Sao Paolo v. Río de Janeiro ... Newbie

[brockmiller]

Planning a trip to Brazil on August 29 - September 10. This is the first time I am going to Brazil in a non professional role and as an adult with nothing but pleasure on my mind. Do you wise owls have an opinion as to whether Rio is the best place to get my feet wet compared to Sao Paolo? Does it really matter where I go as a slutty noob?

[Tomcal]

Short answer No! :-).  but i would pick Rio as it is more a vacation destination then São Paulo imho.  Think of São Paulo as a much bigger NYC and Rio as a bigger Miami! plus you have 4 saunas all relitively close to each other in Rio!  Either way you are bound to have a good time!

[Badboy81]

Exactly what he said...

If you like beaches, sun, saunas and a cheaper experience...RIO

If you like museums,  tons of traffic, a huge metropolis....Sao Paulo...

Both have tons of hot guys around...both have saunas...both have metros, uber and taxis so getting around is not an issue

SP is more experience to me than Rio..

[likeohmygod]

I'd agree with Badboy...but i have always found SP cheaper than Rio. 

Since this is your first time as a tourist, stick to Rio. 

I don't like SP... Looks like NYC with shittier traffic jams, nothing to see (considering its huge size) and the least welcoming people of Brazil. The only sauna worth to visit in there will only keep you busy for 3 days (wed-fri-sat) per week. 

[pauleiro]

I will be in SP for 10 days beginning of November. 

What can be done during daytime in SP ? In Rio, there is the beach, etc. but in SP ? Maybe I should spend the week ends in SP and go during the weekdays to Rio ? 

Has anyone on this forum experience with ABC Bailao ? From friends in Brazil,  I understand it is a friendly and very hot place where it is easy to pick up younger guys genuinely  liking coroas (older gentlemen) and I definitely want to discover the place. ABC mean Amigos Bailao Comigo (friends dancing with me). It is the same principle as La Cueva in Rio de Janeiro, but much much bigger. 

Any suggestion of hotel in SP ? 

Thanks ! 

 

 

[axiom2001]

As a first time visitor to Brazil, I would select Rio de janeiro to be introduced to all things previously mentioned.  It has a much more welcoming beat based on size and its overall ambience. 

Although I enjoyed my visits to Sao Paulo, I did not take that leap until after visiting Rio, one of my most favorite cities, first.

Others have alluded to size: I have always felt it much easier to navigate in Rio than in Sao Paulo.  Again, while in Rio, I never hesitated to take public transit (buses primarily) and the underground/subway occasionally.  Since SAMPA is so, so friggin' huge in area as well as in population-- I stuck with taxis which, to me, were expensive because of the distances that I traveled.

 

[Badboy81]

23 hours ago, Badboy81 said:

Exactly what he said...

If you like beaches, sun, saunas and a cheaper experience...RIO

If you like museums,  tons of traffic, a huge metropolis....Sao Paulo...

Both have tons of hot guys around...both have saunas...both have metros, uber and taxis so getting around is not an issue

SP is more experience to me than Rio..

I meant to say SP is more expensive....

[Badboy81]

6 hours ago, likeohmygod said:

but i have always found SP cheaper than Rio. 

SP cheaper...what are you doing in the city that makes it cheaper than Rio?

Hotels, restaurants, boys...etc. tend to be more expensive in SP...

[mvan1]

On 7/30/2018 at 3:33 PM, brockmiller said:

Planning a trip to Brazil on August 29 - September 10. This is the first time I am going to Brazil in a non professional role and as an adult with nothing but pleasure on my mind. Do you wise owls have an opinion as to whether Rio is the best place to get my feet wet compared to Sao Paolo? Does it really matter where I go as a slutty noob?

Too bad you are visiting for such a short period (12 or 13 days) which is barely time to fully experience Rio. 

I assume that you already bought your airplane ticket.  If not, you can purchase a ticket that will take you either into Rio or Sao Paulo and you can leave from either Rio or Sao Paulo.   Getting between the two cities is easy.  

Depending on your likes, you can have a splendid time in one or both cities.  

If you are going to Brazil solely for sex (pleasure on your mind), Rio is fine and will be sufficient for your intended purpose.  

On the other hand, if you are visiting Brazil for sex and sightseeing (sightseeing can be pleasurable), you most likely want to include Sao Paulo in your itinerary, if possible.  

In Sao Paulo, you have the famous Lagoa sauna which rarely disappoints. 

You also have many tourist things you can do in the city.  

Don't forget to have your Uber working to use while in Brazil.  

Have a great time, whatever you decide.  

 

[mvan1]

11 hours ago, pauleiro said:

 

Has anyone on this forum experience with ABC Bailao ? From friends in Brazil,  I understand it is a friendly and very hot place where it is easy to pick up younger guys genuinely  liking coroas (older gentlemen) and I definitely want to discover the place. ABC mean Amigos Bailao Comigo (friends dancing with me).

 

I once went to that facility with friends.   It is located in Centro - 

It is fine for many people, but not for me. 

What I found there were guys who like older guys.  However, either the guys were effeminate twinks or they were too old for me to find attractive. 

I do not regret going there if only for the experience.

If you like twinks and older guys for dancing (or more) than, by all means, try the place - you might like it.  

[Badboy81]

17 hours ago, mvan1 said:

Too bad you are visiting for such a short period (12 or 13 days)

12-13 days is considered a short time?

Maybe for somebody retired...

I go to Rio for long weekends...Wed to Sunday 5-6 times a year and my longest trip is right after Christmas going into New Years and thats long for me...

What does one do for 12-13 days anywhere when work is not included?  Asking for future reference...

[Tomcal]

55 minutes ago, Badboy81 said:

12-13 days is considered a short time?

Maybe for somebody retired...

 

What does one do for 12-13 days anywhere when work is not included?  Asking for future reference...

Speaking for myself only...playing house with Brasilerios! :-)

[Gotti]

I also think Sao Paulo is cheaper in general, with the exception of Lagoa boys. Hotels is hard to figure out because location is as important as the hotel itself and is impossible to compare the location of such two dissimilar cities. Food is definitely cheaper in Sao Paulo, even a soda you pay more in Rio, subway is also cheaper in Sao Paulo, although not by much. Yes, the Lagoa boys costs more, but the quality is also better.

[Latindude]

17 minutes ago, Gotti said:

Yes, the Lagoa boys costs more, but the quality is also better.

Well, I used to think like that, but I am chaging my mind... I just visited Lagoa today and it was a total disappointment, few boys and none that I liked, it was the same last time I visited.... at 117 in Rio I never leave with empty hands (or with my pocket still full lol). 

I am a very proud Paulista, but I if you are looking for the sauna scene my recommendation is Rio. 

[Gotti]

Yeah, I have also left Lagoa disappointed occasionally, and I did post it here, it just happens that the disappointment occurred more often at 117 than at Lagoa. If only I was just not such a picky bastard...

[Gotti]

I should add that for a first visit, Rio is certainly an absolute must, the scenery (as a big city) can't hardly be beaten by anywhere on earth, but sex-wise, after spending so much money in such long trip a stop in Sao Paulo would make sense, since would not add substantially more expense and could be sexually more fulfilling, depending on personal taste and luck to a certain extent.

[mvan1]

4 hours ago, Badboy81 said:

Maybe for somebody retired...

I go to Rio for long weekends...Wed to Sunday 5-6 times a year and my longest trip is right after Christmas going into New Years and thats long for me...

What does one do for 12-13 days anywhere when work is not included?  Asking for future reference...

"Maybe for somebody retired" - - - - or for someone who has enough money to travel when and where they want for as long as they want.  

You said that you go to Rio for long weekends.  I believe you formerly said you live in Atlanta.  Delta Airlines has non stop flights to Rio from Atlanta.   So, for you, it is a simple "long week end" trip - non stop Atlanta to Rio is only about eight hours.  Not so bad.   

Others are not so fortunate to have a relatively short non stop flight to Brazil.  Many others live on the west coast or in the mid west  and their journey is often twenty hours or more each way.  When one travels that many hours on a plane, a "long weekend" is often not sufficient.  It depends on the person, of course.  

"What does one do for 12 - 13 days? " It depends on one's interests. 

There are lots of things to do both during the day and night in Brazil.  Like I said, it depends on one's interests.  

I notice that time goes by in a blink while I am in Brazil. 

[mvan1]

2 hours ago, Gotti said:

I also think Sao Paulo is cheaper in general, with the exception of Lagoa boys. Hotels is hard to figure out because location is as important as the hotel itself and is impossible to compare the location of such two dissimilar cities. Food is definitely cheaper in Sao Paulo, even a soda you pay more in Rio, subway is also cheaper in Sao Paulo, although not by much. Yes, the Lagoa boys costs more, but the quality is also better.

Accurate observations - 

[mvan1]

2 hours ago, Latindude said:

Well, I used to think like that, but I am chaging my mind... I just visited Lagoa today and it was a total disappointment, few boys and none that I liked, it was the same last time I visited.... at 117 in Rio I never leave with empty hands (or with my pocket still full lol). 

I am a very proud Paulista, but I if you are looking for the sauna scene my recommendation is Rio. 

You forgot to mention that it was raining heavily in Sao Paulo today and tonight which kept clients and garotos away from Lagoa.  

You just happen to catch bad weather.  

Rain and cold often have an enormous negative affect on clients and garotos going out to the saunas.  

If you go again when it is not raining or cold, you will most likely have a great time at Lagoa.  

[SolaceSoul]

On 8/2/2018 at 12:11 AM, mvan1 said:

"Maybe for somebody retired" - - - - or for someone who has enough money to travel when and where they want for as long as they want.  

You said that you go to Rio for long weekends.  I believe you formerly said you live in Atlanta.  Delta Airlines has non stop flights to Rio from Atlanta.   So, for you, it is a simple "long week end" trip - non stop Atlanta to Rio is only about eight hours.  Not so bad.   

Others are not so fortunate to have a relatively short non stop flight to Brazil.  Many others live on the west coast or in the mid west  and their journey is often twenty hours or more each way.  When one travels that many hours on a plane, a "long weekend" is often not sufficient.  It depends on the person, of course.  

"What does one do for 12 - 13 days? " It depends on one's interests. 

There are lots of things to do both during the day and night in Brazil.  Like I said, it depends on one's interests.  

I notice that time goes by in a blink while I am in Brazil. 

I now live in Atlanta but my office is still based in Manhattan. Although I sure wouldn't mind being retired, alas, I’m not even semi-retired yet. But like you, mvan, I am established enough in my field of work and high enough on the hierarchal organizational chain to NOT have to request a few days off here and there and just settle for long weekend visits to our getaway place of choice. Also, in 2018, many of us can and do work or communicate with the office or clients remotely from anywhere in the world with just a high-speed internet connection.  For some, it may be hard to understand that some people who are not fully retired are able to live like this — maybe that’s because that’s all they know. Personally, I didn’t make all of these gains and sacrifices just to wait until retirement age to have the kind of time off from the office that anyone in Europe would get.

My first trip to Brazil was not Rio, not São Paulo — but Salvador da Bahia. And it was for nine days.

What did I do for 9 days in Salvador? Any fucking thing I wanted! And sometimes, I chose to do nothing — which was exhilarating in its own sense.

Even my friends who would join me from other parts of the USA wouldn’t stay any shorter than 6-7 days. 

i have never done a trip to Brazil that was less than that 9-day trip. My longest thus far has been 5 weeks. For me, anythibg ij Braxil is just not a weekend type of a trip. Maybe it’s another YMMV topic, or maybe it’s just a socioeconomic issue or issue of money, but if there are people who do fly to Brazil to do short stays in Rio, São Paulo, Salvador or any other Brazilian city,  they certainly are not in my circle. 

 

[pauleiro]

For my November trip, I will spend the first week end in Sao Paulo discovering the boys in Lagoa and going to ABC Bailao hopefully with a BF to be found in specialized sites where boys look for coroas (older gentlemen). I met many BF this way. All boys I met this way had a very good level of education (ie one was studying to become a lawyer and is now lawyer in Rio, another is going to be soon a surgeon, another one is working as Project Manager for an international consulting firm ...). All of them were going to La Cueva (or ABC Bailao in SP). It is a very different relationship than with GP : they genuinely like coroas and it is so pleasant to be loved genuinely by a 25/30 years old guy, of course no money is involved. And since they have a good level of education, conversation is much more interesting than with most GP. 

I will spend the weekdays in Rio. I decided not to go to Porto Alegre since there is not much to be done during the day and during weekdays, sauna Mezzaninu is sometimes very weak. Not sure it changed since there are not so many recent reports on POA (since Tomcal is no longer going there)

 

[Badboy81]

On 8/3/2018 at 8:48 AM, SolaceSoul said:

I now live in Atlanta but my office is still based in Manhattan. Although I sure wouldn't mind being retired, alas, I’m not even semi-retired yet. But like you, mvan, I am established enough in my field of work and high enough on the hierarchal organizational chain to NOT have to request a few days off here and there and just settle for long weekend visits to our getaway place of choice. Also, in 2018, many of us can and do work or communicate with the office or clients remotely from anywhere in the world with just a high-speed internet connection.  For some, it may be hard to understand that some people who are not fully retired are able to live like this — maybe that’s because that’s all they know. Personally, I didn’t make all of these gains and sacrifices just to wait until retirement age to have the kind of time off from the office that anyone in Europe would get.

My first trip to Brazil was not Rio, not São Paulo — but Salvador da Bahia. And it was for nine days.

What did I do for 9 days in Salvador? Any fucking thing I wanted! And sometimes, I chose to do nothing — which was exhilarating in its own sense.

Even my friends who would join me from other parts of the USA wouldn’t stay or y any shorter than 6-7 days. 

i have never done a trip to Brazil that was less than that 9-day trip. My longest thus far has been 5 weeks. For me, anythibg ij Braxil is just not a weekend type of a trip. Maybe it’s another YMMV topic, or maybe it’s just a socioeconomic issue or issue of money, but if there are people who do fly to Brazil to do short stays in Rio, São Paulo, Salvador or any other Brazilian city,  they certainly are not in my circle. 

 

Regardless of working in an office or from home...I, since I made it personal, chose not to go anywhere for 5 weeks or 9-10 days...Just not how I chose to travel...

To all the retired, semi retired, independently wealthy or those like me who work in an office and remotely....DO YOU...You have earned it and can do whatever it is you want to do with YOUR money

My question was what does one do when they do go on hoecation for 12-13 days or 5 weeks...

I get bored with being a tourist after a certain amount of time regardless if it is Rio or Europe or Africa or any of the other places that I travel to...

Some people take one long trip a year, others take 3-4....Some people pay with credit cards while others use buddy passes or companion passes...Do what works for you...

Congrats to all the people who can afford to travel and experience life and haven't let their pasts make them bitter or mean or petty....I am clear on the demographics of most of the gents in this forum which is why I asked what does one do with such long trips...

Everything is not a knock or negative...

[Badboy81]

On 8/3/2018 at 8:48 AM, SolaceSoul said:

I am established enough in my field of work and high enough on the hierarchal organizational chain to NOT have to request a few days off here and there and just settle for long weekend visits to our getaway place of choice.

Good for you....Living as long as you have and being as established in your career that you are high enough NOT to have to have to request days is a blessing...

Congrats again

[Tomcal]

i was lucky enough that before i started my own company(2010) i worked for a large multinational company that required i fly 1 to 3 flights a week! which got me exec. plat. status quickly on AA! in the 90’s airlines charged much less if you had a saturday layover vs returning home on Friday! enough so that the company would pick up my hotel and airfare to weekend destinations because they saved $500.+ if i did that rather then fly back to SoCal. on Friday! since our company was on the east coast i either spent the weekend in Miami or NYC!(sometimes Montreal) this was from 1994 to 2010.  From 2001 to 2010 i also did Business European trips which introduced me to London’s/Paris’/Barcelona’s scene!  Also i discovered Rio in 2001 on a trip with my BF at the time...

[Alaskabear]

4 hours ago, Badboy81 said:

 

My question was what does one do when they do go on hoecation for 12-13 days or 5 weeks...

I get bored with being a tourist after a certain amount of time regardless if it is Rio or Europe or Africa or any of the other places that I travel to...

Some people take one long trip a year, others take 3-4....Some people pay with credit cards while others use buddy passes or companion passes...Do what works for you...

 

I’ve made it my goal in life to see as much of the globe as possible.  I’m generally on the road for three to four months a year.   This doesn’t mean I’m rich (by US standards).  I work in Alaska during the summer months in remote villages.  Housing and food is paid for, hours are long and overtime is great and it’s generally 5-6 months of nonstop work with no days off.   This leads to a really fantastic savings rate and being able to invest.   It also brings up the possibility of not having to maintain a typical settled life in a city with rent, bills, car, etc.    so, long ago I chose life on the road since I figured this type of opportunity doesn’t happen that often.  And I’m too far down the rabbit hole to go back to a typical lifestyle anyhow.  I did take a two year hiatus after 11 years living out of my backpack but I’ll be back on the road this winter again thankfully.   

So what do I do when I travel?   I don’t treat it as a “vacation”.  It’s more just regular life.   Trying to be as frugal as possible.   Hoeing around as cheaply as possible (being late thirties I’m for sure getting to the edge of the free hookups with this body let me tell you....).   I sometimes settle into a city for a month to be a regular person just wandering around, reading books, taking photos.  Sometimes indulge in touristic things.  Other times just enjoying the street life and local guys.    That’s actually the biggest drive for me. Meeting a few incredible guys to befriend, and hopefully hook up with.   Those have by far been my best experiences.   And since my time isn’t constricted I don’t feel the sting of missing out.  Or the need to pack everything in before I have to go back to Alaska.    I spent a month in Havana a few years ago and had my daily routines.   I made incredible friends and I felt a lot more connected to that place than just passing through would bring.  

  This winter I’m planning New Orleans for New Years.  Then down to Mexico City for a week to meet up with old friends and explore more of that endless metropolis.   Then off to Cuba for a month.  I really want to spend a couple of weeks exploring eastern Cuba.    Then I’m heading to Colombia where I’ll probably spend a month in Medellin and possibly take Spanish lessons.    After that I want to be in Salvador Bahia for Carnival.    Ideally I would start my Brazil trip in Manaus and finish in Iguazu via the coastline all the way down.   Who knows what will happen though.   I’m open for it all.   

And I’m planning on reports from all these stops as well.