First time in Brazil, it was a vacation full of activities and emotions. English is not my language, so I will try to do a review with the list of the most useful info possible but without describing everything in detail.
Flight 500,07€ round trip with KLM, 2hrs stopover in Amsterdam.
Airbnb, apartments were the bad part of the holiday, change three different apartment in Copacabana and all have some problem. Noisy, old, dirty, malfunctions, etc. At the end i spend around 35€/day for the apartment. I missing Pattaya here.
Entry in Brasil: you need a PCR test 72hrs before departure or an Antigenic Test 24hrs before departure and must to full fill this form
https://formulario.anvisa.gov.br/?lang=en
CPF: if you want you can go online and request your cpf at this link
https://servicos.receita.fazenda ... angeiro/default.asp
full fill the form and click on ENVIAR and the confirmation page will appear with the protocol number of your request.
You need to print the page and scan it (or take a screenshot of the page). After that you have to send an email to this address:
cpf.residente.exterior@rfb.gov.br to which you attach these 3 things:
the above receipt
copy of the passport
a selfie with the passport open next to your face
you will receive a confirmation email in which they will tell you that it will take a maximum of 10 days to obtain the cpf. I did it on Saturday afternoon and Wednesday morning I got the email with the cpf attached in a pdf file to print.
SIMCARD: despite the cpf it was a pain the ass. Went to Rio Sul Mall as many people suggested to me. Went to a Tim shop, they sold me a sim card that never worked, went there again the next day and nothing, waste of money and time. Vivo shop said that they not sell simcard and have to go in shop in Copacabana, at the shop in Copa they said the opposit. At the end i got a Claro simcard at Rio Sul mall but wasting 2 hours. Again i miss Thailand here.
Exchange cash: is very good 1€-6,40R.
100R are around 600baht
Credit/debit card: you can use it everywhere, also in the cheap brothels or in beach for pay for your deckchair.
Beach: visted some beaches, Copacabana (Leme, posto 2, posto 4, posto 5), Ipanema, Leblon, Barra de Tijuca, Praia Vermelha. For me the best is the baraca Rasta (n.20) in Leme always full of young girls and a very hippy beach.
Metro: is very easy to use and cheap. 5,80R for a single journey. I used many times at day/evening and never had a safety problem
Uber: is very cheap, but also very slow. Sometimes i had to wait 15minutes for my driver. It's seems there is a lack of drivers in Rio.
Another app is 99taxi, cheaper than Uber but also slower because less drivers.
Condom: bring your own condom or buy in the pharmacy. The brothels have a very small and shitty condoms.
Study Portuguese: this is a must, learn it! found this very helpful
https://www.youtube.com/c/SpeakingBrazilian
vaccination card: i had to show it with the copy of passport at the toursit attractions like Sugarloaf, Corcovado, etc. and in the gym. Seems that from Dec.1st vaccination should be mandatory in the restaurant but until Dec.6th no one asked me for it.
Safety: before going i was very paranoid about it, but the city is more safe than what i thought. Full of police everywhere, also full of homeless but it wasn't a problem for your safety. Of course this is not Thailand, so you always must becareful about where you go with eyes behind your back. Probably the most dangerous place is the beach as thieves are very quick to steal things from under your nose without you noticing. At the night time always use uber, in the day time you can go in Centro with the metro and walking around alone without problems.
Food: great and very cheap. A lot of buffet restaurant where you pay by kilo. Normal restaurants have a huge portions that are usually for 2 people. I fall in love with the Açai with fresh fruits, granola and grated coconut.
Favela Vidigal went twice with friends for party at the Estaçao Vidigal
https://www.instagram.com/estacaovidigal/
sunday is a great night here, 20R entry fee. Full of sexy girls, but there is a problem here, us gringo were invisible for the girls.
Lapa: I have been there only once with two expat friends, nightlife area, in the middle of the various bars and discopubs there is also a brothel the UP HOUSE NIGHT CLUB Avenida Mem de Sá 89, which I did not enter.
Full of people, a lot of ugly faces (becareful), let's say an area that did not impress me but my friends, who speak Portuguese, hooked up very easily, so I would say that my judgment is very subjective and the place should be re-evaluated with with a better knowledge of Portuguese , even if the nightlife is not my style.
In the day time you can visit the famous Escadaria de Selarón
Leblon: Rua Dias Ferreira is full of restaurant, bar and discopub with DJ, HiSo area that is full of sexy girls, speaking portuguese is very helpful too here.
Also went in
Favela Rocinha with a friend.
brothels and girls in the next episode......
