Customer Reviews

Rio for Partiers: The visual travel guide to Rio de Janeiro, 6th edition

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I really think you have to have traveled to a distant land where you do not speak the language and are confronted with dozens of opportunities and what to see and what to do to appreciate a good travel guide. Now, obviously I do not qualify as part of the target audience for Christiano Nogueira's "Rio for Partiers: The Twenty-Something's Guide to Rio de Janeiro," but I can certainly appreciate the way it follow Donald C. Bryant's dictum of adapting ideas to people and people to ideas. Nogueira, who has hosted dozens of Gringos throughout Rio, is aided and abetted in this effort by a team that includes those whose expertise extends to the subject of how to deal with Brazilian boys and Gay Rio. It is really clear that the 2004 edition of this book has been test driven around the blocks of Rio a few times. The claim on the back is that this is the first guide book to Rio designed by young people for young people, but being first is not as important as getting the promised job done.

Actually, figuring out if this is the book for you to take on your trip to Rio is fairly easy: just open up the front cover. There you will find a nice list of helpful sentences and words, dealing with emergency, night lift, numbers, time and tourist attraction. But you will also find a list of recommended dinner places that have agreed to honor a bonus of some sort, and a series of good (and bad) gestures that can not only held you communicate with the natives but save yourself from doing the wrong thing with your fingers.

"Rio for Partiers" is well organized, beginning with a key section that covers what to do before arriving with regards to what to bring (and what not to bring), how to get the discounts and bonuses (the cover claims you can save up to $487 by using this book, but be prepared that this could mean a one-time use of this book), and the "9 Rio Commandments" (e.g., don't argue with cops, don't try to drive). After that point the guide is split into three key sections devoted to daytime, dinner, and nighttime. You will also find a couple of pages devoted to what is happening each month of the year in Rio (it is not Carnivale time all year round you know).

For daytime the guide assumes you get up around 10 or 11 in the morning and gives you a choice of relaxing, sport, and cultural activities. If you want to blow over $100 there are pricey activities and the guide even has you covered for rainy days. The dinner guide has suggestions that cover the different styles of Brazilian cuisine, broken down into expensive, average, and inexpensive recommendations (often with color photographs to help give you a clue). There are four types of nightlife covered: clubbing, street party, live music, and relaxing. You will also find a pay guide on prices of street food, services, and taxi fares. In other words, the people who wrote this book know what you need to know, although I will refrain from commenting on the section devoted to dealing with Brazilian women (although I did find the four main types of Brazilian women to be interesting from the standpoint of comparative sociology).

This guide book is here to take care of you in Rio, which means not only reminding you to get flip flop sandals and after-sun lotion, but also "remedio para desarranjo" (anti-diarhea medicine) and "remedio para ressaca" (hangover medicine). It has suggestions for lunch and specific places to go for clubbing, live music, street parties, and just chilling. There are the alcoholic drinks you "must try," but there are also non alcoholic drinks listed as well. Before you head home there are also specific gift ideas not only for family, guy friends and lady friends, but for yourself as well.

If in the end you are still overwhelmed by the possibilities, the flap on the back cover gives you a digested version that lets you try a little of everything with nine days worth of recommendations. You will also find reference and emergency contact numbers whether you need a taxi, hospital, or to contact your consulate, so all the bases are once again covered. Time and time again you will come back to the idea that Nogueira and his team have your back (there is a website for you to e-mail complaints if you receive poor or unfair treatment from the hand-picked establishments). I would never survive being a partier in Rio, but I would certainly be comfortable going off to meet my fate with his guide in hand.

Cristiano Noguiera wrote this handy pocket-sized guide to Rio, one of the most exciting cities in the world, for young people, although a lot of the tips and information are also useful to older people such as myself. Clearly, this book is based on years of research, trial and error. You learn very early on that this is really a young person's book - it assumes that your day begins with a late breakfast at 10 or 11, because you've been clubbing into the small hours on the night before.

The book is well laid out, printed on high quality paper and filled with plenty of great photographs. There are several sections. Daytime activities are further divided into relaxation, tours, active sports and cultural. The food guide covers lunch and dinner with plenty of mouth-watering photographs. Sounds of Brazil tell you the various musical styles that you can expect to hear. Nighttime activities include chilling (a category that includes British and Irish pubs), clubs, street parties and live music.

There is plenty of advice - what to take with you, what not to take with you, a list of hotels and hostels, what transport to use and why, things you need to buy once you get there, what to do at the beach, which parts of the city to avoid, problems of street traders, pickpockets and other criminals, even advice on how to find a partner.

One of the many amusing - but useful - aspects of this book is the front cover flap, which illustrates eight hand signals, including one to ask for a beer.

There are plenty of street maps showing various bits of Rio but the scale is necessarily small. To avoid eyestrain, you may still want a separate larger scale street map. However, the maps in the book pinpoint various locations that you aren't likely to find on any normal street map.

The book also gives a website address to allow you to get all the latest information. Other website addresses, particularly of places that offer discounts, are also provided. So once you've got this book, you can do a lot of research on the internet without wasting time when you get there.

At first glance the price may seem high for a 148-page pocket-sized book, but it can be used to obtain discounts on sports, tours, nightlife, restaurants, hotels and hostels - these discounts will save you far more than the cost of the book. Instructions on how to get the discount and what conditions apply are also supplied.

This is a truly wonderful guide that should provide tourists with plenty of valuable advice.

I am about to head to Rio for the third time. The first time I spent nine days figuring out that I shouldn't have stayed in Copacabana. I wasted a lot of time and money learning this lesson. Before my second trip I decided to try this book instead of newer editions from the well-known publishers that I had tried on my first trip. What a great decision. Here is why Rio for Partiers outshines books from it's competitors:
1.) It is geared towards a younger demographic, but also provides information for the older demographic.
2.) More than a party guide, it also provides you with things to do on rainy days, where to eat, how do get around quickly and safely. Those going to Rio who aren't looking to party could greatly benefit from the book for it's non-party recommendations.
3.) If you are looking to party most nights, the book accurately tells you which destinations to choose each night depending on your mood. The best part, after speaking to many locals, is that I found that the book's recommendations did indeed put me in the most hip spots for each night. On a few occassions we tried our own luck only to find the places we ended up empty and boring. I was initially skeptical that the book might refer me to destinations where the publisher was receiving some sort of kickback from the club, but this was not the case. Every night we partied with the young, hip, and many times wealthiest of the Brazilian crowds. They were friendly and often jokingly asked us how we knew which club to come to each night since we kept accidently running into some of the same faces. They thought we had friends telling us what where to go, and they were right. Cris treats you like a friend and points you in the right direction. He even helped me with a shipping problem I had from the fulfillment house.

For someone who travels to Rio once a year on business I can't stress the importance of reading this book before you go. I'd also recommend picking up the first 30 lessons of Pimsleur Portuguese as you will need to speak the language at least somewhat, unlike most of Mexico where you will be catered to in English.

Bottom line: Buy this book before you book your hotel. Read it throughly and take it with you as you will refer to it at least ten times a day. This is the best travel book I have ever purchased.

I am not what you would call a party animal; even if I could be, I've never really known how. If and when I make it down to Rio, though, look out. With Rio For Partiers safely in hand, I will be both ready and prepared to live it up. Rio For Partiers is not your parents' travel guide; if you thought all travel guides are boring (hey, I thought so too), you haven't checked out this amazing guide book, written for young people by young people. Cristiano Nogueria and his team offer you the equivalent of a personal tour by one of Rio's own, telling you everything you need to know in order to safely enjoy your time in the city and leave happy knowing that you saw the real Rio and had the experience of a lifetime.

Rio For Partiers is filled with gorgeous color pictures, maps, directions, suggestions, and personal recommendations for the visiting tourist. Not only will you find out where to go, you'll learn when to get there and how to look and act once you arrive. The book is divided into a number of very useful sections. It starts with the basics: knowing what you need to bring with you, choosing the area of the city that fits your needs the best (in terms of nearby activities as well as safety), the "9 Rio Commandments," learning how to get from place to place, etc. Some parts of Rio can reportedly be on the dangerous side, so this basic information is essential in terms of formulating the perfect plan.

Next, the book covers the types of day-to-day tours available to the discerning traveler, accompanied by a suggested itinerary for a day spent in each locale. Among the sites I would especially want to see is the gigantic statue of Jesus standing high above the city. The book then takes you through all of the sports and athletic options available in Rio, and these including an amazing range of choices; you'll learn who offers the best scuba classes, where the best beaches for windsurfing are, etc. (and in a number of cases you get details all the way down to the "ask for Joe" variety). Even though you came to party, the book throws in some cultural recommendations, as well.

You'll have to eat, of course, and this book covers a wide gamut of Brazilian foods and recommended restaurants. You'll learn which foods to avoid, which ones you absolutely must try, and how much they cost; you'll even know which restaurants stand out among the rest for specific cuisine, ambience, and overall appeal. That of course leads you right into the night life of this happening town. The author describes all the different types of Brazilian music and tells you where you can find them - in many cases, you need to be at a certain place on a certain night at a certain time, and this book puts all of that pertinent information right at your fingertips. Live music, clubbing, street parties, or just plain chilling: it's all right here. The book even gives you a breakdown of the average age of the typical crowd and rates each one on approachability (thereby ensuring that swinging singles don't accidentally wind up in a crowd of couples). My favorite section of the book discusses the proper way of dealing with local men and women - here's some advice that can save you from embarrassment.

Along with all of this truly helpful information, you can also save a little money on your stay and activities, as a number of different merchants have teamed up with the folks behind Rio for Partiers to offer rebates and discounts to those carrying the vouchers this book contains. You would definitely want to carry this book with you - the front flap alone contains a helpful overview of choices, helpful words and numbers, as well as some gestures (both good and bad) you may feel compelled to employ on your own behalf at some point.

7 days, enough money to get there and back, and this book are all you need to have a week you won't forget in one of the world's most popular cities. While all the tourists around you still look lost as they begin their journeys home, you'll be ready to live this experience to the fullest degree possible within mere hours of your arrival. When you get home and friends start to ask you, "Did you do -?, you can interrupt them and say, "You'd better believe it. I didn't miss a thing, and I can't wait to go back."

I went to Rio last year with a friend. She brought two travel guides, and I brought two travel guides. We quickly ditched all the other travel guides, but carried Rio for Partiers around every day we were in Rio.

This book tells you about things only locals know and other travel guides don't teach you. It explains (with pictures) food you will find on the beach and in the street cafes, complete with an estimated cost. The book also explains hand signals commonly used in Rio (very helpful), includes popular phrases, a map, tells you what to pack, what to wear, where to eat, were to go on day trips, and so much more.

The friends we stayed with (Americans) had been living in Rio for several months and said the advice was dead on. They also learned a thing or two from the book. You don't have to be young, or a partier to love this book. If you're going to Rio, you need this book!

After going through the typical guide books of Lonely Planet, Frommers, etc...I stumbled across RFP. Hands down, this is the only book that trims off ALL the fat and really narrows things down to for the tourist that's looking to do what the locals do. Everything from dress to drinking, day trips to night trips, this book covers it all and is FULL of good pictures.

Rio For Partiers is one of SolCat Publishing Company's "For Partiers Travel Guides." A handy size to take in briefcase or purse, this guide is very easy to use, with scores of color photos of each place or event mentioned, good maps, and an excellent day-by-day tour itinerary so you can make best use of your time there. The little book even comes with a Portuguese For Travelers CD which is well done and most helpful. An unusual feature is pictures of the local foods you should try and of specific items to buy as souvenirs, as well as important hand signs to know so that you won't embarrass yourself by using what is an innocent gesture in your home country and may be obscene in Rio. As all guidebooks do, this includes suggested restaurants, bars, hotels, etc. but it also includes places YOU DO NOT want to go with warnings of what you might encounter. There are suggested activities for rain or shine and according to specific interests. If you are young, liberal, and adventurous, and open-minded this is an excellent travel guide. However, if you are easily offended or judgemental this is not for you, as some of the slang language and some of the acitivities outlined will not meet your approval.

When you read this book you feel like your own personal Brazilian friend is giving you the honest scoop on where to go and not just telling you about all the "cool" places that are filled with nothing but tourists like you. This book provides valuable information for both guys and girls, as each sex operates under different rules when in Brazil. I've traveled throughout Brazil many times, and the nuances of the social behaviors described in this guide are humorously very accurate, including its depiction of the local stereotypes.

This book understands what you're looking for as a partier, and it informs you on everything you need to know to satisfy your goals even before you look at the map to see where Brazil is. This book not only caters to the partying purist, but is also sensitive towards those seeking a cultural experience. Check out this guide, for it truly reminded me of the warmth of the Brazilian people.

Rio of Partiers is an amazing guide book written by people that love Rio and want to share it with friends. When you read this book you feel like you have been welcomed into the Carioca way of life and can immediately enjoy Rio as a local.

I have been coming to Rio for years and I share the love for the city but this guide has opened up Rio to me in a way that I never experienced before.

I recommend it highly and I have already purchased gift copies for several of my friends that I have suggested to visit Rio to enjoy the trip of a lifetime. Rio for Partiers is beyond just great information and pictures, it is fun to read and I actually laughed out loud while reading this on the beach.

I only have 2 requests to the authors. 1) change the name to "Enjoy Rio like a Carioca" since this book is useful for others beyond 20-something partiers (I am over 40) 2) Please write guidebooks like this for the other great cities of the world!

Bravo Cristiano!

Buy this book! (Even if you own an old copy of the guide you may wish to upgrade for your next trip since this newest edition is expanded greatly and even better.)

This book is excellent! It is the only tour guide you will need in Rio! Written by Rio Natives, it contains the best advice for your trip! I highly recommend this book to anyone going to Rio!
Not only is the information accurate and relative to the time period, but the author has included various contacts and special deals for all the activities you'd like to do in Rio. I definitely got my $$'s worth :)