Questions for first time visit to Brazil

[LurkerSpeaks]

I am seriously considering Sao Paulo for my next vacation in Sept or Oct. How are those months for a week-long vacation? I have never been to south america before, and this board has made me very curious and interested in visiting. I do have a few questions. For Sao Paulo, what are some of the more popular hotels to stay at which would be close to the gay action? For a week-long visit, would i be better off in a hotel, or one of the apartment type lodgings? I checked the FAQ section, but the info is not real current. Looking for nice, but not too expensive. Also, a question concerning guides. What is the going rate for a guide such as the ones mentioned in various threads? What kind of hours do the guides dedicate to you? Do they stay in your hotel room with you? I have read that the guides are not escorts and do not "play". What do they do while you are with the sauna boys or "entertaining" in your hotel room? Also, any new recommendations for cheap (it is relative after all) airfare from the Tucson/Phoenix area? I did an online search at orbitz, etc and found it to be around $1000 US, but using some of the "ethnic sites" listed in the faq section i found rates of around $800. Any and all advice/help you guys can give me will be appreciated. Bigguyinpasadena helped me immensely when i was planning my vacation to montreal. I hope to find another kind soul to help me with this next adventure.

[Guest dreynsol]

I'm sure you will find a lot of assistance from veterans here on the board.

 

Most of us have developed our love of Brazil through Rio, but I had heard a lot about Sao Paulo and decided to take my first trip there in a few weeks. I have flown into Sao Paulo en route to Rio, and it is a huge city. I would compare it to New York (only larger) versus Rio being compared to Miami. Rio is more tourist focused and Sao Paulo is more business focused. Please correct me if I'm wrong. :-)

 

I decided to stay at the Bourbon Hotel since it had been mentioned on the board as a convenient location, and in a gay area. The rate from Carlo was R$125 per night which is great even with the exchange rate the way it is. Personally, I wouldn't try to find an apartment unless you're staying more than a week.

 

Sept-Oct. will be their spring time and I'm sure the weather should be great.

 

As far as air fare goes, I would check out travelzoo.com, and their partner IntraTours. I had a preference for frequent flyer miles but they are advertising a special $479 rate out of Miami on TAM I believe. Sometimes, it's cheaper to book a cheap flight to Miami and then continue on with a Brazilian airline. I booked my flight through IntraTours, and their service was great.

 

Good luck, and I'll be posting my Sao Paulo experience in a few weeks.

 

Tchau,

- Drey

[trilingual]

Not much more to add. The information about São Paulo in the FAQ and in the other threads is pretty current. (Have you used the "search" function to find recent postings about SP?) São Paulo is huge and basically a financial and industrial center, rather than a tourist center. I'm not sure someone who doesn't speak Portuguese would find it a great place to hang out in for an entire week, unless they do some serious reading and planning beforehand. The saunas, restaurants and night life are excellent, but staying occupied during the day can take some effort. There are some fine museums, and if you're not going to Rio you could take a day trip down to Santos (on a weekday, when there's less traffic) to see the Copacabana-style beach and a more relaxed kind of city. Of course, you can do a trip to the various shopping malls (Iguatemi and Patio Higienópolis are two of the nicest) and tour the upscale residential areas (Jardins, Morumbi, Pinheiros) to see how the elite lives, etc. Otherwise you may find time weighing on your hands, because there's not as much to do, overall, in the daytime and São Paulo's attractions are much more spread out than Rio's.

 

For cheap fares, check the ethnic agencies or consolidators. From Tucson, the easiest connection is probably via American to Dallas, from which they fly non-stop to SP daily. $700- 800 sounds about right for a cheaper fare. As big airports go, Dallas is probably one of the easiest to handle, as they have the useful train system between gates and terminals which cuts down on the endless walking.

 

As for guides, some ARE escorts, as well, others aren't. You need to establish things in advance with the person you hire, and determine what you need. I'd strongly suggest contacting Carlo Romano to make your hotel reservations and to arrange a guide, if you haven't already contacted one yourself. Carlo can get you good rates at gay-friendly hotels. I don't believe the people he uses as guides also escort, but some of them are gay and can accompany you to the hot spots and act as intermediaries.

[+ Axiom2001]

Honey, almost everything that you asked has been answered in the FAQ section as well as in the plethora of threads that are located in the archives.

 

I was in Sao Paulo during the spring of 2003 and 2004; I used guides from Carlo's agency on both occasions. They didn't escort, (which was not my interest in my using them, but they could and did contact escorts from independent sites that I'd wanted to see.). If you desire company at the saunas, they could also have done this!

 

These guides primarily spent 4hr intervals with me, and I can't remember the rate I paid on each occasion.)

 

Independent guides/escort rates vary, depending on who contacts them and your desires.

 

In 2003 the weather in SAMPA was on the coolish side; I used a blanket at night since the room had no heater. Last year the weather varied (sunny to overcast to light rain) but never as cool as in the preceding year.

 

(October is a great time to visit since it's low season, and the apartmento hotel procured through Carlo was magnificient; since this is your first visit, I'd suggest you make your arrangements through Carlo since many of us are familiar with his expertise and service and what you're getting for your money.

If Carlo does a lot for you, feel free to give him a wonderful gratuity; I'm glad that he and his agency are available to offer us what we desire to enhance our experience in Brasil. Check out his website.)

[Big Daddy]

The best connection from Arizona is via Continental and Houston. I am returning on Wednesday to Rio. I leave at 3:15 PM from Phoenix, going to Houston. Arrive Houston 7:50, connecting to Flight 93, which departs for Sao Paulo and Rio at 9:05 PM. Go to Skyauction.com and you should be able to get a flight from Tucson or Phoenix for about $700. It will say major carrier, but in fact it is Continental.

 

Big Daddy

[LurkerSpeaks]

Thanks for the advice and help so far. In the opinion of you guys, would a first time visitor, non-portuguese speaker, be better off visiting Rio or Sao paolo?

 

after checking skyauction...would any of these rio hotels be convenient to the gay area? be gay friendly? Savoy Othon, Rio Othon Place, or the California Othon?

[trilingual]

From Tucson the following is available on American:

 

AA344 Tucson-Dallas 1:38pm 5:50pm

AA963 Dallas-São Paulo 7:45pm 7:52am (the next day)

 

AA962 São Paulo-Dallas 9:55pm 6:22am

AA1107 Dallas-Tucson 10:34am 10:52am

 

You can also take Continental, via Houston, as BigDaddy is doing. Times are similar. If you're not locked into either Continental or American's mileage programs, take the best price. There won't be much difference in service or amenities on the two airlines, if you're flying coach.

[trilingual]

>Thanks for the advice and help so far. In the opinion of you

>guys, would a first time visitor, non-portuguese speaker, be

>better off visiting Rio or Sao paolo?

>

>after checking skyauction...would any of these rio hotels be

>convenient to the gay area? be gay friendly? Savoy Othon, Rio

>Othon Place, or the California Othon?

 

For a first-time visitor I would definitely say Rio. It has all of the M4M attractions São Paulo has, plus the beach, stunning scenery and many interesting attractions. Depending on the amount of time you have, you could divide your time, with perhaps five nights in Rio and two or three nights in SP (they're only an hour apart by plane). That would give you a taste of both cities and a basis for deciding where you'd like to spend more time on your next trip (and unless you're one of a very small minority, there will definitely be a next trip once you've experienced Brazil).

 

The hotels you mention are convenient to the gay area (Copacabana) but may not be as gay-friendly as the two reasonably-priced favorites most people here use: the Atlântico Copacabana or the Royal Rio Palace. Their websites are listed elsewhere in this forum. Use the "search" function. (You're expected to do a LITTLE work yourself planning your trip.) Also, please consider seriously what we're saying and book through Carlo Romano. He can point you to gay-friendly hotels and get you favorable rates, and can also arrange gay guides for you, in both cities. Furthermore, if any problems come up during your stay you'll have him available to go to bat for you. If you reserve through sites like Skyauction you're on your own once you arrive and find that you've been put in a broomcloset!!! Who needs that on their first trip? You want to have a good time, not hassles in a strange country!

[LurkerSpeaks]

the skyauction flight definitely looks to be cheaper.. would it be ok (in ur valuable opinion) to book flight there on skyauction at around 700$, then go to carlo for hotel/guide, etc... Continental would definitely be a positive choice for me regarding miles... thanks to Bigguyinpasadena. i got quite a nice start with miles on NWA, and they are partnered with continental. Do u know, if u do the skyauction thing for air... can u still get miles?

[sf traveler]

Definitely go to Rio. Sao Paulo is fun but without any Portuguese and without a group of friends to hang out with, I'd say it'll be a long week. SF Traveler

[Alaska14k]

>the skyauction flight definitely looks to be cheaper.. would

>it be ok (in ur valuable opinion) to book flight there on

>skyauction at around 700$, then go to carlo for hotel/guide,

>etc... Continental would definitely be a positive choice for

>me regarding miles... thanks to Bigguyinpasadena. i got quite

>a nice start with miles on NWA, and they are partnered with

>continental. Do u know, if u do the skyauction thing for

>air... can u still get miles?

>

Read the SkyAuction fine print to make sure you get ff miles for your trip--they are not always allowed on that site.

I Have purchased,via bidding, Othon hotels before. The only one I would recommend is the Othon Palace, as the others are very basic and in need of refurbishing. At the Othon Palace I was able to have a guest with me to the room, as long as I meet them in the lobby--you are bidding on a double occupancy room. Beyond one guest, it is posted that there is an additional charge. On my first trip I stayed at the Atlantico, and will again--it is just tough to pass on those SkyAuction's bidding when you get the Othon Palace for $40 a night($32 base and $8 bid); and you are prepaid in US dollars!!!

HAve Fun

[trilingual]

I haven't used Skyauction. You need to read the fine print, as Alaska14 says. If you use a consolidator or an ethnic agency (which get their tickets from the same sources) ask what fare class your ticket will be booked in (there are many different discount fare classes identified by letters like Q, M, T, etc.) and then check with Continental to find out if they'll credit miles booked in that class. American will give you miles in almost all fare classes (the exceptions are posted on their site) but I don't know what Continental's rules are.

 

The Othon hotels are OK, but nothing special. I think I saw something in the Rio papers to the effect that they've been bought by a foreign chain, which means that they'll probably be refurbished and updated at some point, if I'm remembering accurately!

 

I definitely think booking your flight yourself (through Skyauction or another cheap ticket source) and then using Carlo to book your arrangements in Brazil is the way to go. You can talk with Carlo about airport transfers as well as hotels, guides and tours. However, getting from the airports to town is easy in Brazil, as long as you use the pre-paid radio cabs (Rio) or express bus services (São Paulo). You'll see their ticket booths as you exit Customs, and you can pay by credit card.

[catnip]

I got miles both times that I traveled to Brazil on Continental through skyauction. As for the fine print, look for the $95 or so for taxes etc., a surcharge for weekend travel and a surcharge for the city you are travelling from. For me, everything worked out well and I'd use them again (but now I have enough miles to get my next ticket free).

 

If you're going in the Fall, you have enough time to learn some Portuguese. Do yourself a favor and get the Pimsleur set - all three levels - and start right in. It will "be worth the pain," as the Brazilians say.

 

Tri is right, go to Rio first and read up on all the safety tips on the FAQ's. You'll have a great time!

[Mike_M]

Just returned from Rio this April with a trip I purchased through Skyauction.com. The third trip I've gone on with them, 1 to the Dominican Republic and 2 to Rio. I purchased the trip they offer regularly out of Miami on TAM. I got it for $251 plus $95 taxes and I think $10 or 15 service charge. I found TAM great - nice service. Just insist on night flights out of Rio. Getting to the airport for the 7:30am flight is something I'll never put myself through again. No problem with traffic, but a day at the beach lost. I live in New York and got a cheap RT to Ft Lauderdale and worked in a visit with my friend in Fla. I get along fine with Skyauction and find the savings worth the restrictions.

I don't care for Copacabana and stay in Catete. I bought the Pimsleur tapes the first time and get around ok. I feel safer in Catete. It's a residential neighborhood and doesn't attract all the opportunists that lurk around Copacabana looking to prey on tourists, and also has almost no tourists, so I get to feel a little bit more what it must feel like to be a Rio resident.

I personally don't feel the need or desire to bring boys back to my room. The saunas give me all I need. For me, a hotel just needs to be a safe, quiet and clean place to sleep. The Regina just around the corner from the Palace Museum and the Metro and one block from the beach (Flamingo - non swimming but great for walking and sunning) at about 80 - 120 Reais per night does the job for me.

Good luck on your trip. Read all the good advice here and definitly go with the Pimsleur tapes and if you have private instruction available in your area you will find it well worth the investment. The people and the music are so wonderful, whatever will help you to enhance your ability to get more deeply envolved will be appreciated afterwards.

[Guest Conway]

Lurker, I'm also planning my first trip. Here are some valuable internet resources regarding Rio that I found in addition to the wealth of information that the boys provided here:

 

Good:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/south_america/rio_de_janeiro/get.htm

 

Excellent:

 

http://ipanema.com/

 

OK:

 

http://www.gayres.com/specials.php?tabid=-1&City=Sao%20Paulo&EventID=31&indextab=0&hidetabs=0&tquery=YTozOntpOjA7aTo0O2k6MTtpOjQ7aToyO2k6MTt9

 

Good:

 

http://www.bitourism.com/city.asp?city_id=3