I thought a Rio de Janeiro thread would be one of the first started but I didn't see one so I thought I'd start one, as many of us will be passing through at one point during the World Cup. So far I've successfully booked accommodations in all my stops except Rio. After doing some research I've decided I want to stay in the Copacabana/Ipanema area. As these are two major tourist beach areas, there are tons of hotels, apartments, etc. But right now there is little to choose from and I've been looking at the official FIFA site daily, also booking.com, tripadvisor and other hotel sites. Airbnb has a bunch of places listed but mostly are extra rooms in someone's apartment, which is a fallback for me. Still a long way to go and I keep hearing that the unused blocked rooms will get released at some point. For information, the official FIFA Fan Fest will be on Copacabana Beach. Maracanã Stadium is located toward the east of Rio, about 5 km from downtown Rio and about 12 km north of Copacabana and Ipanema beaches. Maracanã Metro station is a stop on Line 2, so it seems like Metro is the best way to get from the beach to the stadium on game day. Anyway, I wanted to set this up as a place to share information and also plan some activities as June gets closer. Hopefully some locals or people who have been there before can share some useful info too. I'm looking forward to meeting some of you over a cold beer in Rio!
I'll be there as well for three days. Staying in Botafogo area. I know the Dutch squad will stay in Rio as well on the Ipenama beach. Would love to see them at one of their training sessions at Flamengo stadium nearby.
England are also in Rio...Hoping to get in a training look...hopefully the open some of these up to the public
Thanks for starting this. Headed down there after the last USA group game and hoping to check out the R16 match as well. Staying in Ipanema. Christ the Redeemer is on the list, what else should be?
Rio will be the place to be. I'm spending most of my first round stay there. As far as accommodations the prices range from $5,000 to $15,000 for a studio in Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon. Check out VRBO.com and homeaway.com I found those sites very helpful. I am lucky to be staying with a friend in Botafogo so I will save myself some money. If anyone wants to meet up for a beer at the fan fest add me on twitter or Facebook. If anyone has extra tix for the round of 16 game in Rio let me know I'll buy off the tix. So far I have tix for the France vs Ecuador game but I wouldn't mind going to more games at the Maracana.
My two sons and I will be in Rio from 6/21 - 6/27 with tickets to France-Ecudor and Belgium-Russia. Still don't have flights booked, but hotel/travel inside Rio is all done.
Those are the exact dates I will be in Rio, although I am probably taking a side trip up to Recife to watch USA/Germany. I don't have tickets to either France-Ecuador or Belgium-Russia, but I'll see what I can come up with after I arrive. I'm hoping it won't be too hard to score a single. I am still having a really hard time finding accommodation in Rio (Copacabana and Ipanema). I sent out a dozen inquiries yesterday and received one response today. I know there is still a lot of time, but it was so easy in the other cities where I am already booked.
My dad and I are traveling to Rio from June 17th - June 20th. We are booked at Casa Cool Beans near Ipanema Beach and are planning to attend the Spain v. Chile game although we still don't have tickets to the match yet.
Will be in RIO June 15-21. Will be staying in the barra tijuca area...$1600 for 2 bedroom Condo. 30 mins from Copa but I'll save a ton ! Hoping to get two 2 matches while we are there
I finally booked my accommodations in Rio. I easily spent 3x as much time on this one as I did for SP, Natal, and Salvador combined. I got a lot of help from locals and booked a private, studio apartment near the intersection of Rua Julio de Castilhos and Rua Raul Pompeia in that area that's sort of between Copacabana and Ipanema. I'm there June 21-27 and looking forward to 2 games at the Maracanã (hopefully) and the big parties in Copacabana and Ipanema.
I'm staying in Rio from 27th June - 14th July. We managed to find a nice looking 2 bedroom condo in Barra Tijuca for around £140 a night. Don't ask how we got it so cheap because I don't know but I'm not complaining. We're still yet to get tickets but we're hoping for tickets to any KO games at Rio, SP and BH. Any further information on what exactly this FIFA Fan Fest is please?
I'm assuming you googled it and read what is on the official FIFA site, Wikipedia, etc. But even if you did read what's out there the info is a bit limited. I read what I could find and I don't have a complete understanding of it either. There's a few articles on the official site, this one I think is the latest: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1614471/ Also if you google "FIFA Fan Fest" hit "Images". There are lots of photos from past Fan Fests that give an idea of the atmosphere and the massive crowds. I wasn't at any of them, so maybe somebody who was can give more insight on what they were like. It looks like it's a controlled access event, with a huge screen for everyone to watch. I assume you can buy alcohol and food inside (overpriced I'm sure), and probably souvenirs and stuff like that. I don't know if they charge admission. Since I'm right by the Rio one, I imagine I'll check it out for at least some of the games. My guess is that it'll be super crowded, and as its an official FIFA event, everything will be overpriced. If it's an ordeal getting in with long lines, hard to get a beer, ridiculous prices, not enough toilets, over crowding, etc., I'll probably spend my time in the bars. But if it's well run and the prices aren't ridiculous, it looks like a super fun atmosphere. FIFA has been doing them for the past few WCs, so I'm hoping they do a good job organizing them. I'll be in 4 cities and I plan to watch at least one game at each Fan Fest venue, more if they're well run and fun.
That's great, thanks. You're right - I had googled it but just couldn't find that much about it. I'm certain I'll go if the atmosphere is good and I can't imagine that'll be too much of a problem in Rio!
The Fan Fests are awesome for watching games. There is no charge to enter and pat downs at the entrance with a lot of security, so it's fun and relatively safe. The Fan Fest on Copacabana Beach in Rio on 6/12 for the opening match v Croatia will be very cool; the place to be in Rio for the opening match. It's a place where soccer heads gather and yes, the beer's expensive and food mediocre at best, but you meet people from all over the world. If you choose to carry on the party with your new mates after the game, roll into town and continue the good times. Huge screens, sometimes facing opposite directions to allow for 2x the amount of people watching, with pre-game "entertainment" on stage, music and electric in the air. That's a Fan Fest. Very, very cool.
Just booked a place in Rio from June 29-July 5th. Paid $75/night pp for this place: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...a-Rio_de_Janeiro_State_of_Rio_de_Janeiro.html Hope I can score a pair of tickets for the match on July 4th!
Sounds amazing! Hopefully will make up missing out on tickets! We're going to Rio for the party as well as the football!
I'll be in Rio for a week with my sons, we have tickets to the 2 games that are there, but fan fest sounds like a great way to watch other games!
Finally booked accommodation at copacabana - http://www.tripadvisor.in/Hotel_Rev...a-Rio_de_Janeiro_State_of_Rio_de_Janeiro.html costed 200Real pp in a 6 bed dorm.. Will be staying here from 27th to July 1st, and probably extend if I don't get the R16 Sao Paulo ticket..
I'm staying in Barra da Tijuca. Does anyone know how easy it is to travel from there to Copacabana beach?
Hugo, if the fanfest stays in Copa and if it is the same place it was in 2010, you are very close to it.