Is Rio de Janeiro Safe? How to Stay Safe in Rio

Don’t walk around holding your phone

I know it is a pretty normal thing to do, sometimes you need to call someone, or check something on your phone like a map or something like that, but avoid playing with your phone on the streets.

Stealing phone from people on the street is the most common crime we have here. If you feel the need to check your phone, look for a shop, supermarket or mall to get in so you can check it.

Check here the safest countries in South America to visit.

Don’t wear jewelry/watches

Wearing jewelry or watches in the streets of Rio de Janeiro is a big NO. Don’t wear gold, gems, big watches, nothing valuable. To be honest, it is good to avoid accessories even if they are fake, after all, not everybody knows the difference between original and fake gold.

Crossbody bags

The best way to walk around Rio de Janeiro is bringing the less with you on the streets, so avoid walking around with your luggage, leave all the big bags at your hotel/hostels, try picking the smallest bag possible to use on the streets and only bring the essential, the rest you can leave with your luggage  at the place you are staying.

Crossbody bags are the best in this case, you won’t need to spend time worrying too much about your belonging knowing there are safe, tied to your body.

Wear discreet clothes

I recommend you not to walk around the city wearing brand clothes. Try to be discreet, wear basic color, simple clothes, don’t try to be fancy if you are not planning to lose your clothes in the middle of your trip.

Pick simple shoes, don’t take your Nike shoes for a walk there. It is fine if you are going for dinner or something, but definitely, don’t take your fancy clothes as a uniform for Rio.

Admire Largo da Lapa from a safe distance

Largo da Lapa is the place in Rio de Janeiro where you find that famous aqueduct. Really nice, from a certain distance.

Unfortunately, it is not a safe zone, on one side you will find nice pubs and many policemen on the street, you can definitely sit there and have some drink. But don’t get too far from the pubs’ area. It is a dangerous place where many thieves stay.

Take the van to climb Christ the Redeemer

There are two ways to climb the Cristo. First is by the stairs or ecologic trails, second is taking a van. Although it can sound fun to climb the hill by your own, it is not the safest way, unfortunately, there are many reports of people being robbed or abducted there, so in order to avoid it. Take the van.

There are many companies that offer the service to climb to the Christ the Redeemer, when I went there I took the tour by Corcovado Car Service.

Best Zones of Rio de Janeiro

The best zones in Rio are the South Zone and Central Zone, the South Zone is where you gonna find the best beaches like Ipanema, Copacabana, and Leblon. Neighborhoods like Flamengo, Botafogo, Urca are great for tourists as they are close to the main tourist attractions, these are the best areas to stay, in my opinion.

Rio de Janeiro’s downtown called Centro in Portuguese, as well as Lapa are also two other good neighborhoods to stay, however, they require more attention at night.

Both zones are relatively calm and safe part of the city, there are many hotels in both areas where you can stay. Not a reason to don’t have cautions though.

Neighborhoods to avoid

Of course, there are neighborhoods that you should avoid at max, although, most of them receive a lot of tourists every year.

Favela da Rocinha is one of them, this is probably the most famous slum in the world, and definitely not the safest area to walk around, however, tourists insist in going there for ‘tourism’ or for the sake of adventure.

They like to picture Rosinha as the safest favela in Rio, and for a while it really us, but it is still a favela and you never know when things will warm up. Zona Norte is another area you must pay attention, it is where you will find Maracana and the Samba Schools, however, there are many dangerous areas in this region and is better avoided especially at night.

Avoid going out after 7 pm or measure where you are going at night

I know it is inevitable to don’t go out at night sometimes, as we all have to have dinner, also there are some activities that are better to be done at night, etc.

But if you can avoid it, please do. During the night it tends to be more dangerous. If you do get out during the night, measure where you are going, and strongly consider taking a Uber.

Taking Ubers

In my opinion, this is the best way to visit Rio de Janeiro. Ubers are really cheap, as it is elsewhere in the world. Taxis tend to be quite expensive and sometimes they will try charging tourists more.

The good thing in taking a Uber is that different from buses they can avoid some areas and choose different ways to get to a specific place, as they know the city better than us tourists, and know very well what areas to avoid.

Renting a Car

If you have a big family or are looking for more comfort and independency, it is a good idea to rent a car. Taking Ubers or renting cars gives you the possibility to change routes that can’t be changed if you take the public transportations, tunnels for example, we want to avoid those (this will be our next topic, by the way).

To find the cheapest car renting, you can check DiscoverCars, the website that compares prices of car renting companies around to make sure you will get the best deal. You can save up to 70% this way!

In order to have a safe car trip around the city, it is important to have a good GPS installed, so you won’t get lost. However, it is always important to double check the route before starting the trip, if you are staying in a hotel, ask those who work there, if the route is safe of if they have any suggestions.

Avoid Tunnels

If you are driving around Rio de Janeiro or taking a Uber, you will prefer to avoid tunnels, as there are many cases of “arrastões”, where the thieves close the tunnels and rob every car inside it.

Normally the drivers already know this fact and try to avoid tunnels after a certain hour.

Avoid bringing valuable things to the beach

I know that going to the beach is about relaxing yourself, drinking some coconut water and free your mind from worries, but it is always good to take precautions to make sure you will really free your mind. Don’t bring valuable things like expensive gadgets to the beach, don’t bring a million dollars either.

Try to bring the essential. If you are in a group, why bringing everybody phones and cameras? Bring one or two instead.

Why bringing your whole wallet full of dollars? Bring a credit card for lunch perhaps and some few papers for water and ice cream. Also, don’t leave your belonging alone in the sand while everybody goes swimming.