Solo Traveler

[wncdemcub]

Hello all,

I wanted to get people perceptions on solo traveling to Brazil. I normally travel with family or groups but am looking forward to traveling on my own for a change.

I am looking at Sao Paulo and Rio for 10 days in October.

Pitfalls to avoid? Things I shouldnt miss? (first time traveler) Guides to get a general tourist overview of the cities?

General observations would be helpful.

[mvan1]

Hello all,

I wanted to get people perceptions on solo traveling to Brazil. I normally travel with family or groups but am looking forward to traveling on my own for a change.

I am looking at Sao Paulo and Rio for 10 days in October.

Pitfalls to avoid? Things I shouldnt miss? (first time traveler) Guides to get a general tourist overview of the cities?

General observations would be helpful.

In response to your request, I offer my opinions in connection with “solo traveling” to Brazil.

Firstly, traveling alone or with someone is a personal decision that can turn out to be a good or bad decision.

Some people fear traveling to unfamiliar cities and the thought of visiting an unfamiliar city can be overwhelming, to many people.

On the other hand there are people who are adventurous and travel almost anywhere either with someone or alone.

During my first trip to Brazil and a few later trips to Brazil, I traveled with friends.

Unquestionably, traveling for the first time or first few trips with a travel partner builds a “comfort level” for being in Brazil.

Several times I mentioned that I traveled to Brazil many times. I recently completed my 123rd trip to Brazil. I will be returning to Brazil again in just a little over a couple of weeks. Obviously, based on my frequent trips to Brazil, I like it there. I also learned and know a lot about Brazil, first hand.

At the present time, I usually travel alone to Brazil. I stay in Brazil anywhere from ten days to one month each time I go there. My trips that last one month are only a couple of times each year.

When I began to travel “solo” I felt a little awkward but I quickly became comfortable traveling alone.

Of course there are benefits to traveling with friends. You have companionship and you are put on somewhat of a schedule to go to certain places at certain times. This makes good use of your limited time in Brazil and you benefit in sharing taxi fares.

Over time, you both learn locations and you both learn the metro system. You also both learn when to take a taxi or bus and you learn various ways to get around in Brazil.

At the same time, don’t lose sight of the fact that human nature makes us each have personal likes and dislikes. For example, I might want to visit places on certain days but a travel companion might want to visit a different place on that same day.

Another factor of traveling with someone is that you see the other person a lot. Sometimes, you see the other person too much. If you are both at the same hotel, you see the person at breakfast, lunch, dinner and at various places you both visit. At saunas, you might find that your travel companion is competitive and competes with you in connecting with particular garotos.

If a trip to Brazil is a short trip, it is common to see your travel companion repeatedly and every day. However, when you see the same person every day and visit the same places together, every day, sometimes people tire of each other. That is just the way life is.

I realize that just because I am comfortable doing a particular thing, or visiting certain places, does not mean that a travel companion will or should be comfortable with what satisfies me. A travel companion also has personal likes and dislikes.

During my many trips, I have had some great travel companions and I have had some absolute monsters. One travel companion insisted that I accompany him everywhere and at all times. This made that trip very stressful and being around him, unpleasant.

Over the years, I have become comfortable traveling solo around in Brazil. I developed a routine schedule that makes my visits to Brazil very satisfying to me.

Do some research. Write down addresses and names of places you want to see and/or visit. Find which metro and other transportation methods will take you where you want to go.

Bottom line: Don’t fear traveling solo.

Happy travels.

[Guest lurkerspeaks]

My first and most important question is do you speak Portuguese? the ability to speak Portuguese will make the trip much easier. Very little English is spoken in Rio. If you know Spanish, it can help a little with the language barrier, but remember, Spanish and Portuguese share certain similarities, but are two completely different languages.

[wncdemcub]

Well I am working to learn Portuguese. I have a friend who lives in Sao Paulo so I am not that apprehensive about language.

[Guest tomcal]

I would highly recommend one of the Translator apps available, my favorite is " iSpeak-Portuguese" on IPhone. Also sign up for Whatsapp, all the guys use it and makes it easy to communicate with any special guy you met there. Bouncing back and forth between the translator and whatsapp is easy so you can keep a conversation going.

I have gone many times alone, and many times with friends. Mvan1's comments are on the mark! sometimes it is great but if they want to do one thing or you another or they want to leave the sauna and you want to stay, or you want to eat at a Brazilian churrascaria and they want to go to McDonalds(that actually happened to me twice!) it can let to irritations and minor conflicts. I have two friends who I have traveled with a lot both in Brazil and Europe and we travel well together, but I have to admit I like doing my own thing. My friends and I made a agreement that if one of us wanted to leave to go to another sauna no problem we would meet at a prearranged restaurant at a certain time and no one gets upset if we do different thing or at different times from each other.

I do think a first trip is probably easier with someone else along but with all the info available on here you in all likelihood will not have any problems. A apartment or hotel near a metro/subway stop in Copa or Ipanema would make it easier to get around and all 3 saunas in Rio are close to the respective stations.

[Badboy81]

TRAVEL BY YOURSELF....Don't fear it...I have been all over the world by myself and often meet other travels and definitely meet locals when I am in said particular country. I have never had any issues in S. America, Asia, Europe or the Caribbean except one small bar fight that happened in Santo Domingo and I quickly got outta dodge

I do think you need to know some Portuguese to help with your trip....Stay in tourist friendly areas but venture out and about....In both Rio and Sao Paulo there are areas that you want to avoid so do some research...

The benefits of traveling by yourself is you get to do what you want to do...when you want to do it and for however long you want to do it....If you enjoy spending time by yourself, you can travel by yourself....

Have an amazing trip

[axiom2001]

I've traveled to Brasil primilarly solo as well as with friends. When I've been solo in Sao Paulo, I've had gay tour guides for the cultural scene but have done the saunas solo. Once I was with a good friend of mine in that vast city, and we did both scenes together, for traveling with him is simple; he's quite easy going.

He and I did Buenos Aires together as well, twice although I've been there five times. When he did not want to do culture, I did, but with a certified gay guide. I, fortunately, have two contacts there.

But, in my future travels, I am taking an electronic translator that has a "voice" component if I have not, by that time, procured an iphone or the like. Currently, I do not own one.

Lastly, I've done the "hop on hop off" tours in the various cities; that's helped tremendously in one's taking in the major cultural attributes. In line with the preceding, I've gone on tours with http://www.viator.com. They were great in both Berlin and in Barcelona and apparently in other areas as well. ...have a cousin who used their services while she traveled in Rome and other parts of Italy.

[Guest tomcal]

"...I am looking at Sao Paulo and Rio for 10 days in October.
Pitfalls to avoid? Things I shouldnt miss..."

sorry, you asked about things you shouldn't miss for a first time traveler and I didn't mention anything. Things I really enjoyed on my first trip were

1) the 3.5 hr jeep rain forest tour of the Tijunca rain forest that surrounds Rio. Well worth it, get views and vistas, you will see some wildlife. They will pick you up at your hotel. They have a morning and afternoon tour. do the morning one!! I think it's 8:30 to Noon, it's really hot in the jeep on the afternoon tour and you are in a open air jeep with the sun beating down!

2) Do the gondola ride up to Sugarloaf(Pão de Açúcar), great views,don't miss walking the back trail/steps after you get off the gondola at the second stop there are marmoset monkeys climbing all around and it is less crowded. Go in early morning, 9:00, on a clear day, beautiful...

as is

3) a visit to Christ the Redemeer statue although I have to admit the road up there makes me a little nervous! lol

4) It goes without saying spend time at the beaches, either Copacabana or Ipanema, you can walk between both. The views at the Gay beach in Ipanema can be almost as breathtaking!

As great as the above are..i have always found the sights at the saunas even more impressive!