Last week my family and I were waiting in the citizens service area of the US Consulate in Rio de Janeiro, and I overhead a young man pouring out a pretty tragic story to the consulate staff standing opposite the bullet proof glass. He’d been robbed and had lost every single form of id, all his credit cards, and all his cash. He was left with no proof of identity whatsoever.
My husband and I cringed at the guy’s story. As a woman, I know we shouldn’t blame the victim. A person should be able to walk down any street with his house deed and gold bullion spilling out of his pockets without the threat of violence. But dude! You walked around Rio with all of your documents in your pockets? Come on!
Because I have been a recently arrived foreigner in Rio without a word of Portuguese other than Obrigada and with the Rio Olympics opening in less than week, I’ve written down some tips to help visitors survive enjoy their time in Rio. The tips are gathered from my own experience in Rio and the advice my Carioca (native of Rio de Janeiro) husband gave me when I first arrived.
- Leave Your Passport in the Hotel Safe Do not walk around Rio with your passport in your back pocket. Take a driver’s license, or even better a student id, just something with a picture and name so that your body could be identified. (I’m not saying you’ll be shot. Even though Rio does have an incredibly high violent crime rate, you’re much more likely to die in a car accident or crushed by a hastily constructed bikeway.)
- Carry Cash Only or 1 Credit Card at Most Every touristy area in the world has pickpockets and canceling stolen cards is a major pain. Save yourself the worry. Also, withdraw a bunch of cash at the airport (Don’t carry it all at once or in the same pocket), so you can leave your ATM card back at the hotel too.
- Speaking of Cash…Always Have Small Bills Many taxi drivers will tell you they cannot break a fifty. They will swear to it on their mother’s life, and then demand you pay them with what you have. Unless you enjoy arguing in Portuguese, always have 10s and 20s on you. Small bills are also more convenient for food vendors and stalls in the markets.
- Carry a Purse/Backpack But Don’t Put Your Cards or Phone In It This advice I got from my husband my first day in Rio. Many women in Rio carry dummy purses with an old wallet that has some cash. Their credit card and id are in a back pocket.
- Don’t Wear A Lot of Jewelry I know. We should all be able to wear whatever we want whenever we want, but maybe while on vacation in a foreign country it’s best to accept reality as is and save showy displays of wealth for your home turf. Wearing your gold necklaces and diamond rings will not in anyway improve your trip. Leave them at home. Besides Cariocas are generally a casual beach people. If you want to blend in, you should be going around in shorts and flip flops anyway.
- And if you want to Blend in…Sunscreen! The surest way to find the tourists strolling through Ipanema is to look for the pinkest people. Even though it’s winter in Brazil, last week was 80 in Rio, and the sun was intense. I know. We had to walk around downtown in direct sun with an impatient preschooler. Pack sunscreen (It will be crazy expensive in Rio) and use it.
- What You Bring to the Beach: Towel, Flip Flops, and Cash Tucked in Your Bathing Suit That’s it people. You leave the hotel already in your bathing suit & cover up and carry nothing other than your towel. You can rent chairs and buy snacks on the beach. This was a huge cultural adaptation for me. I come from Atlanta, and my family’s summer trips to the beach involved a cooler, a half dozen canvas totes, and a wheelbarrow. True statement.
- The Ocean is For Admiring Not Swimming At this point most people have heard about Rio’s toxic bay and surrounding waters. I do feel a bit like I’m beating a dead horse that died from a super bacteria picked up after drinking out of Guanabara Bay, and I have taken lots of pictures of children playing happily in the water at Ipanema and Leblon beaches. But those local kids have immunity that visitors don’t. If you want to take the very real risk of spending your vacation hydrating on a bathroom floor, then by all means, dive in.
- Deet I recommend insect repellent with the highest level of deet that doesn’t immediately give you cancer. Mosquitoes are a problem in Rio. Any exploration around the bay or into the forests around Rio absolutely demands bug spray. You do not want dengue! Sorry…what about zika? Oh sure, zika is terrible if contracted while pregnant for its potential to pass on devastating birth defects. Dengue can straight up kill you. It did kill 843 people in Brazil last year, and this years there’s been about 9 times more dengue cases than zika. Either way, dengue or zika, you’re gonna want to use repellent.
- Be Alert Don’t be the idiot that’s so focused on getting the perfect selfie you’ve failed to realize you’re group of obvious tourists is alone on the street. My husband looks over both shoulders every few seconds when walking through Rio out of habit. He’s confirmed this level of vigilance is every bit as exhausting you’d imagine, but he developed the habit after being robbed twice. Just pick a designated driver for your group. Someone who can be in charge of risk management while everyone else has a good time.
This is the most depressing list of travel advice. I realize that. But before angry Cariocas start posting in the comment stream about the foreigner who doesn’t appreciate their magnificent city, I’m going to do a second post on all the great experiences in Rio. Now that everyone knows how to stay safe, I can recommend awesome things to do with the free time not being used up with emergency trips to the consulate or hospital. Come back on Wednesday for 10 Tips to Enjoy Rio.
I am Carioca and I feel so sad to hear your story but I can only agree with you. I have been living in the U.S. for about 20 year, a master degree from an accredited university but all I wanted was to go back to Rio and be Carioca again, but I can’t !!! For the same reasons you explained here. Anyone who wants to go to Rio, which is an amazing city, has to take their own risk….don’t blame we have no t advised you… if you are that wild to take risks …. go for it; otherwise, go to Hawaii…maybe safer…. Probably only New Yorkers could survive the Men- Jungle- Rio-wild City.
[…] now that we’ve covered 10 ways to avoid trips to the police station and hospital in the last post, it’s time fill up all that vacation time with the second half of my […]
Excellent tips!
Both my 1 1/2 year old and myself had Zika around February. I’ve been trying to drill into the heads of all my American colegas that if they aren’t pregnant, they’ll be FINE. My zika experience can be summed up as, “Huh, my joints are achy. Maybe I’ve been carrying the baby too much.”
I’m so disappointed that the Olympics are taking place in Rio, the crime and pollution capital of Brazil. I know you’re in Victoria – the ocean there is gorgeous and clean! Would have been a nice site for the water events.
I’m so glad your bout of Zika was mild for both you and your son. My husband had dengue as a teenager and he if paranoid about our daughter getting it. He makes it sounds just awful, incredibly painful. A lot of friends outside of Brazil have said to me “Oh my god, Zika!” and as I won’t be pregnant in the future, I’m like “Oh my god, dengue!” We’ve had public health officials stopping by the apartment to check for good anti-mosquito practices for years, long before Zika. Mosquito born illnesses have been a public health issue for decades in Brazil.
As for the Olympic, inspiring local pride is great thing, and there has been some much needed revitalization of the port and other ares. However there are so many people who desperately needed that money for basic infrastructure and not an underwhelming Olympic Village.
Same with my husband. Dengue is on the top of his “paranoia” list. We have screens on our windows (my husband made them) and we always have to tell people to close the door. Visitors love to stand in the doorway even after I say, “Entre! Entre!” Then I say, “In or out, because I’m closing the door!” I did a whole post on why mosquitos are such a problem in Brazil (trash everywhere anyone…?)