Some good info I copped from the wsgforum.com site.
It's Bubba Boy's Rio Guide.
Here's a snippet.
You will more than likely arrive at Rio De Janeiro’s international airport. Airport code is GIG. It is officially known as Galeão.
When you arrive the first thing you should do is hit the Automatic teller machines. There are some on level 2, there are a lot more on level 3, you arrive on level 1. One thing you should note is that after 10pm thery will not dispense cash. This is the same as all over Rio, they do not want thieves stalking ATM’s at night. ATM rates are usually good. Avoid changing a lot of cash with the money changers at the airport, the rate will be terrible. If in a bind change a small amount of US dollars to get you to your hotel and a little to spend. Remember Help (at the door, not at the bar) and all the termas accept US dollars and Euros, they also give you a very good rate, best rate in town is normally at the termas with the exception of Terma 4x4 which gives a poor rate.
Airport thieves: Be very careful to lock up your suitcase securely. I always put my valuables in my carry on bag and lock that while it is stored in the overhead compartment. One time, after the “London liquid bomb scare” I could not lock my bag or carry on anything while heading back to Europe. The guys at the airport had a field day, they stole my mobile, pen knife, ipod and other associated items that annoyed the shit out of me.
*Airports, Rio to Sao Paulo – domestic travel*
LOCAL AIRPORTS: If staying in Sampa you would want to go to Congonhas (CGU) which is the domestic aeroporto and will run about R30 in a taxi from the center of town. The international in São Paulo, Guarulhos (GRU) will run about R80 in a cab because it is quite a distant from town. Likewise best to hit Santos dumont (SDU) the domestic aeroporto when entering Rio. It will run about R20 in a taxi to get you to Copacabana/ipanema. The international aeroporto (GIG) will be about R40 now. When leaving any airport just ignore the touts and hail a cab from the front. They will usually be dropping passengers and will save you maybe 1/3 off the fare.
A full domnestic fare from Rio to Sampa will usually run R300 each way.
Note: All though the domestic airports are more convenient and will save you in cabs to and from the airport, the International flights from Rio to São Paulo will be cheaper, sometimes substantially. When working out which is the better deal, you wil need to take into account the taxi fares to and from the international airports, they can negate any savings. Oceanair has a service that runs Rio international to São Paulo domestic, that is a good deal usually, saves R50 on the cab fare in São Paulo.
A have gotten fares from Rio to Sampa for as little as R100 from and to the international airports.
*Local Brazilian carriers*
http://www.oceanair.com.br - Ocean Air
http://www.varig.com.br - Varig
http://www.voegol.com.br/ - Gol (Has a brand new fleet of Boeings)
http://www.tam.com.br - Tam
http://www.webjet.com.br - Web Jet
http://www.voebra.com.br - BRA
See the bus section, under Rio for more info on interstate bus options.
*Taxis from the Airport*
Taxis should be about R40, maybe a little more in heavy traffic from the main Rio international airport (GIG) to Copacabana or Ipanema. The trick is, and most locals do this, ignore the rabid touts and go to the second floor where people are being dropped off (the arrivals) and grab a Yellow taxi there. These are your normal taxis that you will also catch around town etc. I always have a quick look to see what the meter has run before I get in and have a quick look around. When I get in the cab another check to make sure the meter is on and cleared and we are on our way. Never had a problem with this. The driver loves it as well because he has got a nice trip back to zona sul (the most likely place he picked up the original passenger). If there is no meter it is most likely a radio cab which are usually white or a dodgy driver trying to grab a few extra bucks, best to grab the Yellow Taxis. Late it night, after midnight obviously less people are getting dropped off, I just hail a cab that is moving and make sure he is using the meter before getting in. I generally do not like to get into a taxi that is just sitting on the road hanging out, they are usually looking for a fare off the meter and to rip a tourist.
The taxis touts on the first floor will take you to the prepaid booth and charge R65+, do not let them take you directly to a taxi or you will be fucked. I guess is ok for first time visitors to go to the prepaid booth but anyone that has been to Rio more than once should consider going to level 2.
Late at night, after 10pm there will be very few arriving cabs. It may be the smarter thing to grab a prepaid cab at this hour from the booth. A reminder, the Airport is deep into a seedy area, after 10pm the extra R20 may be worth the extra safety.
From the Rio domestic airport (SDU), I usually also grab an incoming cab, total tab will run a bout R22 or so. The touts will want R40+. The money saved from this is not the point, I do it because I do not like to be overcharged for services just because I am a tourist. At night this is a dodgy area, during the day it is ok.
Taxi drivers will most likely not speak any English, hence it is a good idea to write down the address or show them your reservation slip before entering. Even if you know where you are going they probably won't understand you because the pronunciation of words in Portuguese is significantly different than English.
Generally the taxis around town are quite good, with a trip between Ipanema and Copacabana being R10, nice and cheap, the meter is always used, if it isn't probably best to get out. The taxis outside of the clubs late at night will be problematic, they will generally not use the meter and will cause problems, just ignore them and grab a cab passing by. Away from the clubs the service is quite good, cheap and safe, the meter is always used. I spend a lot of time in South America, the first thing I do when getting in a cab is to check if the meter is on, you should get into this habit as well.
Flag fall is R3.50, rate 1 ends at 9pm, and rate 2 is slightly more expensive starting at R3.70. All taxis in Rio run "rate 2" 24/7 in December.
***Where to Stay***
99% of all visitors to Rio will stay in Zona Sul. This is the South Zone and includes the so called wealthier suburbs of Rio. So called because even the best suburbs in Rio will be cheap as chips compared to large western cities, think about USD$150,000 for a standard 2 bedroom unit. Yes there are million dollar apartments with ocean views but these make up a tiny fraction of the overall property stock. The overwhelming number of visitors will stay in Copacabana/Leme (the border is the middle of the beach) or Ipanema/leblom (again, the border is the middle of the beach). Copacabana is definitely the centre of the sleaze scene, being dominated by Help, smack bang in the middle of it. It is also close to the metro and the big termas (L'uomo, Monte Carlo and Centaurus). Many first time visitors stay here. Ipanema is only a mile or so away, still very close and very walkable during the day to Copa. Ipanema is the so called Ritzy part of town. Many return visitors stay here preferring the more upmarket surrounds. Both locations are perfectly fine for mongering activities. Ipanema, definitely has the better beach with more upmarket eye candy and less problems although petty crime can be high on both beaches.
Bairros & Postos.
Leme, Copacabana, Ipanema & Leblom are divided into 12 posto zones. They start at Leme, Posto1, and run sequentially along the beach. Help is on Posto 5. The start of Ipanema is Posto 7, Posto 8 contains the gay section of Ipanema Beach. The Caesar Park Hotel, is in a very hip area, which is Posto 9. Posto 12 is in Leblom.
Ok, now that you have decided to stay in Copacabana or Ipanema the next choice you have to make is an Apartment or a Hotel.
*Apartments*
The 2 main advantages apartments have over hotels is 1) They tend to be cheaper, maybe 30% or up to 50% less for longer term stays & 2) There are generally no restrictions on the number of girls you can take back, and of course there are no extra guest fees. You will of course have to keep the noise level down and you and your guests will have to act in a more or less respectable manner when in the general living areas. A naked Help girl in the hallway is not "respectable" and will get your ass kicked out with no refund. After all, these apartments are occupied by 90% local residents that live there every day. Some even come with broadband Internet access these days.
What are the disadvantages then? Well generally apartments in a less developed country like Brazil are....well....less developed. The electrical and water systems are generally straight from the dark ages and can have problems in providing reliable service. The bathrooms and kitchens can be old and tired, even renovated apartments tend to have very shoddy work. The walls are not very thick in some apartments and there is plenty of noise transference from apartment to apartment, adding to the problem, Brasilians are generally very noisy neighbours, they will think nothing of having the music cranked 24/7. The same levels of cleanliness are also not adhered to. In general the place may look ok in pictures when booking it over the net, but when you arrive it may well be older, dirtier and noisier than expected. It can be a downer to turn up to a shitty looking apartment when on your first trip to Rio. If it is your first time in Rio and it is not peak times (Dec to March) you may wish to book a hotel on your first few nights and go and see a few apartments the next day, contact a few agencies before you arrive, that way you know what you will be in for. Be careful in booking apartments over the net, reputable companies that are listed below you will not have a problem. Thoroughly inspect the apartment before handing over the remaining cash. There are no refunds!
Agencies: There are a shit load of agencies you can rent apartments from in Rio. Most are one or two men cottage operations, a lot are expats who have become very familar with Latin American ways. I now live half of the year in Latin America and half the year in Western Europe and the most frustrating thing for me is most things move slowly and inefficiently in Latin America compared to the west. Hence, the service levels of these agencies can be frustrating. I have heard good things and bad things from most of them, with maybe the exception of Kenn (
http://www.ez-riorentals.com/ ), whom I have only heard good things. I also used Sladtko on my last trip, he was very good, bordering on excellent, I was impressed with his honesty and integrity (
http://www.rioholidays.com/ ). There is also Bobby (
http://www.blameitonrio4travel.com/ ), I use his service to buy tickets a lot, I generally don't use his apartments because they are to close to help for my liking, some guys love him, some don't, he is another option. The one agency that continues to come up in regards to complaints is
http://www.gringomanagement.com/. Have also heard a lot of issues about "Marina", I won't go into details because I cannot verify the details that are quite serious, but I will say I would never deal with her. A positive point about agencies is that they can help you out with language difficulties if required and can generally assist you if needed, although always remember they make their living from charging you for their service, festas they can organise will contain a decent profit margin for them, better to organise one yourself at half the cost. Maid service can also be provided for between R30-R50 (expensive in my opinion considering the maid actually gets paid R20 -R30 per day) a pop as required, but no, you cannot fuck her! Most apartments will come with a safe, but not all, enquire when booking, you really do need one. Make sure you do a search on all the agencies before you use them, search google, the message boards and see what comes up.
Recommended agencies:
http://www.ez-riorentals.com/ Kenn,
http://www.rioholidays.com/ Slatko,
http://www.blameitonrio4travel.com/ Bobby,
http://www.rentaflat.com.br/
Agencies to avoid:
Warning: Gringo Managent (
http://www.gringomanagement.com ), have been complained against so much that the complaints are too numerous to mention. The complaints come from such a large number of different people that the chances of having a nightmare stay with them will be very high. The most common complaint is that he agrees to rent one apartment and then when you turn up you get switched into another vastly inferior apartment. There are no refunds if this happens. Just not worth renting from this guy when there are better alternatives.
Although I have listed a lot of negatives here, I have done so to highlight what to look out for. Many experienced mongers swear by apartment rentals, if you are careful and pick yours wisely the only thing you will have to be concerned with is how many garottas you can nail each day.
NB. If you rent a very upmarket and expensive apartment, chances are you may not be able to take back guests. You may well get away with a very well dressed lady but you certainly won't be able to take help girls up there by the truckload. Enquire when booking about guest policy, they will know the situation and don't be embarrassed as a good proportion of their clients will be fellow deviates.
Here is
the full PDF version of Bubba's rio Guide.
Following topics are covered
1. Intro
2. Index
3. Termas, Zona Sul Termas
7. Luomo
8. Solarium
9. Monte Carlo
10.Centaurus
12. Phoenix, Rio Antigo
13. Centro Termas
14. Quatro por Quatro
15. Terma 65
16. Terma Cancun, Terma Aeroporto
18. Terma 502, Terma MV30, Terma Aquarius
19. Cheap and Nasty
20. Termas Ancora do Recreio, Paris Café (Recreio), Niteroi, Terma Excentric
23. Help
31. Boites, Barbarellas
32. Beach Restaurants
33. Balcony Bar, Beach, Hooker Beach
34. Massagems, Escorts.
35. Miami Peep
36. Villa Mimosa
37. Cheap casas by Sperto
38. Regular clubs
39. Via Show, Pyramid
43. São Paulo.
48. General Stuff, Airports, taxis.
50. Accomodation.
54. Metro, Buses, White Vans, Driving.
56. Common Ailments, Pharmacy and Health, Viagra, Cialus.
58. Money, changing, banks.
60. Shopping, Barra Shopping and Rio Sul, Modern Sound, Cigars.
61. Supermarkets, movies and Food.
65. Mobile Phones, Internet.
68. Carnaval
69. CPF, Passport.
70. Favelas
74. Security, Police, Scams.
83. Tourist stuff, Stature of Christ, Sugar Loaf.
86. Language
91. Real Estate.
98. Brasilia.
100. The end.
Here's the map of Rio
And especially
the Zona Sul area where most brothers will be spending lost of time.
Note that I've never been to Brazil.....YET
But after looking at that Mack lessons vid that eewwll posted, I had to research it.
All right, don't come with them Colin pics
