The Dark side of Rio

I stand by what I said about Rio being a beautiful and amazing city, but that doesn’t mean it’s not without its problems. From the crowds of tourists, high crime rate, and the expensive prices Rio certainly has its fair share of problems. Here’s a short list of what you should know and consider before traveling here.

Crime Rate

“In 2018 alone, Brazil saw more than 63,000 murders, with the incidence rate of muggings, armed robberies, sexual assault and murder being very high, particularly in its largest cities such as Rio de Janeiro,” quoted from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12486695/The-40-deadliest-cities-world-homicide-rate.html

Keep in mind those numbers are from 2018. The good news is, Rio has made great strides in improving the overall crime rate of the city. The bad news is, that it still finds itself ranked as one of the most dangerous cities in the world. https://peakng.com/most-dangerous-cities-in-the-world/

I remember when I first arrived at my hotel in Rio I was sitting poolside and watching the sunset. I wasn’t more than an hour into my hotel stay when I heard gunshots outside the hotel. It was slightly unnerving, but other than that brief moment I never once felt in danger. The rest of the trip continued without incident, and everyone I met proved to be kind and trustworthy. People there were quick to help me whenever I needed it and were overall incredibly friendly.

While this city may be ranked as dangerous the odds of you being the victim of a crime are still incredibly low. Just don’t make yourself an easy target, be aware of your surroundings, and don’t walk into sketchy areas, or take rides of strangers. Doing simple things like that will keep you safe in nearly every part of the world.

Tons of tourists

If you’re like me, you don’t like crowds or just people in general. And if that’s the case Rio might be a tough visit for you. This city sees an average of 5 million visitors each year. Much of that is concentrated around Carnival, where you’ll find it impossible to escape the crowds almost anywhere you go. Unless you’re there in the off-season and are staying at a resort with a private beach, you might also find the crowded beaches unenjoyable. It’s a beach city, of course, they’re going to be crowded.

It’s Expensive

Part of my experience comes from my own mistake which ended up costing me much more money than I planned. I stayed at the Sheraton Grand Rio Hotel. After being scammed by their “all-inclusive'“ package, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. It was a nice hotel, but the all-inclusive, that I paid extra for ended up being anything but that. In their package, they promised it included a Steak house, breakfast buffet, room service, a lunch buffet, and drinks. Come to find out, the Steak house was closed, the lunch buffet was only served once a week, room service was not included, and drinks only included soda, no alcohol. So really it was just the breakfast buffet, which was part of the standard package.

But outside of my personal experience, Rio can still be an expensive visit with many people reporting that their trip cost them $100- $250 per day per person. And that doesn’t factor in the cost of airline tickets which can range from $170- $1500 for economy class tickets. Don’t get me wrong, $170 is a great deal for a flight these days. Keep in mind those are only available during the off-season.