The Brazil Travel Site

Hotel Florida in Rio de Janeiro

Rio, rio-lodging (February 10, 2008)

Great Lodging Between Downtown and Copacabana
Hotel Florida is one of Rio de Janeiro’s best mid-range hotels. Located in the Flamengo neighborhood, it’s close to the city’s metro line (for getting to Copacabana and Ipanema) and Flamengo Beach (for the best view of the bay). The place is traditional, but not stuffy…elegant, but not extravagant. The service is top notch and if you’re not set on being right in the action, this is a good choice for couples or families.

Accommodations

Like most city hotels in Brazil, Hotel Florida is a high-rise building surrounded by other high-rise buildings. It’s not a slick, modern building, but one of the city’s older options. That makes it a bit more quaint, if a tad dusty and worn. Also, the rooms tend to be small in the older hotels (although all too often in the newer ones too), but you can count on good showers (with gas-heated water) and clean, comfortable bedding. Florida excels at service and location.

The Area

You can walk around near the hotel at night and check out the goings-on in the area. There are casual places to eat and drink within walking or you can catch a cab or metro to a more distant outpost. The hotel is wonderfully located in Flamengo, once the home of Brazil’s government and strategically located between downtown Rio de Janeiro and Copacabana.

My Impressions

I stayed at the Florida Hotel with my wife and we enjoyed being away from the Copacabana and Ipanema scene when we wanted to be. It’s not exactly out in the boonies (in fact, my wife saw some famous Brazilian musicians there). There is plenty of local nightlife nearby and you can catch the metro during the day to the downtown area or the beaches. A short taxi ride gets you to the Cristo monument. The service was excellent and the rooms were small, but well kept. This is an excellent option for families or couples.

Details

Aminities: Gym, pool, sauna, bar and restaurant. In room: TV, air conditioning, phone.
Prices: From $120 to $200 per night with breakfast included.
Location: Rua Ferreira Viana 81, in Flamengo
Phone: 21-2556-5242
site:windsorhoteis.com.br

The Road From Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro

Rio, Sao Paulo, beaches, excursions (September 8, 2007)

View Larger Map

The Road from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro
The road between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo is one of Brazil’s most traveled tourist destinations. Called the Rio-Santos road, the trip is perfect for many visitors who want to see the big cities of Brazil, some excellent beaches and tropical islands (including some that are touristy and full of beautiful people and others that are remote and deserted), and also a touch of the interior. You can rent a car and take the trip at your own pace, visiting the highlights that you set for yourself. In this article, I’ll try to answer some of the most common questions about this trip. I’ll add more as they come in, so this will be a work-in-progress.

The road between São Paulo and Rio is a popular road trip for tourists and Brazilians alike. It’s about 450 kilometers of coastline and takes you past some of the most beautiful beaches and beach towns in the country. The water gets greener and warmer the closer you get to Rio, but the beaches near São Paulo are not to be missed either — for their water sports, beautiful people and great boardwalks.

The road itself is in good shape, but it can get a bit windy along the mountain passes around the São Sebastião area, so take it slowly and carefully and enjoy the time.

While you’re in Sao Paulo, you can take the Walking Tour of Downtown Sao Paulo. Also, I’ve listed some good hotels in the Sao Paulo area in my article on The Accor Hotels. I always suggest starting in São Paulo and driving to Rio. This way, your trip will keep building and building to the end, saving the most spectacular for last. There are so many things to see and do between these great cities, that you may want to make the trip twice to get it all in. You wouldn’t be the first.

Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a lot of violence in this region?
Outside of Rio, there is nothing excessive and even inside Rio, the problems are mostly located in the Copacabana Beach area. Of course, you should always be aware and careful. Keep a minimum amount of cash on you and no significant valuables. Split up your cash and when you drive, leave as much in the trunk as possible (your bags, valuables, and credit cards).

What are THE best places for snorkeling?
I’d say that the top snorkeling on this trip would be around Ilha Grande and Angra dos Reis. It’s hard to say which of these is best, but I can say that Ilha Grande requires a bit more time and commitment. If you have the time, it’s totally worth it. If you choose Angra, then be sure to take a boat out to the islands AWAY from the mainland — so you get away from the Angra pollution. That said, there are some wonderful dives there.

The next best place would be the north coast around Ubatuba. There are some wonderful waters there and you can charter boats out for great snorkeling.

How are the roads in this area?
The BR freeways (called rodovias) are much faster and in better condition than the small roads. Also, this is a mountainous region and the roads can be difficult at times. I suggest sticking to the main estradas that will offer the smoothest ride. However, the roads in general in this area are well maintained and generally problem free. You have to get used to maneuvering in two-lanes of traffic is all.

How do Ilha Grande, Paraty, and Buzios compare?
These are all different from one another and Buzios is completely different than just about any other place on the coast. It’s a great place for adults and offers a lot of shopping, modern facilities, great hotels and lots of beaches — both crowded and secluded. You also have some economical options for hotels, so it’s not only for the spenders. A lot of Brazil’s TV stars can be seen at Buzios.

Paraty is an excellent place for tourists and provides a bit of the historical side of Brazil along with beaches and great restaurants. It’s a small town, but the best beaches are outside of town to the north or south. Don’t miss the waterfalls in Paraty, as well as the boat trips.

Ilha Grande is the most remote of the three. There are very few cars on this huge island and only one major town — called Abraao (Abraham). The town, hotels, and eating establishments are all very quaint and you can walk around town with no problem to take it all in. There are beaches all around the island and you can hike or take boats out to them. Some of these are among the prettiest in Brazil and offer great snorkeling, diving, and other fun activities. You really feel the island experience at Ilha Grande because of the lack of cars.

What is the best rental car service to use there?
Here’s a comment from one of my readers about that…”We used Unidas rent-a-car and they were great and about 50% cheaper than Hertz or Avis (12 day rental of a Chevy Meriva was $500, including insurance). It was practically new and they gave us an 800 number to call in case of problems. We booked them through Autoeurope.com.”

Is it worth going inland to Teresopolis?
Absolutely! Teresopolis has a lot to offer and is completely different than the coastal sights. The feature there is hiking and rafting and you should probably set this up ahead of time — like while you’re in Buzios or Rio — with one of the agencies that offer packages or trip planning. For most people 48 hours is enough, but if you’re really into hiking and rock climbing, you might want more.

Gondola to Pão de Açúcar in Rio de Janeiro

Rio, blog (March 31, 2007)

The best views of Rio de Janeiro and the entire coastline around it, are from the two view platforms of Urca and Pão de Açúcar, both part of the famous gondola ride. It’s worth going up once during the day and again after dark to see both aspects of the city.

Visitors Include Slums in their Tours of Rio

Rio, excursions (March 31, 2007)

RIO DE JANEIRO–Over 4,000 European travelers were taken into “Rocinha,” Rio de Janeiro’s oldest slum, so far this year. And that’s just by one of several agencies specializing in the favela tour. Now, it seems, the city’s official tourism office, Riotur, is including the favela in their list of approved tours for international travelers. It seems visitors want to see “all” of Rio de Janeiro.

And see they will. The favelas in Rio de Janeiro are famous for their incredible views. They are located on the choicest highlands overlooking the coastline. Dangerous as they may be for the uninvited, the official favela guides have been operating these chaperoned visits for over a dozen years without a hitch. Tourism, in fact, is a legitimate and promising source of income for the favelas and it doesn’t hurt to have international visitors see, first hand, the conditions of the big city slums.

Marcelo Armstrong of Favela Tour is one such “official” guide and leads people into and around the Rocinha favela by van and on foot…through the street markets and all the way up to the highest viewpoint. It’s more than worth half a day while you’re in the marvelous city–if not for the eye-opening educational content, then for the panoramic ocean views.

Get your butt off Copacabana!

Bikini, Rio, beaches (March 31, 2006)

Rio de Janeiro no longer a haven for bunda
In an absurd, but valiant attempt to disassociate the Brazilian backside from Rio de Janeiro (specifically the near-naked female derriere so ubiquitous along Brazil’s coastline), city authorities voted to prohibit the sale of postcards that are endowed with portraits of this particular Brazilian national treasure. Yes, postcards have been identified as the culprits. Authorities feel that postcards featuring sexy, scantily-clad Brazilians only encourage the association of sexual tourism with Rio “…which stigmatizes us with undignified labels,” suggests state secretary Sergio Ricardo. Of course, one need only cast one’s eyes to the sandy beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema to find an endless variety of sand-sprinkled lower halves, fanning across the sand like dunes along the waterfront. Reality is so much more interesting than postcards, anyway. But could bikinis themselves be the next target of censorship for Rio de Janeiro?

Without a doubt, sexual tourism is a problem in Rio, as it is in many of Brazil’s coastal cities. It contributes to the country’s astronomical HIV/AIDS statistics and adds a number of other problems to boot–problems that need to be addressed. But it’s probably not the public relations effort from the postcard-buying public that is to blame–or the fact that so much moon shines along with the sun at Copacabana. No, sexual tourism is the result of neither promiscuity nor exhibitionism. Rather, it comes from that special mixture of poverty, democracy, and international tourism. Remove any one of these three ingredients and sexual tourism falters. Now that’s something to write home about.