Rio de Janeiro: Travel Tip

Rio is not known for being the safest city in the world. Due to this fact booking a hotel can be bit difficult. Ipanema is the upscale area of Rio, but hotels can be quite expensive - running $350 and more a night. Copacabana is the more famous area of Rio and cheaper than Ipanema, but still the "nicer" hotels are around $300 a night. One hotel I looked at was nice, but when I cross referenced on trip advisor one of the "tourist photos" showed a room overlooking Brazilian slums. I looked at countless hotels and read many articles trying to determine the best area to stay in, hotel recommendations, etc. In the end I decided to book an apartment. It was through an agency that was highly recommended based off of reviews I had read (which be aware, not all reviews should be taken at face value - some are created by the very place you are trying to book). This is also a great way to save money since it comes with a kitchen.  We are bringing some snacks, but there is also a grocery store across the street. This will save on breakfast and snacks throughout the day.  I'd much rather put my money towards a fabulous dinner. In addition the apartment has a washer/dryer, wifi, tv, and a doorman.

One tip about booking apartments, they want half of the money paid now via paypal and the other half (as well as a $500 refundable security deposit) paid upon arrival in cash.  This is not unique to apartments in Rio, I have some friends who booked apartments in Paris and Rome and they faced the exact same thing.  After talking with the (lovely) lady at the agency and explaining I was in no way comfortable carrying $1,000 in cash, she agreed I could pay the entire thing via paypal (including the security deposit which will then be refunded via paypal).  I was also able to ask them if they have any recommendations for restaurants and Samba shows - she was able to send me those and told me she would have additional recommendations upon our arrival.

I will make sure I give a full write up and if it was indeed a good find or if it felt like I was going to be taken at any moment and looking for Liam Neeson.