About having second thoughts about Rio?

[Yasai]

hoping to travel long-haul somewhere in July or August.

love the idea of Rio but all the talk of how dangerous it is has made me have doubt. I’d be travelling with DH & DD’s age 5 and 7. Does anyone have any experience?

You ask re dinner in the evenings- like I say we are in the hotel and they have a Michelin star Asian restaurant and two others too so plenty of choice. They did recommend some restaurants but I would not walk around at night alone, I'd get a taxi there and back. Rio is not the type of city you "go for a wander" especially after dark. You just don't risk it, particularly with children

Sorry typo, we *ate

@TheNextChapter would you mind sharing the name of your hotel please?

@Justkeeepswimming i have a serious chronic illness as does DS. I look carefully at healthcare options (it’s why Ilha Grande is a no for me but buzios is fine). SA and Thailand were both brilliant for healthcare.

DS doesn’t remember his first trip to Thailand at 18m but he was 3 in SA and remembers a decent amount. He’s a very relaxed go with the flow child so isn’t phased by travelling.

@Twilightstarbright

You can have top rate healthcare, but you have to bear in mind that you are exposing your children to different bacteria, viral variants and other things they wouldn’t normally be exposed to both in the environment and in foodstuffs.

Having suffered the most excruciating diarrhoea and vomiting of my life on account of this in SA and India, I am wary.

Presumably it is costing you - like me - an extra £300+ in insurance for medical cover.

Each to their own, but I wouldn’t take any child to areas of political unrest with high crime ever. And I would be wary taking under 7/8 away at greater distance from home (unless to see family and actually necessary), particularly if they have pre-existing medical conditions.

Interesting thread.

Haven't been to Rio (and no desire to) but did, as a solo mum, take my son to Natal and another time to Bahia. Both times fabulous. Salvador is a beautiful city, home of Capoeira and all day shows in the central market there (as well as on the streets).

We stayed in beach villages and just took the local busses. Never wandered into dodgy areas. What did surprise me is that it felt like summer but it's dark by 6 PM.
So always back in the hotel/pension by then, where you could hang out with others with a drink.

I’d happily go by myself but probably wouldn’t take my children at those ages. Costa Rica would be my choice.

@Justkeeepswimming life is for living IMO.

@Twilightstarbright

Naturally, I’m just not a fan of putting young children at risk.

Each to their own.

@Twilightstarbright sorry for delayed reply. We stayed in the Mercure Rio Boutique Hotel Copacabana. It was mid range with quite small rooms. Ok if you just want a base. Not luxurious though. Felt safe.

I'm pretty well travelled, and did a stint all around Brazil about 12 years ago. Rio was one of the places I've ever felt the most nervous walking down the main streets in the middle of the day - which surprised me at the time. The vibe is just a bit threatening. Far more than even Sao Paulo which I'd envisaged being far worse. I'm not sure it would be my top choice to take kids if I'm honest. Also the beach, while iconic, is known as being a hotbed of crime as soon as it get dark. It's also subject to massive waves and riptides during the day - I probably wouldn't ever consider letting kids paddle - probably as dangerous as anything in Rio!!

If you do go to Brazil, it's worth forking out for an internal flight to go to Igazu Falls (on the border with Argentina - take your passports and do an overnight both sides.) Still one of my favourite places I have ever been and kids would love it.

However Mexico, if you've not been, I would say is a much better choice. While on the surface not less 'dangerous' per se than Brazil, I never felt unsafe, there was always an armed police presence in the tourist bits, and I felt safer walking around generally. Historical sites, culture, nature, losds of stuff to do for kids, best beaches I've ever been to and best Mojitos too. Food a bit dodgy was my down side, vommed up every other meal...But it was worth it!

...Also, I can't really overstate the extent to which most people in Brazil can't speak English (this may sound obvious, but even in a group where most of us spoke basic (or fluent!) Spanish, making ourselves understood in many situations was difficult!). It got us by in the rest of South America, and people say Portugese is similar...But may as well have been speaking Mandarin.

Smart phones/ Wifi were far less prevalent back then and we only got out of one sticky situation as someone randomly spoke French (!) as did my friend. Even picking food off of menus and having a clue what might arrive became a game. But it might not be a very fun one, depending on your kids...

Honestly - you can get by with spanish very well indeed in Brazil. But, this may be latin american spanish, come to think of it. Spanish from spain is a different indeed a bit different but you should be more than able to ask for directions and work out a menu.

that said, agree - Mexico is probably a nicer choice. I thought the same when I went to Mexico - and I’m Brazilian, and got into some weird shit in Mexico.

Another vote for Mexico.

Yea, loved Mexico too. Again with my son, we stayed in Playa del Carmen and did organised trips to Tulum, Chichen Itza and Coba. Did a day trip to Cozumel on the ferry where my son went scuba diving and I hung out in a beach club.

Love Mexican food and drinks! Margharita!

He's an adult now and was in Mexico City for New Year's and flew down to Oaxaca and a beach town nearby.

life is for living

not dying

I wouldn't bring young children there.

If you're looking for somewhere warm and relatively safe and more family oriented, go to Costa Rica.

Agree with @Heather37231

You won't go to the favelas but there's nothing to stop the favelas coming to you.

Oh please, so lame. London is scarier. I've been to a favela and it was a non event

You know they have children in Brazil, right?

Venezuela, now that is a scary place

Has Rio got less safe over the years? I went 20 years ago and it was absolutely fine. I travelled solo and defo looked like a tourist.

@Tatonka

The pathogens that people have immune experience of are local in nature.

Whenever we go out of our local area we are exposed to different viral variants, bacteria etc and many are entirely different to what you’d have at home.

Which is why when a Brazilian child bites into the local beef they don’t get a stomach upset, but the British child may have severe gastroenteritis, the Brazilian child has a sniffle, the British child has flu… It’s all about exposure.

Looking at the current list of things you’d need to be wary of: tuberculosis; arboviruses such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika; malaria; bacterial diarrhea; hepatitis; and neglected tropical diseases, such as Chagas, leishmaniasis and schistosomiasis… pretty different to your exposure risk in the U.K.

That is before you get to thinking about the people wanting to rob and attack you and your children having no maturity level to understand any of it to protect themselves independently of you. Local children will not be the target and some may be the perpetrators.

I've been long haul cabin crew for over 30 years and the only place I've ever felt unsafe is south London.

Do your research. Make smart choices, don't wear obvious signs of wealth and be respectful- you'll have a ball. I love Rio

I lived there, on my own, in the 90s. It's my second favourite city after London - though Rio wins on beaches 😄

It's about as dangerous as any major city; the difference is the type of danger, I guess. There are a lot of robberies. Although there's plenty of major, gang-type crime in Rio, street crime's almost all poverty related (this is the same throughout Brazil, and in many other places with severe inequality). I used to keep a tenner's worth of cash in a front pocket, so I wasn't rummaging around in my bag for drink or snack money, and I'd keep it topped up. When I was robbed, I'd hand over this money. I viewed it a direct form of taxation!

The only visitors I've ever heard of having problems with actual violence are those - usually men - who 'have a go' if accosted.

Normal tourist advice applies. Sure you can wear watches and jewellery - cheap ones! Keep your wits about you and a firm grasp on your bag. Take your time, be open to experience, don't treat the place like a theme park. Avoid things like dark alleys.

Your experience will improve in direct correlation with the amount of Portuguese you can muster, not least because scammers target English speakers (they'll assume you're American, btw).

July & August are mid-winter. It'll be cool, overcast and a bit wet. There probably won't be any beach events at that time, but I wanted to stress it's okay to go to night-time events on beaches and to beach bars. It is unwise to wander on the beach after dark, though. You're absolutely fine out in the streets at night: if you stayed in all the time, you'd miss loads of local colour! Of course, Brazilians love kids.

If anything scary does happen, yell at the top of your lungs. If you should need the police, push for the Tourist Police who are used to our forrin' ways and much less likely to rip you off.

The food's fabulous. Fruit juices and vitaminas - fresh fruit milkshakes - from street stalls are wonderful; the same stalls sell green coconuts (coco verde) with the top lopped off and a straw to drink the juice 😊

I LOVE the Copacabana Palace! I could never afford a room there, but used to hang out at the pool and bar.

Go! Boa viagem! Divirtam-se bem!

Beaches: City centre ones are a bit skanky; they improve as you move outwards. Copacabana was nice when I lived there (in Copacabana) and very, very busy. Following the rule of urban expansion, I expect it's gone downhill now. You can walk to Ipanema, the next one out, which will be more urban now than in my time.

Any Carioca will tell you which beaches are best for swimming (they'll think you're mad for wanting to in winter!) and the most scenic or unspoilt, etc. Frequent buses run all along the coast, and taxis are cheap by British standards. As anywhere, check that the driver's started his meter unless you're going a long way and have negotiated a fare.

If you have the time and opportunity, it's worth taking a trip into the coastal forest. It is absolutely stunning - reminded me of old fairy-tale illustrations, with tangled vines and tumbling brooks. You should see lots of flowers, even in winter, as native plants tend to ignore the seasons.