HAS ANYONE BEEN TO Carnival in Brazil?

[chula22]

Me and a few friends from work are planning the trip for february. So I was wondering what to expect? What's Hot and Whats the real deal.

[evanscott-syd-]

Take the streets Rio, Sao Paolo, etc... Pack them full of the people... PACKED!!! Fill the air with latin drums, music, eveyone dancing in the streets, the clubs. It is a party to end all parties, but the culture is the best part, so much culture, you can party anywhere, but it is the spirit of carnival that comes through, may sound gay, but it a cultural things as more than a party in my mind. Sexy half naked women and men. People form all ove rthe world, etc.

About a million times better than Mardi Gras!!!

Cheers,

EvanScott

[DJGaryMatthews]

CHUUUUUUUUUUULA BABYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!

:bounce:

[chula22]

Kool Thanks Evan Sweety. I was told there is alot of SEX. hahaha! EVERYWHERE! Naked People, Alcohol, And a shit load of Beautiful people everywhere you turn. I didnt know if they were trying to scare me from going or not.

But your descript makes the trip worth the money.

Thanks!

And as for you G-spot! Whats Goes On my long lost friend??? Muahzzzzzzzzzz! Its been awhile.

[DJGaryMatthews]

Originally posted by chula22

And as for you G-spot! Whats Goes On my long lost friend??? Muahzzzzzzzzzz! Its been awhile.

[johnnyutah74]

I went this past February/March.

A few things:

It is definitely third world down there. Tons of homeless, people missing limbs, begging etc. I saw a few muggings in the broad daylight there. Surprised me since it is known as such a vacation spot.

There are a few different beach areas in Rio. Although Copacabana is the most touristy section (which would seem to me they would make it the nicest), I would advise against staying there. It was dirty both the streets and the beach. We were warned to not walk alone from the clubs back to our hotel because we could get jumped(have in mind, we were 4 well built guys). Ipanema is better, nicer, classier and if you want to go to Copa, it is an easy cab ride.

The language barrier gets to be a bit of an annyonace but nothing major. Just something to keep in mind.

The food was awesome. There were tons of hot chicks, a majority you could pay for to come back to your hotel with you. Going prices seemed to translate to $40-$60 US dollars. Beers were cheap. Beaches were great in terms of the vendors set you up with chairs and keep bringing you beers all day. Just watch what they try to charge you because they just come up with a # at the end.

Taking cabs, make sure they turn on the meter otherwise they try to screw you. Some dude tried to throw mud on my shoe so he could give me a shoeshine.

Biggest surprise was how non-glamorous parts of Rio are. Staying in Ipanema is key no matter how crazy people tell you Copa is. I would recommend it, although I don't see it better than Mardi Gras, if even just becaUSE there is no language issue in New Orleans.

[chula22]

Originally posted by johnnyutah74

I went this past February/March.

A few things:

It is definitely third world down there. Tons of homeless, people missing limbs, begging etc. I saw a few muggings in the broad daylight there. Surprised me since it is known as such a vacation spot.

There are a few different beach areas in Rio. Although Copacabana is the most touristy section (which would seem to me they would make it the nicest), I would advise against staying there. It was dirty both the streets and the beach. We were warned to not walk alone from the clubs back to our hotel because we could get jumped(have in mind, we were 4 well built guys). Ipanema is better, nicer, classier and if you want to go to Copa, it is an easy cab ride.

The language barrier gets to be a bit of an annyonace but nothing major. Just something to keep in mind.

The food was awesome. There were tons of hot chicks, a majority you could pay for to come back to your hotel with you. Going prices seemed to translate to $40-$60 US dollars. Beers were cheap. Beaches were great in terms of the vendors set you up with chairs and keep bringing you beers all day. Just watch what they try to charge you because they just come up with a # at the end.

Taking cabs, make sure they turn on the meter otherwise they try to screw you. Some dude tried to throw mud on my shoe so he could give me a shoeshine.

Biggest surprise was how non-glamorous parts of Rio are. Staying in Ipanema is key no matter how crazy people tell you Copa is. I would recommend it, although I don't see it better than Mardi Gras, if even just becaUSE there is no language issue in New Orleans.

That Sounds about right according to what other people have told me. Im starting to doubt this trip. It seems like the info i get back is usually negative.

[johnnyutah74]

Originally posted by chula22

That Sounds about right according to what other people have told me. Im starting to doubt this trip. It seems like the info i get back is usually negative.

It was a fun time for four guys that just wanted to get drunk and have the occasional female interaction. Go to Mardi Gras or South Beach instead...

[evanscott-syd-]

I have to disagree. You can party with punter who speak English anywhere. Ask yourself why you are going. Are you going just to get drunk and party? Wrong reason. Yes, even more so now, it is 3rd world, but your money will go so far down there, and you will exposed and opened to how the rest of the world lives, on top of having a good time.

My one big gripe with English speaking people... you can't expect people to know your language in a foreign country. You must go anticipating the local cultures and nuanceses.

I think going to Rio or Sao Paola is a much better experience than going to New Orleans and watching drunk college chicks show theirs boobs. Tits are nice, don't get me wrong, but they come 2 per girl. Trips to Rio come once in a lifetime!

There is also so much untouched (by tourism) land there, rainforest, bare beach... the party is just the icing.

But do take heed to their advice, which is a major omission on my part... Be careful in South America!

[johnnyutah74]

Originally posted by evanscott-syd-

I have to disagree. You can party with punter who speak English anywhere. Ask yourself why you are going. Are you going just to get drunk and party? Wrong reason. Yes, even more so now, it is 3rd world, but your money will go so far down there, and you will exposed and opened to how the rest of the world lives, on top of having a good time.

My one big gripe with English speaking people... you can't expect people to know your language in a foreign country. You must go anticipating the local cultures and nuanceses.

I think going to Rio or Sao Paola is a much better experience than going to New Orleans and watching drunk college chicks show theirs boobs. Tits are nice, don't get me wrong, but they come 2 per girl. Trips to Rio come once in a lifetime!

There is also so much untouched (by tourism) land there, rainforest, bare beach... the party is just the icing.

But do take heed to their advice, which is a major omission on my part... Be careful in South America!

I would imagine for most people considering a trip to Rio during Carnaval, it would be to party. If you want to see the rain forests, etc, go at another time when you are not paying at least 3 times the amount for accomodations and you are not stumbling over people in the streets.

I didn't EXPECT anyone to speak English. I merely stated that the communciation problem became a bit taxing. Ordering lunch was an ordeal that I would prefer not to have to expend energy on when on vacation.

In addition, the 10-12 hour flight is not all that pleasant and in my opinion not worth it, when South Beach and/or New Orleans are even Las Vegas are available for someone looking for a party vacation.

[evanscott-syd-]

Point taken,

But if you didn't know how to speak Spanish, how did you think you were going to order lunch in a Spanish speaking country?

In terms of $$$, the economies are so bad there now, money is not an issue, even paying 3 times the amount, but yes, prices are inflated for Carnival.

And South Beach, Las Vegas, and New Orleans don't compare to Rio. You can go there anytime to party.

But if you want to go to Carnival, then you go to Rio during Carnival. Just like you go to Thailand for a Full Moon party, or Pompalona, Spain for the running of the bulls.

I travel the world and party as my job, lucky I guess, but parties all start to blend together, clubs are clubs for the most part.

1part music

1part alcohol or drugs

1part hopefully good looking people

I went, you went, cuz it was Carnival, not just to party in S. America, dunno maybe you did? It's a cultural thing plus the party thing.

Sorry, it wasn't all you thought it would be cracked up to be. It is a different world out there. Americans lead very sheltered lives on the whole. Not bad, but the rest of the world is not America which you can atest to...

[chula22]

Well im not a big drinker. I plan on keeping my tits in my bra. HAHA! Im going for the experience. I just hope I can come back with a Good reflection on the place. I am going with a group of girls. Im not sure how many as far as i know about 5. But we are trying to get more people to go. We want to go out in a large group. Plus we can get discounts with more people. So far the trip looks to be costing about 1200-1500.

THis is what we got on hotels so far.

Best Value

1) Luxor Continental, 4 star hotel located 1 block from the beach in

Copacabana/Leme - $564.00pp. Standard Room. Extra Night - $49pp

Recommended

2) Rio Copa, 3 stars located 1 block from the beach in Copacabana -

$416.Standard Room. Extra Night - $29

3) Ibiza Copacabana, 3 stars located 2 blocks from the beach in Copacabana -

$520. Standard Room. Extra Night - $27

4) Mar Ipanema, 3 stars located 2 blocks from the beach in Ipanema -

$598.Standard Room. Extra Night - $46

5) Praia Ipanema, 4 star located beach front in Ipanema - $667. Standard

Room with ocean view. Extra Night - $63

6) Rio Othon Palace, 5 star hotel located beach front in Copacabana - $739

Standard room. Extra Night - $79

7) Ipanema Plaza, 4 star located 1 block from in Ipanema - $730. Superior

Room. Extra Night - $66

8) Le Meridien, 5 star located beach front in Copacabana - $999. Standard

Room. Extra Night - $66

9) Sofitel Rio, 5 star located beach front in Copacabana - $1169. Superior

Room. Extra Night - $70

[hotspotpromos]

Normally we just put party info up, but this one I couldn't resist (having been to Brazil about 6 times and also having a Brazilian wife).

During Carnaval... Rio...definitely for single people. Knowing Portuguese (even a little ...like greetings) improves your fun by about 80%. Otherwise, make friends with one the guys selling food & drinks on the beach... they'll tell you all the good spots, translate and even hook you up with someone if you're tip decent.

Rio was the best vacation of my life....had a great time w/my friend...people were mad cool and appreciative of any tip (because normally, they don't receive too many tips). If you like the food at one place, leave a 20% tip and the next time you go, you'll feel like you were King Midas!

Men will find that women come up to you on a regular basis (of course, mostly because they're trying to get paid...but it's still nice to have women starting up "a conversation" for a change).

Yeah, there are dangerous spots... just don't be stupid and pull your cash out in public, don't carry all your documents with you, stay in the main tourist sections and you should be alright.

As far as the parts of Brazil other than Rio... if you don't know Portuguese, I wouldn't even bother (in my opinion).

It's a beautiful country with lots to see, great tourist spots (yes...other than all the women) and outta control food. I would advise everyone to check it out at least once...and yes, be careful in obsure spots.

HSP

[chula22]

Well what do you think about those hotel prices? are they good? I am hearing so far that a guy ca be in HEAVEN in rio. But I am wondering about us chics. HAHA! Maybe I will have to go down there with just a little more of an open mind. Maybe get into something huh? Well we are waiting to hear about the airfare prices.

[hotspotpromos]

Okay...attn everyone who's going or wants to go to Brazil. I'm going to give you the best hookup for Americans in Brazil that I know. Unless live with a Brazilian and have an inside hookup, this will be the next best thing.

In Newark, NJ (as in some other states) they have a Brazilian community which looks after(and hooks up) the people there in order for them to get a start and be successful here.

This guy Bobby does the same thing in Brazil. Hooks up Americans who have no idea where to go, or what to pay for thiings. I haven't talked to this guy for awhile so hopefully he stills works here. His name was Bobby... I met him in Rio. His website is... http://blameitonrio4travel.com/

They have all the info you need. If you get hooked up, all I ask is that you come to our Brazilian Bikini Bash on June 27th:D

Had to get that plug in! Good luck and have a good time!

HSP

[chula22]

Originally posted by hotspotpromos

Okay...attn everyone who's going or wants to go to Brazil. I'm going to give you the best hookup for Americans in Brazil that I know. Unless live with a Brazilian and have an inside hookup, this will be the next best thing.

In Newark, NJ (as in some other states) they have a Brazilian community which looks after(and hooks up) the people there in order for them to get a start and be successful here.

This guy Bobby does the same thing in Brazil. Hooks up Americans who have no idea where to go, or what to pay for thiings. I haven't talked to this guy for awhile so hopefully he stills works here. His name was Bobby... I met him in Rio. His website is... http://blameitonrio4travel.com/

They have all the info you need. If you get hooked up, all I ask is that you come to our Brazilian Bikini Bash on June 27th:D

Had to get that plug in! Good luck and have a good time!

HSP

THANKS!

[johnnyutah74]

Originally posted by evanscott-syd-

Point taken,

But if you didn't know how to speak Spanish, how did you think you were going to order lunch in a Spanish speaking country?

In terms of $$$, the economies are so bad there now, money is not an issue, even paying 3 times the amount, but yes, prices are inflated for Carnival.

And South Beach, Las Vegas, and New Orleans don't compare to Rio. You can go there anytime to party.

But if you want to go to Carnival, then you go to Rio during Carnival. Just like you go to Thailand for a Full Moon party, or Pompalona, Spain for the running of the bulls.

I travel the world and party as my job, lucky I guess, but parties all start to blend together, clubs are clubs for the most part.

1part music

1part alcohol or drugs

1part hopefully good looking people

I went, you went, cuz it was Carnival, not just to party in S. America, dunno maybe you did? It's a cultural thing plus the party thing.

Sorry, it wasn't all you thought it would be cracked up to be. It is a different world out there. Americans lead very sheltered lives on the whole. Not bad, but the rest of the world is not America which you can atest to...

It's Portugeese there, not Spanish. And anyway, I will say it again, THE COMMUNICATION ISSUE GOT TO BE A BIT ANNOYING! I WASN"T SAYING I DIDN'T EXPECT OR OTHERWISE, BUT IF ONE IS GOING ON VACATION, YOU MAY NOT WANT TO DEAL WITH THAT!

Not sure how sheltered factors in. If it is worldly to fly 12 hours, spend $1700 on a vacation and see kids sleeping on the street, count me out. I am aware of world issues and have no problem facing or addressing them, it just isn't something I expect to see (nor really want to) when I am going to a place that is always described as a paradise. In addition, if one is looking for a nice, clean fun place to party with nice clean beaches or accomodations and see beautiful people, the 3 places I mentioned blow Rio away. I do agree, that it is much easier to vacation at these other places and Rio is a once in a lifetime trip, just not worth it in my eyes. I am quite glad I went though.

Girls should NOT stay in Copacabana ever! The balmeitonriotravel.com site is great and we even met Bobby (the guy who runs the site and is a new yorker who lives in Rio) when we were there. He was very cool and helpful.

The prices and overall cost you are talking about look about right. You may want to check into apartments also. Many people rent those out for the week and they are sometimes better deals and better maintained. You also have more freedom and room to hang with a big group.

Be careful what tours you book but as mentioned, they can be awesome. We went paragliding and it was beautiful and well worth it. Other tours to see the rain forests and natural gardens looked real cool.

[stdiamante]

Dunno.. whole even seems too intense and not safe

Plus Brazil has hightest HIV rate/percentage in world.. Higher then Africa

[chula22]

Originally posted by stdiamante

Dunno.. whole even seems too intense and not safe

Plus Brazil has hightest HIV rate/percentage in world.. Higher then Africa

Well I dont plan on having sex with ANYONE! Im not going for that. As for the others, Thats on them. Im going just to experience Carnival. Being as how I've never gone anywhere, this might be a bit much for my first trip. But its now or maybe never.

[hotspotpromos]

Haven't been to Rio for about 3 years.... but I have to say... that really was the best vacation I've had. Maybe circumstances were different that others however...

* Loved the beaches... thought they were alot cleaner than the American beaches.

* The weather & sky were incredible...felt good to be alive each day.

* Anyone you tipped, was oh so grateful

* Ran into a few poor people asking for money but that whole area had a lot of police at the time and pretty much made the tourist feel safe.

* At night we stayed in the central party of the city (where there were lights and people) and didn't come close to any problems with anyone.

* Went on a few tours and it was great. Learned alot and took great photos.

Overall...didn't have not one problem. The hotel we booked was less than desired (better to book a 5 star hotel over there...ours was 4-star). At the time... only knew basic Portuguese but even the other Americans there who knew squat were having a good time (and we didn't even know them).

Like with everyone and everywhere, depends on luck on guess. I have nothing but good things to say about our 1 1/2 weeks in Rio. I try to put some pics up on our site next post for you guys to check out!

HSP

[dr0ne]

Originally posted by stdiamante

Dunno.. whole even seems too intense and not safe

Plus Brazil has hightest HIV rate/percentage in world.. Higher then Africa

brazil has the highest HIV rate in the world? that's one of the stupidest things i've ever seen anyone post on this board (and that says a lot, after all this IS clubplanet)

The World Factbook. 2002.

HIV/AIDS — adult prevalence rate

This entry gives an estimate of the percentage of adults (aged 15-49) living with HIV/AIDS. The adult prevalence rate is calculated by dividing the estimated number of adults living with HIV/AIDS at yearend by the total adult population at yearend.

here's a sample:

Brazil 0.57% (1999 est.)

Burundi 11.32% (1999 est.)

Central African Republic 13.84% (1999 est.)

France 0.44% (1999 est.)

Kenya 13.5% (2001 est.)

Lesotho 23.57% (1999 est.)

Namibia 19.54% (1999 est.)

Portugal 0.74% (1999 est.)

South Africa 19.94% (2000 est.)

Spain 0.58% (1999 est.)

Switzerland 0.46% (1999 est.)

United States 0.61% (1999 est.)

Zambia 19.95% (1999 est.)

Zimbabwe 25.06% (1999 est.)

looks like the U.S. has a higher rate than brazil.

[hotspotpromos]

Okay...just for you people on this thread, here we go... a few pics from our trip to Rio a few years ago....bad vacation? Fah-get-'bout it!

http://www.hotspotpromos.com/web2/

Brazilians here in NJ, check out pics from the Portuguese Fest this past weekend... http://www.hotspotpromos.com/PortugueseFest2003/

Brazilian Bikini Contestants.... http://www.djdereko.com/LOCATIONSJUNE.html

who luvs ya baby!

HSP

[dr0ne]

Originally posted by chula22

Kool Thanks Evan Sweety. I was told there is alot of SEX. hahaha! EVERYWHERE! Naked People, Alcohol, And a shit load of Beautiful people everywhere you turn. I didnt know if they were trying to scare me from going or not.

But your descript makes the trip worth the money.

Thanks!

And as for you G-spot! Whats Goes On my long lost friend??? Muahzzzzzzzzzz! Its been awhile.

i think these accounts can sometimes be quite exaggerated.

if you're going there just to get drunk and have casual sex, may i recommend a place featured on "girls gone wild" instead....its a lot cheaper and people there are "wild" or something (ie: drunk frat boys going "wooo hooo" , groping you non-stop)

most of this talk about easy sex etc comes from foreign guys who go down there and party at the whorehouses or "puteiros" as they call them...there are specific clubs you go to (one of them being "help" in copacabana) where every woman inside is a prostitute and every guy is a foreigner...it actually costs more for women to get in at some of these places.

i think it's definitely worth spending carnaval in rio once just for the experience, to do something different than the usual spring break crap people do here. i wouldnt go to sao paulo unless you have a ton of friends there....nightlife is great but not much beautiful scenery....in terms of vibe think sao paulo = new york, rio = miami/south beach.

you have to know what to expect...some love it, others hate it....many people here are more or less on point....couple of things:

language barrier - in general people on the street dont speak english. service industry people and more affluent people at clubs, bars generally do, and will be very friendly in trying to speak with you. people are generally friendly to foreigners there (unlike here).

one thing to watch out for in rio though, its known in brazil for being the land of the "malandros" or hustlers/con-artists....so dont be swayed by people being overly friendly to you because very bad things can happen that way (had it happen to friends in the past).

crime in rio can be a problem. couple of things:

-try to stay on the beach (ipanema, and the side of copa next to ipanema...other beaches can be sketchy for foreigners) dont walk too far into town.

-dont walk around wearing expensive jewelry or with a lot of money on you.

-if you go out at night, try to have the hotel arrange for transportation (either they'll have their own or call a cab)....try not to flag cabs down the street....call in advance. there have been cases of people stealings cabs then driving around robbing would-be customers.

as for where to stay, the best would definitely be a hotel in ipanema right on the beach instead of 1+ blocks into town....but be ready to pay up the ass for it....carnival is tourist time and prices double/triple. i'd recommend booking 6 months in advance. the best hotel in ipa is caesar park, very very ritzy but a room there will be around $300 a night probably if not more.

guess that's about it....PM me if you have any questions....i usually go to rio about once a year so i know my way around there quite well.

[barvybe]

Yo agreeing with drOne...

I stayed at the Mar Ipanema - was totally decent, the staff speaks very good english - rooms were small (like NYC hotels). They'll call you cabs, etc.

Never walk around alone at night (particularly if you're a girl). Keep some loose cash in a pocket in case you get mugged and hand it over all quick like. I never had any problem, but you don't want to lose your ID down there if you're wallet gets nabbed.

Brazilian guys can be pretty agressive - another reason to not wander around alone. My opinion is that the guys aren't all that - like the girls down there are sick and the guys are like normal guys so in comparison they're nothing special.

Ipanema beach is MUCH nicer than the others..and the area around it is full of restaurants and shops and stuff.

I found that about 20% of the people that you're likely to come in contact with speak decent english - like folks on the beach, in the nicer clubs and restaurants, etc. When i was there this club / restaurant called "Nouche" (well it sounds like that anyway) was where most of the local folks with some dough were heading - its like a 15 minute cab ride from the beach areas. Like half or better of the folks chilling there spoke some english.

Definitely learn how to say things like directions for cabbies (right, left, stop), thank you, no thank you, how much?, etc. You don't need to know that much...just keep in mind that the pronunciation down there is NOTHING like spanish - or even european portuguese so good luck!

I had a great time down there and did some of the normal tourist stuff there. There are "bad neighborhoods" all over though so plan any excursions with the help of the hotel staff....there are also some great beaches and stuff like 10 miles south of the city that were really nice and seemed to be alot less sketchy.

Sao Paolo - don't go unless you have friends. There are great places to go to but you need to drive everywhere and know where you're heading.

Personally, I'd rather go down there off season when its a little less crazy...

btw - i'm pretty sure my flight was only like 8hours from Newark non-stop....

[hotspotpromos]

Last two posts are 100% correct. Keep these things in mind and you can't go wrong!

HSP