Beaches, Mountains, Football, Food, Nightlife and more…

What a city! This place was easily one of the best places we visited, it really has it all. We visited by cruise from the 3rd to the 4th of March 2024, almost a year ago and we would love to go back.

Top Tips:

• Go see a football match
• Get to Christ the Redeemer Early!!
• Have cash on you
• Be very cautious
• Avoid the Favelas unless you have a confident guide
• Use Uber to get around 

Main sights:

• Corcovado, Christ the Redeemer
• Sugarloaf Mountain
• Ipanema beach
• Copacabana Beach
• Lapa Street
• Maracana Stadium, Fluminese vs Botafogo

Day 1:

We booked a 6-Stop Highlights of Rio with Lunch tour via Get Your Guide, we paid £75 which included entry to Christ the Redeemer, the Cathedral and Sugar Loaf Mountain (a pretty good deal if you ask me). We met Fred, our tour guide, outside the cruise terminal. He was very laidback and tailored the tour to our interests. We drove to Cosme Velho, the train station to take us to Christ the Redeemer, this train was on a steep incline the whole way to the top of Corcovado.

Next we drove to Sugarloaf Mountain, and took the cable cars to the top. The atmosphere at the top was amazing, there was a live band and food trucks, I would’ve loved to have spent more time here if we weren’t restricted on time. The views at the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain were beautiful, we took some pictures, drank some coconuts and then headed to lunch.

Lunch was provided in the tour,  an all you can eat buffet in a restaurant in the city (I’m not sure of the name).  The food was delicious with meats, rice, fish, salads and loads more, I have to say there was a bit of an uneasy feel, Fred wouldn’t let us outside the restaurant without escorting us to the car however, we never had any issues.

Rather spontaneously we decided to go Maracana Stadium to see Fluminese vs Botafogo. Top tip, make sure you have cash on you, they don’t accept card!! We had to run around the backstreets of Rio trying to find a cash machine which was definitely an adventure trying to use the little Portuguese we knew with no mobile data. Luckily, we found a cashpoint in a shopping centre and arrived at the game 15 minutes late (already missing 2 goals). The atmosphere was unreal, we got the cheapest tickets at £13 each in the sun however, once you were in the stadium there wasn’t really assigned seats and everyone just sat anywhere they liked. Beers were super cheap around £1 for a pint and the game was great.

After the game, we headed out to dinner. Our guide recommended Lapa Street, which is known for its nightlife however, we were there on a Sunday so it wasn’t too crazy but still a fun vibe. We ate at Nova Copella, rated highly on Tripadvisor. It was a small restaurant with retro interior, the portions were huge and reasonably priced so we all shared some dishes and of course had to have the local cocktail, Capirinha. 

Day 2:

This was our day to relax after cramming so much sightseeing in the day before. We hopped onboard the MSC Coach and made our way to the infamous Copacabana Beach, with its long sandy shore and big waves. We rented some sun loungers for a few pounds and a table and relaxed. It is nearly impossible to get bored the locals come round and sell just about anything you could think of, obviously we had to buy some Brazil football tops. 

Like the big kids that we are, we played in the huge waves getting knocked about until we had no energy left where we then made our way back to the boat.

Overall, I would love to go back some day and stay a lot longer to explore the culture. Out of 38 countries we visited on this trip I can definitely say this was in my top 5.