RIO in February

[Guest Skippy510]

The information on this site has been very useful, thank you. However, after checking the archives I have a couple of questions. I am thinking of traveling down to RIO in the middle of February, what is the weather like? Is this to close to the Mardi Gras time, will it be to crowded? Will prices at Hotels and restaurants be inflated due to Mardi Gras? Besides the fabulous saunas, what is the shopping like, what is uniquely Brazilian...BESIDES THE MEN:7 Thanks

[+ Axiom2001]

Skipppy510 (What a cute name...!:9) It's summer; the prices for hotel packages have gone up since I was there last month. ...am considering Carnaval and have begun to inquire. I went to http://www.ipanema.com.br., and emailed them my desires for lodging. An agent responded, but I did not particularly like the rates. I also received an email from http://www.brol.com which specializes in Brazilian travel based in Florida. The 7 day 5 night package in Rio is reasonable (ground only).

 

Air from San Francisco was a mere $447 RT excluding taxes. Read my thread about Carnaval. Trilingual and others answered my questions; some of yours are answered there too.

 

Buy Lonely Planet's BRAZIL. It is a top source for your queries along with the anticipated answers you'll receive from Tri and others in conjunction with the questions you proposed.

 

Happy traveling..... If you're wearing a name tag while at Maxim's--I just might run into you while in Rio. ;-)

[Guest Tomcal_]

To answer your questions: very hot, humid, high 90's also very crowded. the boys have said that prices on everything from a glass of coke to rooms, etc. go up 2 to 4 fold. Suanas are also much busier.

I can't imagine being in Rogers sauna in their unconditioned Cabines, with just those fans!!!

[trilingual]

It can get hotter than the 90º's in mid-summer. It commonly can reach 40ºC or more (104º+)! If there's a heat wave when you're there, plan on beach time earlier in the morning, before it's too hot. Hide out during the blazing mid-day at a nice, air-conditioned shopping mall or movie theater. With luck, temperatures will drop a bit after dark so it's bearable to go out.

 

Summer is high season for mosquitos, which carry dengue fever. Everything points to another epidemic this summer. From what I can tell, no tourists caught it last year, but it's a risk, considering people in the "nice" parts of town, where the hotels are, caught it last year. The mosquito that carries dengue bites during the day. So try to wear long sleeves and trousers when you aren't on the beach, and USE INSECT REPELLENT. If you forget yours, "Off" is sold in Brazil (there's one fairly nice version that's a cream with aloe vera). This isn't intended to scare you off, just to alert you so you can take appropriate precautions.

 

Carnival is late in 2003 (Ash Wednesday falls in the first week of March) so if you're there in mid-February you may miss the peak madness and the highest hotel rates. There will be plenty of pre-Carnival foolishness going on, though, including the samba school rehearsals and demented weekend promenades by the Banda de Ipanema and the Banda Carmen Miranda. (Ask the guys at the saunas about these things; they'll know all about them.)

[topcat]

As to Dengue Fever last year, some UK tourists contracted it while they were in Rio (and only in Rio)....so it pays to take every precaution mentioned. It is a very nasty and painful disease.

[trilingual]

Thanks for that information. This is the first I've seen about tourist cases. None were reported in the Rio papers. The papers wouldn't hide this if they knew about it; they were or a major crusade against the city/state/federal governments for their inaction and incompetence in taking the necessary preventive measure before the epidemic started and for sitting on their hands for much too long after the epidemic began. The papers also report muggings of tourists. There were some reports of some tourists who contracted malaria around Parati (which didn't have much dengue last year, according to my friends there) but it turned out they had been infected while visitng Amazonia and their symptoms only manifested themselves after they had traveled to Parati.

 

Possibly the tourists you mentioned didn't develop their symptoms until after returning to the UK? That could explain why it didn't make the Rio papers.

 

In any case, visitors this summer should take sensible precautions. Bring your favorite high-power insect repellent and have fun!

[Guest Skippy510]

Axiom2001 - thanks for your information and the suggestion of the book Brazil by Lonely Planets, I will definitely buy it. My plan is to be in Rio mid February from around the 13th through the 21st. I do not know if wearing "baseball caps" is a no no (indication of a tourist) but look for someone wearing a light blue cap with the image of a black labrador on it.

 

Tomcal / Topcat and Tri - thank you for the information. I had read in a thread in the archives about being vaccinated for dengue fever. Is this possible, is this necessary? What other, if any, vaccinations should I get? I had also read in an early thread that wearing shorts and t-shirts away from the beach is inappropriate...means you are a tourist. Is this true, due they suspend this feeling in summer? When I travel to another country I try to respect local customs, I hate the image of the ugly American Tourist. My parent's taught me better! I also love to learn as much of the local environment as possible.

 

Again-thank you all for the information!

[Guest Tomcal_]

Vacinations are not really necessary unless you are planning to go into the interior. Dengue fever was around the beginning of the year through Mar. but didn't seem to be a big worry among the beach crowd, I was there in April and never saw a mosquito.

Two weeks ago when i was there I wore shorts, similiar to what the locals wear which is typical Calif. surfer shorts. just above the knee, everywhere i went cause it was hot. I wore them to the suanas at night, and so were all the locals. I know it has been previously stated that they don't wear shorts there in the evenings, that is probalby true if you are talking "old men bermuda shorts" If you wear current surfing/swimear shorts. you will blend right in!!.

[Guest Tomcal_]

In the evening when i wasn't wearing shorts, it was jeans and a T-shirt, again, like the locals. have a great time, and if you do it right, you will be out of your clothes most of the time anyway! }>

[trilingual]

I'm not sure there is a vaccination against dengue. If there were, it wouldn't be such a problem in tropical climates. Dengue is a viral disease, and it's notoriously hard to come up with effective vaccines against viruses. Insect repellent and other sensible precautions are the best way to avoid dengue.

 

No special vaccinations are necessary or advisable. Just be up on your usual stuff (like a tetanus shot, the hepatitis vaccination if you've never been exposed previously, etc.). If you expect to travel to Amazonia, you'll need a yellow fever shot and you should plan on malaria prophylaxis. But if you're just going to be in big cities like Rio or SP there's no need for anything out of the ordinary.

 

Dress: T-shirts, shorts and sandals are acceptable wear in beach neighborhoods like Copacabana. You can walk to the beach in nothing but your speedo and sandals, but you won't be welcome dressed like that in shops and most restaurants. (However, you can sit on the outside terrace at Maxim's in just a bathing suit and t-shirt. You won't be welcome to dine in the inside dining room dressed that way.) You'd also be inappropriately dressed for your hotel lobby that way. It's better to have a pair of shorts (even gym short length) that you can pull over your speedo when you aren't on the beach. Don't wear shorts downtown, to visit museums or churches, or to go to a nice restaurant, and especially not in the evening. Just be observant of what people are wearing in what places, and you'll blend in pretty rapidly. If you've packed the wrong wardrobe, you can always shop for appropriate local clothing in Rio. There's tons of shopping in Copacabana, or you can zip over to the RioSul shopping mall, to get anything you need.

[trilingual]

P.S. Baseball caps are quite common. Very handy for cutting the tropical glare, as well as protecting your head from the sun.

[topcat]

Tri is right: there is no vaccine against dengue fever (and its variants).

 

The UK tourists who were affected included a travel writer for the Daily Telegraph who had taken his family to Rio on a brief visit. he later published a full account of the illness and the excitement its rarity caused in the London hospital that treated him.

 

Don't let this put you off - just take careful precautions!

[Guest Love Bubble Butt]

I can't stand heat. When are the coolest months in Rio?

[Guest Tomcal_]

Their winter is the opposite of ours, our June-their Dec, July - Jan., etc. so the coolest months are May through Aug. Although this past year i was their in April, pretty much mid 80's every day, in August it was high 70's to low 80's and then 2 weeks ago, which was their spring it was daytime varying between 75 to 80, the humidity was not bad any of these time. Think of Miami in July and that's their Jan.(only a little warmer)