1. How to get around Rio comfortably
Take care with the local buses. All buses have turnstiles which you have to squeeze through while often while travelling at high speed. If you are elderly, at all frail or with small children then avoid them. Many of the buses are driven by frustrated racing drivers and as soon as you enter they accelerate away at high speed to throw you into the turnstile or onto the lap of another passenger!
Many buses do not have air conditioning, which makes the journey unpleasant in the summer (November to March). Another very serious problem is the fact that there are no limits on passenger numbersso that in rush hours the buses often carry hugely excessive and dangerous loads of people. Use the Metro instead. It is excellent.
2. Where to stay during the Olympics
There are no cheap hotels in Copacabana. It is uniformly expensive, especially during Carnival and the New Year, and will be even more so during the Olympics. Thankfully, local residents have started opening up their homes for rent in all locations throughout Rio through sites like AirBNB.
If possible, try to rent an apartment through the owner, rather than an agent, as this will be cheaper. If there are problems then the owner is likely to respond more quickly and cheaply than an agent, especially one based back home.
Also, before you move in, ask for an inventory of the contents of the apartment and check these carefully, noting any omissions or damage. Take photographs of any defects you can find in the apartment – even chipped paint! Before you move out, the apartment will be inspected and any damage will be charged for out of the deposit you have paid.
3. Getting hold of cash is difficult
Getting hold of cash can be an absolute nightmarein Rio. All ATMs are inside the banks, and not on the street, and a lot of the time they don’t work. The ATM machines in the local branches of the Bank of Brazil in Copacabana are the most reliable, but don’t count on them. To make matters worse, all ATM machines, working or not, shut down at 10pm.
There is also a daily limit on how much you can withdraw. It is usually 1,000 Reais, (about £165) but recently a 500 Reais limit has been put on UK VISA cards.
During local holidays and weekends, there can be limits on the amount of money that you can withdraw which can be as low as 300 Reais – about £50 – for the entire weekend. Therefore you should stockpile some money before a holiday or for the weekend.
