August in Rio

[joel304]

I'm looking to take a trip to Rio during the last week in August. I like warm beach weather. I know that this isn't the best time for this. Any suggestions???

[trilingual]

The weather in August can be unpredictable. Some days are warm enough to go to the beach, others are windy and cool (and sometimes gray). By Northern American or European standards it's still warm, but the wind can be cutting when temperatures are in the 60s, as is the blowing sand.

 

If you want more reliable August beach weather, try the Brazilian Northeast. Much closer to the Equator than Rio, therefore warmer and with little seasonal variation. Recife, Natal or Fortaleza are all safe bets that time of year.

[joel304]

Any gay life there?

[buckguy]

Two of my three trips to Brazil have been in August. It was quite warm most days this past August when I was in Rio, but not really beach weather most of the time when I was there the year before. Salvador was consistently "beachy" (except for a rainy day and a half) and if you like surfing (or looking at surfers), Itacare also was warm in August. FWIW, I was in Rio during late January and the rain kept it cool and obviously not sunny foa couple days, too. In other words, there are no guarantees, but you're probably better off further North than Rio in August.

[trilingual]

>Any gay life there?

 

Yes. There are gay bars, clubs, saunas, beaches, etc. in virtually every good-sized Brazilian city, including all of the state capitals, among which are Salvador, Recife, Natal and Fortaleza. With the exception of Natal, which has about 700,000 people, the other three cities each have 2 - 3 million inhabitants in their metro areas.

 

Specific information can be found by checking the FAQ section, the reviews of escorts in Brazil (and in the semi-world-famous Brazilian Saunas review, contained therein), and by using the "search" function within the Escorts South board using the names of those cities as keywords.

 

Listings of venues can also be found at http://www.netgay.com.br and http://www.guiagaybrasil.com.br

Brazil is larger than the continental U.S. Listings are often broken down by state, so a map of Brazil will come in handy when you're searching. However, to save you a little time, Salvador is the capital of Bahia (BA), Recife of Pernambuco (PN), Natal of Rio Grande do Norte (RN) and Fortaleza of Ceará (CE).

 

Enjoy your trip planning!!!

[joel304]

Thanks for all the help. Are the beaches as nice in these areas? It seems that the choices for luxury hotels are harder to find.

[trilingual]

There are 4,000 miles of beaches in Brazil! In other words, there are beautiful beaches everywhere. All of the Northeastern capital cities (except for São Luis) are also beach resorts. You'll be happy there if you like urban beaches. If you want something less developed, just head for nearby small towns and villages. Locals all know where the best and most beautiful beaches are in the vicinity, so just ask at your hotel or use it as a way to strike up conversations!

 

In general, you don't get the mountains dropping to the sea effect at the Northeastern beaches that you have in the South/Southeast, like from Rio down to Florianopolis. But there are lots of beautiful beaches in the Northeast, nonetheless. Enjoy!

[buckguy]

What are you looking for in a beach? I grew-up within walking distance of a great lake. I've also lived near another great lake, Long Island Sound, and the Atlantic and have been to Hawaii, SoCal, and southern Thailand among other places. Those spots are all different, yet have "good beaches" by my reckoning (and a lot of other peoples'). I like clean sand, water warm enough for at least wading, reasonably clean water and the option of not being on top of everyone else. Having shade is a nice option as is getting a something to drink once in awhile without much effort. A good beach for me has most, but necessarily all, these elements. The beaches in Salvador will not win awards, but are certainly adequate. If you stay in the Barra area of town (which has luxury hotels), there are some beaches nearby, although you will do much better further down the coast, which is easily reached by various forms of public transportation from Barra. There are fewer hotel options as you get further away from the city. The beaches require an eye toward security, which also is true in Rio and probably in other major cities.

 

Itacare is a surfing and fishing town. The beaches are fine for tanning, having a drink, and having a nice meal, but not for swimming. The surf and the old, small fishing port preclude that. There are no really fancy resorts there and no explicitly gay life, you'd be better off in a larger city.

[Guest Gringo]

"The beaches in Salvador will not win awards, but are certainly adequate."

 

We must be going to different Salvadors. There is a string of absolutely gorgeous beaches with fine sand and tall palm trees from Foral da Barre North away from the city. These ARE award winning beaches among the most beautiful and pristine in the world. That's my take from just a month ago.....:+

[trilingual]

The Quatro Rodas guide series publishes a guide to Brazilian beaches (available at most newstands and some bookstores). In Portuguese it's called the Guia Quatro Rodas Praias. It covers the entire coastline from the border with Uruguay to the border with French Guiana, with maps, satellite photography as well as ground-level photos and descriptions of the various beaches. You don't really need to be able to read Portuguese to be able to follow the guide and it's beach-rating symbols (four beach umbrellas is tops). There are many places in the Northeast with transparent water, natural pools formed by coral reefs, and all the other appealing features of the Caribbean. You just have to decide whether you want urban beaches (with easy access to nightlife and saunas) or more secluded ones, which may be more beautiful but will have less or no gay scene.

 

This is Praia do Forte, just north of Salvador (it's a protected sea-turtle nesting area):

 

http://www.greatestcities.com/0519pic/012/CP27012.jpg/fotosi_003.jpg

 

This is Ondina beach, which is in-town:

 

http://www.velardez.com.ar/BRA/Ondina.jpg

 

In Recife, this is Boa Viagem beach:

 

http://www.velardez.com.ar/BRA/Recife%20-%20Praia%20de%20Boa%20Viagem.jpg

 

South of Recife, this is the beach of Porto de Galinhas:

 

http://www.cientistasdeamanha.com/images/Praia%20de%20Porto%20de%20Galinhas.jpg

 

This is just one of Natal's beaches:

 

http://www.promobrasil.it/Public/Cartoline/imagens/natal.jpg

 

And here's a small shot of the urban part of Fortaleza's beach:

 

http://www.fortalezasite.com/dicas/images/fortaleza.jpg

 

Are we getting the idea?

[joel304]

Great work Tri ... Thanks to you and everyone.