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

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.

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.