Buenos Aires/Rio de Janeiro/Iguazu recommendations

[Grandpa's Spells]

Headed to B.A. and Rio, several days each, along with a couple days at Iguazu falls with my wife. Looking for recommendations on things to see/do. Suggestions?

[j-cubed]

I recommend not using their ATM, but exchanging money beforehand.

Recently went to Sao Paulo, and as I usually do when traveling in foreign countries, I went to the ATM at the airport to get some cash. The one I went to did not work, so I tried another, from a different bank, and got my money. About 4 days later my checking account was drained, by an ATM in Sao Paulo. Since I still had the card, best guess was that the ATM that did not work skimmed my info.

[Fat Cat]

I have never been to Argentina but Rio de Janeiro is fucking brilliant. Hands down, the most beautiful city in the world.

Definitely check out the Jardim Botanico in the old palace of Dom João VI, it's incredible if you love tropical flowers and other plants, and old Portuguese imperial architecture. The orchid collection has over 3,000 different specimens.


Also, a cool way to see the city is to hire a taxi driver; the prices used to be okay but they will be higher what with the World Cup and Olympics. Even so, it's probably still worth it. Corcovado, with Christo Redentor is a must even if cliche, it has an incredible view of the city.


The funicular to Pão de Açúcar is fun and beautiful:


The Tijuca National Park, which is an Atlantic rainforest with totally different types of vegetation and animals from an Amazonian rainforest is incredible, golden lion tamarinds, etc. As I recall, the highest level of biodiversity per acre on Earth.



Of course, walk down Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, take a stroll through Centro and the cool parks there with agoutis and other freaky animals running around. The old naval battery at Arpoador has to be seen to be believed.

You will have a good time.

[tough old man]

All the cool stuff FC suggested plus buy and carry a knife each, just in case.

[Fat Cat]

All the cool stuff FC suggested plus buy and carry a knife each, just in case.

Regarding safety, number one rule: don't go to Zona Norte.

Rule 2: Don't go to any favela, ever. Fuck all the tours and everything. It's not nice to go and view people like zoo animals; they don't want you there so don't go.

Rule 3: No gold, cell phones, expensive watches, etc.

Rule 4: Pay for everything with a credit card which you can dispute charges on. It's pretty much a 100% chance you will have some issue, like the ATM story. When I got back from Brazil I found out I had made large electronics purchases to be shipped to Amazonas. A call to VISA and "no problem".

Rule 5: Learn basic "obrigado" "bom dia" "desculpe/perdoa me, senhor" type language. Your wife should learn feminine equivalents. Basic respect goes a long way.

Rule 6: Don't be provoked, the provocation is an angle. One homeless dude fucks with you, you fight back, 15 dudes jump you and all your base are belong to them.

Rule 7: Stay away from the cops.

Those were my basic rules and I really had a great time. Young Brazilians usually speak English, it's very rare among older and poorer ones.

[Grandpa's Spells]

Thanks for the ideas. On the safety tips, #4 &#6 in particular. Interesting that in Europe gypsies, for example, don't seem to pull the provocation bit, even though there's often a group ready to get stabby.

[Grandpa's Spells]

Rule 4: Pay for everything with a credit card which you can dispute charges on. It's pretty much a 100% chance you will have some issue, like the ATM story. When I got back from Brazil I found out I had made large electronics purchases to be shipped to Amazonas. A call to VISA and "no problem".

This happened to both my credit cards. I think it happened in a diner frequented by locals that had two cc processing units at the counter. He got the further away one for my first card, said there was a problem, then ran the second. Needless to say, having multiple cards and never using a debit card is important.

Everybody drives like they're in The Bourne Identity, and sometimes they have the soccer game running on a tablet while they drive. Pretty funny once you're out of the car.

[Grandpa's Spells]

Btw, had no idea how tightly wealth in Brazil correlated with being white. Went to a fine dining place in Rio, and prices were equivalent to NYC or Chicago. The Tuesday night locals were uniformly white and loaded. Same with the crowd flying in from Miami.

I've been to BA before, but forgot how much of it makes Vermont look like Detroit. If you don't like minorities, you'll find a like-minded and homogeneous crowd in Buenos Aires.

[DrDonkeyLove]

Rule 4: Pay for everything with a credit card which you can dispute charges on. It's pretty much a 100% chance you will have some issue, like the ATM story. When I got back from Brazil I found out I had made large electronics purchases to be shipped to Amazonas. A call to VISA and "no problem".

This happened to both my credit cards. I think it happened in a diner frequented by locals that had two cc processing units at the counter. He got the further away one for my first card, said there was a problem, then ran the second. Needless to say, having multiple cards and never using a debit card is important.

Everybody drives like they're in The Bourne Identity, and sometimes they have the soccer game running on a tablet while they drive. Pretty funny once you're out of the car.

I'd recommend purchasing a credit monitoring service from one of your credit card companies or one of the credit agencies. I do this with my Discover card (Experian) and was recently notified that there have been new unauthorized requests for credit cards and bank accounts at banks where I have accounts. It's been approximately 10 credit cards and 2 bank account requests. These guys managed to learn my home address, SS#, and date of birth. If not for the heads up from Discover, some of these would have gone through. $9.99/mo. well spent.

This hasn't cost me any money yet but it's far and away the most annoying of my several identity theft experiences. I'm definitely a target of professionals who tried this same thing several years ago. I've gone from a "credit alert" where they have to notify me personally before approving any credit to a "credit freeze" where the ability to get new credit in my name is completely turned off - even to me - until I turn cancel the freeze.
FTC Identity Theft Consumer Information

Also get a verbal password for each of your credit card accounts to prevent someone with the specifics of your identity from burrowing into the accounts via a phone call to the credit card companies.

In all seriousness, stay on high alert.....for years.