tickets
- ...
Probably other stuff as well, but these were the ones I noticed. The people selling this are really bad off, and they deserve sth extra for once.
Of course you can buy counterfait stuff as well, such as CDs, CD ROMs, batteries, ... but I won't recommend that! (ahum)
I bought four A4 batteries from someone on the bus for R$ 1, thinking they were real Duracell(c) batteries, but they were Powercell; I put them in my walkman, played Red Hot Chili Peppers, and instead of "Standing in Line to see the show tonight, and there's a light on, heavy glow!" I heard "Standingggggggggggg" and they were gone :-) Okay, maybe they're not that good :-/ There are also other ways for people to get money in Rio. Sometimes someone steps on the bus, hands out candy with a small paper connected to it to everyone in the bus (friendly huh?) and then returns to get his reward. To my astonishment, a lot of people actually did give him money, sth that wouldn't happen in Belgium. People would just sit still and act like he wasn't there.
What I encountered: someone looking like he was covered in chalk (he was black) enters the bus, gives everyone candy with a piece of paper, which said that we should all believe in Christ or sth like that. He came round the bus, and I think almost everyone gave him something. And also ate the candy :-)
Another thing: at crossroads, small children in groups of 3 or 4 perform a juggling act, e.g. with balls, making a pyramid with each other, ...
In Brasilia: someone buys lottery tickets (a whole bunch of them) and then just sells them to others for a moderately higher price. This way the buyer feels good that s/he gave sth, and still gets an opportunity to win the big bucks!
It is still our winter, and sometimes the city gets naturally foggy, it gives us a sense of mistery and Rio remains magic.
August 14th, 2005 When it is sunny, you can easily go to the beach, during the month of august we have the so called VERANICO, it is a little sample of the summer! :)
Brazilians still get a kick out of Americans and other tourists, who use the thumb touching index finger gesture to make the all is "OK" sign. In Brazil, this simple gesture is the equivalent of giving someone the "finger" in the United States.
To signal everything is "OK" in Brazil, the universal "thumbs-up" signal is well used.
The signal comes in handy if you rent a car, because no matter how mad you might be at a passing motorist, they'll signal you the "thumbs-up" sign to show you that inspite of your feelings, everything is really AOK. Too bad this Carioca attitude cannot be imported into the United States.
1 Jan, New Year’s Day; 20 Jan, Rio’s Founding Day; 16 Feb, Carnaval (half of the city takes off 13-17Feb, though);2 Apr, Good Friday; 21 Apr, Tiradentes Day; 1 May, Labor Day; 3 Jun, Corpus Christi; 7 Sep, Independence Day; 12 Oct, Our Lady of Aparecida; 2Nov, Day of the Dead; 15 Nov, Republic’s Proclamation Day; 25 Dec, Christmas.
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Address: Rua Joao Lira 95, Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, 22430 210, Brazil
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