First Time To Rio

[Guest PSJack]

My partner and I will be arriving in Rio on January 22nd. This will be our first time to Rio and we will be staying for a few days at Le Meridien and then switching over to Atlantico. Will be leaving on January 31st. I just wanted to say thanks to all of you who have taken the time to post to this forum. I have been reading for days and days all of the great information that is available here. We are so looking forward to this trip and hope to meet any of you who may be down there during our visit. Again, thanks and I will also be posting our comments for future and past visitors.

[Guest Tomcal_]

I will be at the Atlantico from the 23rd to the 26th

[Guest Jake]

And I will be in Rio from the 23rd to Feb 14th. Looking forward to seeing all of you.

[trilingual]

Sorry, I'm going to miss you guys on this trip. My latest 90-day entry is expiring, and I'll be back in the U.S. between Jan. 15 and Feb. 3. Guess I'll have to see y'all on your next trip!

[Guest PSJack]

Thanks for the reply. Too bad will not see you Trilingal and Tomcal. Heard tho when Tomcal is in town there are no boys left for anyone else:) Will look forward to meeting you, Jake. Question if you don't mind, will we are in Sao Paul for 2 hours, should we exchange some money there rather than spending the time in Rio?

Thanks

[trilingual]

If you've got time to kill, there's no reason not to go to an ATM at the SP airport and get some money. You'll be able to use it when you get to Rio, paying for your cab into town, tipping, etc.

 

If you arrive on a Friday (or when Friday rolls around) buy the Jornal do Brasil and O Globo for their weekly entertainment supplements. Even if you don't read Portuguese, you'll be able to figure out what movies, art exhibits, etc. are on, and what restaurants have been recently reviewed (plus it'll all be listed with addresses, opening hours, etc.)

[CT Dick]

Or, call Carlo Romano and arrange a Jeep Tour of the Tijuca forest (at about 2/3 what your hotel would arrange.) I really enjoyed myself on that tour.

 

Dick

[Guest Tomcal_]

After you pick up your luggage in baggage claim at the Rio Airport, you will go through Double Automatic opaque doors that lead to the "unsecured area" outside of the baggage area. Right in front of you will be a booth(s) to arrange for a Taxi, right across from the taxi booth is a Currency exchange booth. I am not sure if it's run by the gov't or the airport, but they don't charge a fee!! You will get whatever that day's rate is and no commission is paid.

[CarloRio]

The best place to exchange money in Brasil are at the ATM machines that can be found in some international banks such as Citibank, HSBC, for they give you a better exchange rate than at the hotel or airport.

 

As a matter of fact whenever our guides do airport transfers they take our customers to these ATM machines so that they can exchange their currency prior to going to the hotel.

 

Um abraço,

[trilingual]

Whatever you do, DON'T exchange money outside Brazil, or only minimal amounts. You'll get dreadful rates abroad. (The only exceptions are neighboring countries like Argentina and Uruguay.)

 

The only times I'd recommend buying Brazilian currency outside Brazil are if you're going to be arriving on a Sunday or holiday or late at night. ATMs are open on weekends and holidays, but sometimes run out of money, especially on the Sunday of a looong weekend, or if it's early in the morning and they haven't been restocked yet. At night, many ATMs aren't open after 10:00 p.m. for security reasons. However, don't buy more than R$200 abroad. That will be more than enough to get you into town and take care of incidental expenses until you can get to an ATM to withdraw some real spending money!

[Guest Tomcal_]

>The best place to exchange money in Brasil are at the ATM

>machines that can be found in some international banks such as

>Citibank, HSBC, for they give you a better exchange rate than

>at the hotel or airport.

>

>As a matter of fact whenever our guides do airport transfers

>they take our customers to these ATM machines so that they can

>exchange their currency prior to going to the hotel.

>

>Um abraço,

 

How do you "exchange" Money at a ATM? You can use your card to get cash, but I am not aware of being able to put your American dollars in the machine and get Reals back?

Again, there is no fee at the booth at the airport.

[CarloRio]

Hallo Tom,

 

No, you don't put in your US$ notes and get back R$. You can withdraw directly from your bank at home and the exchange will be done automatically.

 

This way you don't have to carry with you lots of US$ notes... I think it's better and safer this way.

 

Um abraço,

[Guest PSJack]

We are here. Arrived Thursday afternoon about 1pm and got through immigration and customs fairly easy. Thank heaven for business class seating (and frequent flyer miles) because that was one long flight from Los Angeles to Washington, DC to Rio. Nice thing about business on the DC - Rio leg was that the seats almost recline 180 degrees plus they have a foot rest and leg rest that folds up so it is almost like a miniature bed. We were able to get some sleep. For all the talk about fingerprinting, etc at the airport, we were off the plane and through immigration and customs in less than twenty minutes. But that was because we were some of the first off the plane and the first in the immigration line. For those people in economy, the lines grew rather long and I would imagine they spent considerable more time clearing immigration. There were only 2 immigration booths open, and sometimes only one as they kept getting phone calls and leaving the booth. Also, they do have the fingerprint machines so no inky mess.

 

We wanted to exchange money at the airport but the bank was closed so we exchanged about $100 US at the American Express office. Not the best rate. Then we bought the prepaid taxi service, 60 reals, and off to our hotel.

 

We got to the hotel, Le Meridien and they tried to screw us over by putting us into a room that was not what we had reservations for. As soon as we got to the room I told the bellhop, turn around. We had confirmation for a deluxe room with both beach and Sugar Loaf views and the room they tried to give us was on the side of the hotel with a “glimpse” of the beach. So, downstairs we went and they assigned us another room. Somehow I knew we were still going to have a problem as they spent so much time trying to find a room in their computer. Well, up to the new room and it was only ocean view so downstairs I went again. This time it worked and we finally got what we confirmed but it was not very good faith on their part.

 

We had planned to be at the Meridien for four days and then move over to the Atlantico but, after this, we came over to see if we could get in early. We were not able to get in on Friday but they had space on Saturday so we made the move. Not the room we had confirmed here either but we knew that. We will be changing over on Monday. So, we are happy with where we are and really don’t miss seeing the ocean when we wake up. We are about 5 blocks from the beach but they are not long and really no big deal. Besides, the rooms here at the Atlantico are just as nice as Meridien and for a lot less money.

 

Friday around 5pm we went to the 202 sauna, it is about a 5 minute walk up Siguieria Campo from the Atlantico. They are usually open from around 3 till 11pm or so. We were kind of nervous as we had never even been into a bath house in the USA. Well, no matter how much you may read about our hear from people who have been here, you have to see it to believe it. I have never seen so many absolutely gorgeous men in one place in my life. And most of them were just wrapped in towels, few with small swim suits. And their bodies, WOW, no fat there and some with abs for days. And dick sizes, from big to huge. And they have absolutely no inhibitions to show them off. They will come and sit down with you and start playing with themselves and let you feel them, and if you show any willingness they really become very aggressive with you like playing with you, kissing, touching you. And all of this right out in the open with other people just sitting by. It is so strange to see one of them talking with one of their buddies in just regular conversation and stroking his dick in plain view. Talk about a kid in a candy store.

 

Checking in is no more than getting a key and off to the locker room where a towel boy will get you two towels and a pair of thongs for your feet. We tipped the boy 5 reals and then went of to the main room where the bar and large sitting room is. Ordered a drink from one of the waiters (did not have any money on us as all we had on was our towels but later went back to the locker and got money to tip him. We gave him 10 reals). and started checking out the boys. If you like one of them they get your locker number and go to the front desk and get a “cabine“, room, and up you go. And then whatever you have agreed to do with them takes place. The usual charge you will pay them is 50 real which equates to about $18.00 plus we were tipping them an additional 10 reals, $3.50. I will leave what happens up to your imaginations. Everything else is charged to your room from the entry fee to the rental of the cabines plus anything you eat or drink. It is pretty much standard that if one of the boys comes over and sits with you and spends anytime with you, you buy them a drink. But everything is so reasonable priced, it is not a problem. Just a for instance, if you go up to a cabine twice in a night, have 4-5 drinks (we drank water and coke) buy few rounds of drinks for the boys, the entire cost was around $35.00. That plus two trips to the cabins with the boys and you are looking about $70 for a night of much fun. As a footnote, the VISA service was not working on either Friday or Saturday so we had to pay in cash. Fortunately we had taken enough to do that so you may want to consider that when you go to the saunas.

 

And food prices here as so reasonable as well. For instance, after going to the Sauna on Saturday night we walked down to the beach to get a bite at one of the many, many restaurants. They all have outdoor seating so you can sit there and watch everybody go by, including more boys. Anyhow, we each had a small pizza, Lee mushroom and me ham, plus a coke and a bottle of beer for $6.12. And you know how I am, did not even need a coupon. Plus, while we were sitting there we got approached by 7 different boys. As we left the restaurant two of them started walking with us wanting us to bring them back to the hotel but we were dead tired so we passed. One of them spoke fairly good English and told us where we could find him the next day if we chose. Most of them speak no English but sex and money is always the universal language.

 

I am writing this to you Sunday morning. No saunas today. We are going to go to Ipanema beach today to get in some sun, also went to the beach at Cococabana on Friday, Ipanema is where they gays hang out although there are boys everywhere. Many of them are not gay though, several married and supporting their families or mom and dad. They think little about having sex with a man. I digress. So off to the beach and see what they day brings. Today they also close off the streets there and have a gigantic street fair.

 

Will update when I have more time and will include other tips as I think of them that will help any other first timers like ourselves. Plus feel free to ask any questions and will do my best to answer.

[trilingual]

Glad to hear you got settled at the Atlântico, although I'm sorry to hear about your hassles at the Meridien -- for what they charge, the service should be impeccable! But I do like their Sunday brunch! (Never stayed there, though.)

 

Love your description of the sauna; it's great to see them described through a first-timer's eyes! My only suggestion has to do with tipping (and I really hope this doesn't start a whole endless thread again): R$2 - 5 is fine for the towel boys, but customarily you leave the tip when you leave. (Especially if they've hung up your shirt/pants for you in the locked cabinets.) R$10 is way too much to tip the barman, unless he's done a lot for you. R$2 - 5 would be more in line, and again, when you're leaving, not after each drink!

 

R$10 - R$20 is a nice tip for one of the guys at the sauna, but it's not an automatic thing. It depends on how satisfied you were with them! Of course, if you're tipping following an overnight or multi-day encounter, you will need to tip more.

 

Anyway, after a couple more visits to the baths you'll get the hang of it all. Sounds like you're doing great! Have a wonderful stay, and please continue posting!

[Guest PSJack]

As I am writing this diary of our trip I will be interjecting items that we found helpful but are in really no sequence to the trip.

 

Language: Do take them time to learn Portuguese. Most Brazilians do not speak English, particularly the suana boys so you need to know some basics. However, you will find that in most major restaurants and hotels, they do have English speaking people. I would recommend that you get Pimsluer lessons, at least the introductory ones. You can get them on CD’s or cassettes. It is four CD’s with 8 lessons. You can order them directly; form Pimsluer, $19.95, or do as I did and search Google for companies that handle them, I paid $16.95. Problem is I did not get them soon enough and was not able to finish the lessons before our trip. I also recommend you get a English-English phrase book, can be quite useful. I will definitely study before our next trip down here later this year (As you can see, we will no longer be first timers J).

 

Hotel: We strongly recommend the Atlantico if ocean front is no problem for you. It is very conveniently located to everything and the prices are quite good. $170 real for room, $190 real for executive suite. Unless you just want a larger room with a large bathroom with tub, shower and hot suana, I would recommend the basic room. It was quite adequate for the two of us. The suites also only come with a double bed, no twin beds. The basic rooms come with one double, two twins, or three twins. They also have a front room, smaller which has a couch, table and chairs that closes off from the rest of the room. We found it of no use except to put our baggage and keep pool stuff in. Also, if you close the door to it, there is no air conditioning to it. Be aware that the room keys to the rooms are on a key tag and chain. The key tag must be inserted into a slot inside by the front door to turn the electricity on to the room. What we did was during the daytime we would turn the entire key in at the front desk when we left for the day but when we went out in the evening and night we would remove the key and leave the tag in the slot so the air conditioner would stay on.

 

Transportation: We have not used any other transportation yet except for cabs. They are everywhere and are quite inexpensive. A trip to Impanema was only $8 real and to the tram station for the Corcovado, $11 real. The buses do have the fares printed on the side at it seems the regular buses are $1.50 real and the air conditioned, $2 to 3 real. Since most of the cabdrivers do not speak English, and should you not speak Portuguese, as we did not, it is helpful to write down where you are going and an address to give them. We have also found them all to be very honest and the meter is set at $2.70 real when we started all of our trips. There is a slight surcharge added to the fares (I don’t know why that is) and it is on a chart that they either show you are in most cases is posted on one of the passenger windows. It usually adds about $1 to 2 real more. No reason to tip the drivers other than rounding up to the next real.

 

Restaurant: Chujinhas: As all previous messages on other threads, this is the place to go after the sauna. Everybody mentions this place but few tell how to find it. Very simple, if coming up Rue Sigueria Campo from Atlantico, go one block, turn right and go down one block on the corner (just across the street from a small park. If coming down from Atlantico on Rue Sigueria Campo, two blocks, take a left along side the park and down to the corner. (I try and keep things simple J.

 

Back to trip. We did go to Ipanema on Sunday, was a very busy day at the beach with what seemed to be like everyone who lives in Rio there. Lots of boys to look at. The street fair was also interesting with so many different items for sale. Hard to pass up buying some wonderful gifts to take home. Had a nice lunch at one of the many fine restaurants there and then back to the hotel to take a much needed rest. Later had dinner and went to bed fairly early, no sauna tonight.

 

Monday we had our daily continental breakfast at the hotel with plenty of selections of food items so absolutely no reason to eat breakfast anywhere else, especially when this is included in the cost of your room. We were going to change to the suite today but decided the room we were in already was perfect for us so no reason for the change.

 

After breakfast off we went to see the Corcovado. We took a cab to the tram station and bought our tickets. It is $60 real each for the roundtrip tram ride. Don’t let the taxi drivers there try to get you to take the cab up. The tram experience was nice and the longest we had to wait, either going up or down was less than 30 minutes. Arriving at the top we walked up several flights of stairs to the monument. You can also take the elevator and escalator but I think you will miss some of the views you will not see at the monument itself. Needless to say, the size of the monument itself is awesome, rising high into the air. There are plenty of places to take pictures so if one place is a bit crowded with people, just find a less crowded area.

 

We decided to have an afternoon snack at one of the many outdoor restaurants there and then took the tram back to the base, easily caught a cab and back to the hotel and another rest before heading out to the saunas again. We have found the best time to arrive is around 7pm. As has been stated previously, the going basic rate is $50 reals for a boy/man. As to paying more for other “services” rendered, I have already discovered it depends on the boy, what he likes to do, and how late in the evening it is getting. Being active myself, I always made sure that before going to the cabin, that the boy understood I expected him to be passive, or active and passive. That so far has never been a problem with any of the boys. Now to prices, I have paid as little as $60 (including $10 tip) and as much as $80 when the boy was exceptional. In all cases the boy perfumed as requested and all of them achieved organism as well. Still have 5 more days to go so that may change.

 

We then left the sauna and decided to go to Chujinhas for the first time. As we rounded the corner of Sigueria Campo we met a gentlemen from Lima, Peru who we asked to join us. We are very fortunate for that as he spoke Portuguese, English and Spanish so he became not only or unofficial interpreter, but a friend as well. We got an outside table, ordered drinks and food and then took in the ongoing parade of men. Yes, the sauna boys mostly all come down here from the sauna for one last try for a late hook up as well as many of the local boys. Just sitting and watching is an experience to itself.

 

Not much to report on Tuesday, we are already into the routine. Up in the morning for breakfast, little sightseeing and shopping in the early afternoon, snack, afternoon nap, back to the sauna, off to Chujinhas and then to bed around 1am. On Wednesday we are going to go to 117 and check it out.

[+ Axiom2001]

"...(As you can see, we will no longer be first timers, J.)"

 

Welcome to the camp!:9

[+ Axiom2001]

PSJack, your take was enjoyable; as a first timer you have acclimated yourself well! Congratulations! But, for other first timers, I'd like to state that the street fair to which PSJ alluded occurs, I think, almost every Sunday in Ipanema; it's called the Feira Hippie Ipanema (Hippie Fair). During two of my three visits to Rio, I've gone there and have found it to be worth one's while as well as being an interesting place; my friend and I managed to get some quality gifts at miniscule prices. This event also afforded a different ambiance in the city of the cariocas!

 

At Carnaval next month, the Atlantico Av from Copa to Ipanema will have vendors lined up for miles on both sides of the streets, all carrying a plethora of items-- quite exciting...

 

Taxis cost more after 5 or 6 pm during the week, weekends, and on holidays. Many drivers let you know upon getting in. The card system was used on me while I was in Sao Paulo, but it was never used when I was Rio for almost thirty days on my three occasions. I only write this because I think it is not the norm, but I might be wrong, for things could have changed since 2003 November. But to everyone-- take cabs that have a meter that is on and working! Don't worry about getting change from a fare because of the shortage of currency or coins sometimes.

 

----------------------------:-) I appreciated the advice you cited for future first timers. As they say: "It was all good!":-) I, as a third-timer would like to say that at the saunas, decide on the total price before entering any cabine. I did this at all times and refused to pay more if I wanted to have a complete session with a sauna boy/man! To me if he were able to have an orgasm, that was fine but without EXTRA compensation. I only encountered one guy at Club 117 who was so bent on raising the agreed to fee once we became involved; I did not yield! Once it was over, he was still smiling!:-)

 

Do go to POINT 202 which is up the street from your hotel; try to get a view of Christo the Redeemer from outside of the hotel; stand on the side of the street which has that mini- (juice) bar or look at it from at least 3 of the 4 corners. (While I word process this-- the visions of the hotel and its surroundings come into view...) Also, take a bus and go out to Barra Shopping Center; it's quite a distance via taxi; I took an air conditioned, plush bus. The trip provided phenomenal views of the residents, residential as wellk as business areas, a whole plethora of visuals...:-) :9 :-)

[goingtorio]

what does he mean by "perfumed as requested"??

[+ Axiom2001]

>what does he mean by "perfumed as requested"??

 

 

 

:-) To whom did you address this quote? Axiom

[trilingual]

I think he meant "performed" and not "perfumed!"

 

The taxi card system: Fares were increased on January 1st, but it takes time to recalibrate all the thousands of taxi meters. Until the meter is recalibrated for the new rates, the drivers have to use a conversion chart that shows what the correct fare is based on the old fare shown by the meter. If I recall correctly, the flag rate went from R$2.70 to R$3.30; I don't know what the difference is on the mileage and time rates. The card system is commonly used whenever there's a change in fares. It was also used universally during the hyper-inflationary years when rates changed daily! The taximeters showed a fixed number of units (like a trip that took 27 units) and a chart was used to convert the number of units to whatever the currency-of-the-month was. Those were the days when a ride could cost you hundreds or thousands of cruzeiros/cruzados/whatever!

 

After 8:00 or 9:00 p.m., on Sundays and holidays, drivers are allowed to use Rate 2 (shown by the number 2 on the taximeter) which is about 10% more than the normal, daytime Rate 1.

[grweyers]

With regards to paying for various Tours, do you only accept cash or do you now accept Credit Cards? (Visa, AX) I was also wondering if you are able to put prices next to the package's you offer on your site, as well as what you charge for transportation to and from the International Airport, both in Rio and Sao Paulo please.

Thanks alot, and enjoy the rest of the weekend.