Rio question

[Guest 7Zach]

Am going sometime in the month of Feb. Basic question, never have been to South America, let alone Rio. Have been to mardi gras in New Orleans, but would not choose to go to New Orleans for first time when Mardi Gras is going on. So, go to Rio during Mardi Gras, or wait till over? Appreciate your insights. Tks.

[Guest Tampa Yankee]

> So, go

>to Rio during Mardi Gras, or wait till over? Appreciate your

>insights. Tks.

 

7,

 

You have got be kidding, right??

[+ Lucky]

You would get your best answers in the escorts south of the USA section, Trilingual knows it all! Traveller has probably been to Mardi Gras, and Truth Teller has a stable in Rio.

[Guest TruthTeller]

>Am going sometime in the month of Feb. Basic question, never

>have been to South America, let alone Rio. Have been to

>mardi gras in New Orleans, but would not choose to go to New

>Orleans for first time when Mardi Gras is going on. So, go

>to Rio during Mardi Gras, or wait till over? Appreciate your

>insights. Tks.

 

I would DEFINITELY NOT go to Rio during Carnival for my first time in Rio. Rio has every hedonistic pleasure you could possibly want in the most intense, unbelievable way 365 days a year. It also has multiple other pleasureable aspects (see my elegy to it in the Where to Travel To? thread). All Carnival does is add huge numbers of people everywhere; change the city completely from the perfection that it normally is; and just makes everything generally more congested, annoying, and unnatural.

 

It would be like going to NYC for the first time on New Year's Eve or Christmas - the spectacle itself may arguably be enjoyable, but it would completely distract from your ability to get to know, and enjoy, the city as it actually is.

[Traveller]

>I would DEFINITELY NOT go to Rio during Carnival for my

>first time in Rio. Rio has every hedonistic pleasure you

>could possibly want in the most intense, unbelievable way

>365 days a year. It also has multiple other pleasureable

>aspects (see my elegy to it in the Where to Travel To?

>thread). All Carnival does is add huge numbers of people

>everywhere; change the city completely from the perfection

>that it normally is; and just makes everything generally

>more congested, annoying, and unnatural.

 

I am in total agreement with my ward, once again. One of the times I was in Rio was 2 years ago at New Years. Impossible to get into any of the clubs. You needed resees for all restaurants. Massive influx of non-Brazilians competing for the Brazilians in all arenas. Saunas filled mainly with non-Brazilians. The spectacle of New Years itself was great. The beaches were great. Other than that, don't know if I'd do it again.

 

Later.

[Guest 7Zach]

I have reservations going out on 10th, arriving 11th, so only 2 days of it. I had real reservations about it, but then going on travel miles, so not a lot of choices. So i figured 2 days of it, and then back to normalcy afterwards. Any insights to this, or should i just book for the next week?

[Guest CantTouchThis]

definitely go the week after, dude

[Guest SeaGuy]

I would agree with all previous posts, muito bom conselho! Go after Carnival and if Brazil ends up being a place you like you can experience carnival at a later date. Bom Viagem. ;-)

[trilingual]

If you're already booked, leave it be. Unlike New Orleans, in Rio the big carnival parades take place fairly far from Copacabana/Ipanema, so it doesn't tie things up in quite the same way. You can watch the parades on TV at night (they run all night long Saturday and Sunday night) to get an idea of the spectacle without actually having to be in the mob. During the late afternoon try to find out when and where there will be "blocos de rua" (street carnival) in Copacabana/Ipanema. The Banda de Ipanema and the Banda de Carmen Miranda are loads of fun; just go watch and follow along. It's VERY free form!

 

It'll all be over Ash Wednesday and life will return to normal, so you'll be able to see Rio both ways. Then you can decide which you like best for your next trip! We ARE expecting comments and reviews!