Rio de Janeiro
 

Has anyone been here?

I went in my teens and thought it was the best place I had ever been.
The beaches ,cuisine, culture and scenery were second to none.
I have always loved South America and it’s people but Rio now we s about like faluja. Anything else in SA like it where you don’t need an AK 47?

:banana::thumbsup:

Have not been to Rio, but for work I travel to Uruguay quite often. Punta del Este is a great beach area to visit.

Buenos Aires is really nice but safety is an issue if you do not speak the language or know someone there.

Some areas of Chile come close.....

Punta del Este in Uruguay. Outstanding indeed though only in January - February where all the action happens.

Doug -what are you and your folks like and what would you guys are looking for exactly? I can give you as many pointers as necessary.

Thanks that is very nice of you! Most likely I would be travelling with friends. I like mountains and beaches like Rio, Acapulco and the like. I been to Nice/Monaco ,Rio Kaui Oahu and Kona. I love having dinner in the mountains or hills and looking down on an Ocean/Harbor/Beach .

Haven't been to Rio since Carnival in 1971. Crazy good time, as you can imagine for a 24yr old. They drive on the wrong side of the road (at least back then) and almost got run over several times. The buses were nuts, racing each other on the larger streets (they cracked down on them sometime in the '90s). As you said, great food and beaches and people. Especially enjoyed the Brahma beer and meat on a skewer around an open fire pit.
We were in Cartagena, Columbia, Manta, Ecuador and Lima, Peru in August. We enjoyed all three, but Manta was still in fairly sad shape due to a big earthquake the previous year. Still a good time. We especially enjoyed Lima and the Pachacamac historic site outside of town. The Miraflores Indian Market was a good visit for local crafts.

Doug, why don't you look up "Ilha Fernando de Noronha" and give me your thoughts?

Pretty incredible place and no security issues, I can assure you.

The "Trancoso" beaches up in the state of Bahia are a helluva good time too. The only problem is too many rich Argentines haha.

I’ve been to Rio several times in my life since i am from Uruguay [emoji1257], the last I heard from my friends still living in Uruguay is that Rio is getting really dangerous. So, unless you go around with locals that can guide you and be with you, i would skip it for the moment.

You can go to the north of Brazil as it’s beautiful as well.

Isla Fernando looks spectacular. Is it pretty remote?