The views over stunning Rio de Janeiro Harbour ( . . . one of the Natural Wonders of the World) from Sugar Loaf Mountain, walking along the sands of the world-famous Copacabana and Ipanema Beaches, and heading up the cog train to see Christ the Redeemer (. . . one of the Wonders of the World), Rio has about as many world-class highlights as any city in the world and is a must if visiting Brazil
Naturally, with such fame comes crowds, and it’s hard to really avoid them in the main sites where it can be a bit energy sapping as you’re queuing and wedged in with thousands of fellow tourists. My biggest tip to counter this is to break up your visits to the main sites with a chilled out day on one of the beaches, the real heart of Rio, and to join one of the high-tempo Brazilian cooking courses, in particular with the now famous Simone Almeida’s Cook in Rio located in the Copacabana neighbourhood. You’ll learn to make 4 traditional Brazilian dishes, but its the enthusiasm Simone provides, to both the food and the endless caipirinhas she plugs you with, that makes this so fun
The combination of the world-famous highlights of Rio and the fun of the cooking class made these 2 days in Rio a superb experience
I only stayed in Rio for 3 days so don’t feel that I can do this superb city justice with a full review, but the one extra tip I will give is to just be aware of the crime risk. As with all large Brazilian cities, crime is a problem so use a bit of common sense. Always carry something to hand over like a basic wallet with some small cash in if, in the unfortunate instance, you do get robbed, and hand everything over you have been asked – thieves in Latin America really don’t mess about. Take taxis in the evening, and totally avoid the beaches at night. In fact, the beaches are so huge, that you can actually get robbed in the daytime – fun times!