View from Classico Beach Club Urca cafe on Sugarloaf Mountain. Christ the Redeemer in the far top, right corner.
Brazil marked my 50th country to visit! And the best part, certainly for the sake of my marriage, was the fact work sent me. I say this because Brazil is on my husband’s bucket list and going there intentionally without him would put me in the dog house for a very long time. He’s very supportive of my traveling addiction despite not being able to travel with me so I was actually hesitant to go without him. With that said, who can tell their boss “no” to an international trip?
I departed Washington, D.C., (DCA) on a Saturday afternoon and had a late night connection in Miami (MIA). I was able to use my Priority Pass (PP) for dinner at the Corona Beach House in MIA. The PP restaurant also offered a small convenience store-like option so I was able to use the remaining allotted $28 that comes with a PP visit on snacks and bottled drinks. My plane departing DCA was delayed three hours. It’s times like this having access to the Admirals Club lounge pays off. I don’t like waiting in airports for hours at a time (even with lounge access), but when it comes to international travel involving connections, I book with delays in mind. I arrived in Rio de Janeiro Sunday morning just after 8am local time. I didn’t really have an issue with jet lag since Rio is just an hour ahead of D.C. and I slept on the plane during the overnight flight. There was nothing special about the plane ride itself to report.
There was on and off rain the first day in Rio so I wasn’t able to do much after I landed. The JW Marriott Hotel Rio de Janeiro didn’t have my room ready, but I was able to use its gym and other facilities. The gym was located on the roof and overlooked the beach. It was nice watching the rain come down and seeing the waves crash into the beach. Two coworkers landed the following morning and we spent time on Ipanema and Copacabana beaches. The last time I saw one of them was about a year ago in The Netherlands (future post). The weather was better on day two, but still had rain throughout the day. I did manage to jump in the ocean on the second day. The water was cold, but I don’t get an opportunity to play in the ocean often so I ignored the temperature. It was hard to think it was winter in Brazil and there I was swimming in the Atlantic Ocean.
Capacabana.
Tuesday and Wednesday were spent working. At this point, the group of three of us turned into about 20. On Wednesday night the group went to Assador (Portuguese for Barbecue) for dinner. I had a full bottle of wine to myself and more food than I ever thought I could handle for only $67 USD. I highly recommend this restaurant if you find yourself in Rio and wanting a nice, non-vegetarian dinner. In addition to the food and service being excellent, the restaurant was away from tourists. We were done with the meetings by noon on Thursday and the majority of us went to Sugarloaf Mountain (Bondinho do Pão de Açúcar) that afternoon for lunch. It cost about 20 Brazilian Real (BRL) to take a taxi from the hotel to the entrance. The two best parts about that visit were the marmosets roaming around freely and the spectacular views of the city. There’s a cafe (Classico Beach Club Urca) on top of the mountain where you can sit and enjoy the view with drinks and food. For a tourist location, the food was good. The views were even better. The two worst parts about that visit was one of the guys in the group owned a selfie stick and was constantly asking for group selfies. Anyone who knows me knows I hate selfie sticks with a passion. To make matters worse, one selfie was never enough. Not even four photos. As more photos were taken, my smile started turning into frowns. At some point on a trip, you should just soak up the view and live in the moment. The other bad part was finding out the lens on my DSLR was broke, making my camera inoperable. I had to use my phone for all the photos, which as you can see, isn’t the best. I immediately bought a new lens when I returned home so I would be ready for my next trip.
Marmoset on Sugarloaf Mountain.
Friday was the official travel day to return home, but before everyone left for the airport, the group went to see Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor). I suggest getting there early (by 8:00am) to avoid the crowds. It was at this time I misplaced my work phone. I recall losing it between 7:30a and 9:00am. I either left it in the hotel lobby or it fell out of my pocket in the van on the way to see Christ the Redeemer. I have the worse luck with phones on trips. (There will be a story of how my husband lost my phone on our first international trip together forthcoming.) I spent most of Friday afternoon running around trying to locate it. Fortunately work were able to wipe it remotely. All the tourists pose with their arms held out in front of Christ the Redeemer, mimicking the statue. Please do not be one of those. Also, please respect others who want to take the same perfect photo and kindly wait your turn to take yours. At the same time, do not be one of those who wants 30 poses in front of the statue.
Christ the Redeemer.
I extended my stay for an additional three nights since it coincided with the Labor Day holiday weekend and I wanted to enjoy the beach some more. Fortunately, everyone else elected to return home. I enjoyed the company and making new friends, but I was really happy to see them go. That comes across harsh, but as I addressed in the About Me Q&A page, I prefer to travel with no more than one other person. Plus, with big groups, people get loud and that’s one thing I try not to be on vacations in general, especially abroad. I switched hotels since I didn’t want to pay the out of pocket price for three nights at the JW. I transferred to the Windsor California Hotel, which was directly next door. In fact, the hotels share a wall. One night at the JW was almost the same price for three nights at the Windsor California. I spent the rest of the Friday afternoon on the beach.
I wanted a good cardio workout on my trip so I decided to use Saturday as my day of walking/running and exploring other parts of Rio de Janeiro. I walked/jogged to the Selaron Steps (Escadaria Selaron) from the hotel and back. In all, my legs experienced about 14 miles/22.5 kilometers. I took an afternoon nap and walked along the promenade at sunset. There’s a market in Copacabana that comes to life after sunset where you can buy souvenirs (e.g., textiles made in Indonesia and key chains probably made in China). The souvenirs are about the same as the ones you can find along the promenade during the day. I spent all day Sunday soaking up the sun and people watching at Copacabana beach. It was really nice walking along the beach at sunset and watching the families pack up their belongings and all walk back to their homes on the other side of the promenade. What I didn’t like was the trash left behind. There were cleaning crews that spent the evening raking and picking up trash, but I have no doubt that more than half of the trash got washed away during high tide. I always try to pick up more trash than I make and wish others would do the same.
Selaron Steps.
Monday was my last day. I had a 2:00pm checkout, but didn’t have to be at the airport until 6:00pm so I stored my bags with the concierge and used the hotel’s pool/bar area to relax. I didn’t really want to spend another day in the sun, but the National Museum of Brazil, which I had intended to visit, caught fire the night before. Windsor California Hotel didn’t have a private shower room to get ready for the airport and although the lounges at the airport have them, there is never a guarantee you can use them due to unexpected wait lists. I recall from my stay at the JW that there was a private men’s and women’s shower/locker room on the roof of the JW by the pool so I walked over, took the elevator to the rooftop area, walked passed the spa attendant, and used the private shower. The rooftop is the only floor you don’t need a room key to access once you’re in the elevator. In fact, your JW room key only accesses the floor you’re staying on. Everyone has to insert their key and select their respective floor when getting in, rather than using one key and selecting all floors. Perhaps the staff recognized me and failed to realize I checked out days before. Or, no one cared? It reminded me when I was a kid and my cousins and I would sneak into pools at apartments/motels to swim. A win for not being escorted out. I then walked back to my hotel, and had the front desk order me a private car to take me to the airport.
I felt my time in Rio was too long. Had it not been for work, I would recommend no more than four days there. There are other things to do like taking a day trip to the rain forest, Buzios, or other beaches and cities, but I wanted to leave some tourist attractions for my next visit with my husband.
Tips:
Upon exiting customs and Duty Free at the Rio de Janeiro airport (GIG), many people will ask you if you need a ride/taxi. Some might be legit, but I suggest continuing to walk through the crowd and exit outside to the official taxi stand (yellow cabs with red license plates). I believe there is a minimum flat rate of 130 BRL to take you to Copacabana. It might vary on number of people and bags. If you’re staying at the Windsor California Hotel, email in advance to request a private car. They offer one to the airport for 130 BRL, so they might offer pickup service. Other hotels charge a lot more and taxis are the best option in that case. Uber exists in Rio de Janeiro, but speaking with locals, taxis are sometimes cheaper and quicker.
Several types of electrical plugs are used in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro uses the 3-prong Type N plug. Hotels usually have USB ports in the alarm clock and elsewhere in the room. Some even have multi-functional outlets on the walls. For those who don’t travel often, hate having clutter at home, and want to save a few dollars and not buy adapters, email/Facebook message the hotel for information on their outlet options and inquire if the front desk has adapters you can borrow during your visit.
Rio de Janeiro offers metro service and bike share. I didn’t use either. A coworker, who did use the bike share, suggested creating a profile in advance to save time. The online process is in English and the bikes are 5 BRL (approximately $1.34 USD) per hour.
There are several options to see Christ the Redeemer. The option we took was the shuttle vans offered by Parque Nacional da Tijuca (Copacabana-Corcovado) versus taking a taxi or riding the historic cog train. The ticket booth and vans are located one block from Copacabana Palace. This option will cost you 61 BRL (approximately $16.39 USD) and takes you all the way to the top and brings you back to Copacabana. Van service is continuous so you aren’t rushed once you’re dropped off.
When you visit Sugarloaf Mountain, use the self-check-in kiosks to save money and time in line. When the screen asks for passport number, type any number you can remember (e.g., phone number). You don’t need to use your passport number. They can reprint your ticket with the number you provide in the event you lose your ticket. A passport number IS NOT needed. You will need your ticket several times so it’s definitely possible to lose. It costs 99 BRL (approximately $26.50 USD).
Restrooms along the beach cost money so be sure to have change (2.50 BRL I think). Restaurants have restrooms for their patrons.
There are thieves on the beach so never leave your valuables unattended. If you are by yourself, bury your belongings in the sand and put your flip-flops or a corner of your towel over it so you know where to retrieve it.
Most restaurants add a 10% service charge, sometimes called gorjeta sugerida or consumo servico. No additional tipping is required. If you pay with credit card, the waitstaff will bring you the machine. NEVER let them take the card out of view as often is the custom is in the United States.
I highly recommend Windsor California Hotel compared to staying at the JW Marriott. The JW Marriott offered great service, but you’re paying for the brand at this particular property. Windsor California Hotel is directly next store and offered the same class of service, plus a glass of complimentary sparkling wine at check in, and has more of a modern, up to date feel than the JW. The Windsor California Hotel’s rooftop pool looks over the beach, whereas the JW rooftop pool does not; the bar does. Three nights at the Windsor California Hotel was about the same price for one night at the JW Marriott. If you choose to stay at the JW, request a room that does not have an adjoining door to another room. I had to request to be moved. The door between the walls is paper thin and you could hear telephone conversations as well as your neighbor’s television. It was not the result of loud neighbors. The downfall with the Windsor California Hotel is that it is not affiliated with a chain so you cannot earn hotel points. Of course there are other hotel options.
There are two Priority Pass (PP) lounges at GIG for international departures. Avoid the first option (Premium Lounge), especially if you and your guest(s) have to pay for each visit. There is also an American Admirals Club that has finger foods and self serve drinks- standard to what you see in US airports. There are other airline clubs as well. The second PP lounge called Gool also services Delta, Air France, and KLM passengers. I think this one is the best out of the three I quickly visited. Lots of hot food and sandwiches to select. Also less crowded, at least when I was there, which is probably the result of passengers visiting the other lounges they came across first.
How I did it:
Work covered the cost of my round trip plane ticket, which earned me 10,164 AA miles. I flew economy, but because I have Gold status, I was able to upgrade to Main Cabin Extra.
Work reimbursed me for the five nights at the JW Marriott, which earned me 6,300 Marriott Rewards. I used my Chase Business Preferred Ink credit card to pay for my room. This earned me 3,424.71 Ultimate Rewards (UR) points. My Chase Sapphire Reserve also offers 3x URs, but I used the Business Preferred Ink since I was still working towards earning the minimum spend for the signup bonus.
I extended my stay for three additional nights since it coincided with Labor Day weekend. I paid out of pocket for these nights at the Windsor California Hotel. It’s not part of a hotel chain that I frequent so I booked through the BookAAhotels.com portal and earned 249 AA miles [+250 miles for meeting two activities by registering one of AA’s promotions called AAdvantage 5K Challenge for 5K miles]. Many people say this isn’t much, and I would agree; however, going through AA (or a similar portal) doesn’t cost anything and miles/points add up. I earned 837.02 UR points for this reservation by using my Chase Business Preferred Ink. From my understanding, you won’t earn elite hotel night credits or hotel points for your stay at the hotels booked through the AA portal so I personally only use this site and others like it as a last resort.