When I was making plans to visit Rio de Janeiro after my trip to Antarctica, I got lots of advice from fellow travelers: “Do not go there alone.” “You will get mugged.” “You could disappear.” “I have a friend who got robbed in the middle of a World Cup event.”
Yes, Rio has a legendary reputation for robberies and kidnappings in the most surprising locations, but that shouldn’t scare you away from this amazing place! Maximize your enjoyment of the Marvelous City with these useful crime fighting tools at your disposal:
- Make a Friend
- Leave Your Luggage
Most airports have a luggage storage facility of some kind, and since I was only in Rio for a day, I left my most expensive items in the lockers at Galeão International Airport, which meant I only had to keep track of one day pack while wandering Rio. Or, leave your stuff in a hotel safe and strip down to your skivvies like everyone else on the beaches! No pockets, nothing to pick! - Lock Your Backpack
Snatch-and-grab robberies are popular around the world, so make it as difficult as possible for a thief to grab your bag and disappear! I used a reinforced anti-theft backpack with locks, straps, and a slash-proof mesh to make sure I was not going to have anything snatched or grabbed! - Keep Your Documents Out of Sight
If you can help it, try to pay with cash as much as possible. Having a card means you have to take it out, use it, and restore it each time, which shows exactly where you’re keeping all of your valuables. The easiest way to keep them out of site is with a belt pouch that you can keep under your shirt. It may get sweaty and stinky, but it makes a pickpocket’s job far more difficult! - Customize Your Transportation
Unless you’re on a tour and all of your transportation is covered, I really liked using the Easy Taxi app, because all I had to do was stand on a corner, call a taxi, and hop right in. It’s a reliable app that vets its drivers, and since taxis are very affordable in Rio, it was worth the expense! - Be Careful in Crowded Areas
Crowds make great venues for robberies because of how easy it is for one person to disappear among many. It’s also much harder for police to track down someone who’s made off into a throng of hundreds of beachgoers! If you can’t leave your possessions in a safe place, be extra vigilant of them when you’re in a crowd! - Be Careful in Quiet Areas
If there’s no one around and you’re on your own, it’s still pretty easy to escape after stealing your stuff! This is especially true at night! Night has always been the friend of predators and thieves, so make sure you have trusted company with you if you’re ever going to wander after dark! - Hang with the Police
It serves the city’s best interest to keep their tourists safe, so there are clusters of police officers all along the beaches, especially in Ipanema! If you want to take photos with a nice camera or need to get something out of your bag without cover, do it when you’re close to one of these clusters. It would be mighty foolish to snatch something under the gaze of these assault rifle toting cops! - Look People in the Eye
I walked everywhere with a “Don’t Mug Me” glare on my face, but you don’t really have to glare at everyone on your trip to Rio. However, looking at folks shows that you know they are there, and it is so much easier to steal from someone who isn’t paying attention! Plus, like with a mountain lion, you could throw off a plan of attack and give yourself time to change course! - Learn Some Portuguese
I’m not going to lie; I struggled with Brazilian Portuguese, which has a very thick accent that phrasebooks just can’t convey! With that in mind, there are so many great resources online that will help you familiarize yourself with the language, even just by watching videos on YouTube. Learning a little Portuguese will help facilitate all of the previous points. Plus, it’s always a fun experience talking to locals in their own language!
I used the Couchsurfing app to reach out directly to peer-reviewed locals for advice and to ask if they wanted to join my adventure. Even though all the Cariocas I contacted were out of town that weekend, this worked really well for me when I visited Buenos Aires! The nice thing about Couchsurfing is that each person has already been reviewed by folks from all over the world!
With all this being said, I had a lovely time in Rio and did not once feel in danger, even while walking through the favela of Vidigal, but I was lucky on a lot of points! Be safe, be vigilant, and be sure to have a great time!