Info on the Rio Carnival?

Question

I'am going to the Rio Carnival next year!!! Could anyone give me any information regarding hotels i.e is it so busy i'll have to book a hotel/hostel outside of Rio. Also any information you think i should know before I go i.e good bars, shows, scenery, where not to go/stay etc..

I'm a backpacker with a budget so can't stay any where to extravagant!!!!

I'm going to do a skydive there as well so any info on tandem jumps in Rio would be helpful

Any Info would be great cheers!!

Answer 1

Hi, been 3 times to Rio but never to Carnival (have been to New Years though and it was great!) There are thousands of hotels ranging from cheap hostals (not recommended) to 5 star hotels. Carnival time is very expensive time, prices sometimes are up to 7 times the normal because authorities know that million of people go regardless of the price. I have stayed at Sheraton Leblon and then in Praia Ipanema. all the information I got was from a terrific web page called:

www.ipanema.com

There I found lots of hotels and different choices. A quite cheap one in Ipanema's beach is Best western Sol Ipanema (3 stars) Carnival in Rio is great but tickets to Sambodromo may be expensive too. However, if you have the chance to go to Bahia then do so as the real carnival (like a Mardi Gras thing on the streets) is there. In Rio you see the parades every night and its wonderful also but a bit more glamorous.

Begin your hotel search now, the first places to get filled are cheap hotels or hostela for backpackers. I also recommend you call a travel agency which may orient you and sometimes when you contact them through the web (american travel agencies) they can give you some info free of charge. Lonely Planet and Fodors online guides have a great section on cheap affordable places to stay but I repeat, be prepared to pay upto 7 times the normal price, even in cheap places.

About skydive and tandem jumps, I saw several on a nearby mountain in Barra de Tijuca (a little bit further from Leblon) and anyone will know about this, I didnt pay much attention when the guide was talking abou this as I wasnt going to do it, sorry.