Faremax: Travel Forums

I recently heard a commentator on the BBC speak of Rio as being out of the question as far as security for visitors.  He said something to the effect of the city having been largely taken over by gangs, with pockets of the area unable to even be visited by the police.  Does anyone have any background on this, would you travel there?

That is interesting, I never pictured that as being a gang oriented place.

I have a student who travels to Rio every summer to be with family.  She says Rio is dangerous and getting more so all the time.  The poverty and despair are like nothing you have ever seen.  From my experience, where you have poverty, you will have crime and drugs and gangs.  She says there are definitely parts of the city that you would never visit.

 

How bad is it then, when they have those major festivals in February?

A lot the the festivals are highly policed, with tons of tourists.

I too have heard pretty sad reports of Rio de Janeiro, and Brazil generally. The only people who really seem to be ok visiting there are people who have family and connections there. Otherwise, for tourists, I have heard that it is pretty dire, with a lot of crime and drugs.

It's probably one of those places that may be ok if you know the safe places to go, and understand which places, and what sort of people to avoid.

It sounds like it would be best to avoid the town, and travel out into the woods to pet the anacondas.

LOL, that might not be a bad idea at all crassus.  Sadly but I hear bad things about Rio as well.  Crime is out of control.

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"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." - Albert Einstein
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Wasn't Rio a hot tourist destination at point, especially for the wealthy? I wonder what happened. I'm not that familiar with Rio and its politics, but it is interesting to read this thread about how Rio has just gone down the drain, taking over by drugs and gangs. Hopefully that will change some day.

Yes, it used to be a hot destination but I doubt that it will ever be that way again.  It's just gotten too bad... so to answer the original question, no, I wouldn't travel there.  There are lovely places in Central and South America that I wouldn't have to fear for life and limb to visit.

I would still travel there, you always need to be smart about where you go though, and this is especially tru for Rio.  It is just like any other Central or South Amnerican tourist destination, stick to the tourist spots and keep out of the parts of the city where you would be threatened.    I hate going to places like Acapulco and Rio for those reasons, but that is not going to keep me away forever.