I love absolutely love traveling! There are very few things in life better than being able to take a road trip or hop on a plane to a new location with the intention of gaining new experiences. Food, culture, and language are some amongst some of the many things you will be exposed to and you are guaranteed to make memories that will last a lifetime.
A popular location for many to travel to next month is Brazil. You may be asking yourself, ‘why Brazil?’. Here’s why: The 2016 Summer Olympic games.
This year the games will be hosted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and with over 11,000 participants and over 5 million tickets sold for the events, let’s just say there will be a lot of people traveling to and around Rio in the coming weeks.
As always, you should do your research before traveling to any foreign country, especially those with a high rate of violence in cities such a Rio de Janeiro. With that being said, this in no way means that you will not be able to enjoy yourself and have a safe trip.
Here are a couple tips, specifically for women, regarding transportation and money while traveling solo during the Rio 2016.
Public Transportation:
Similar to many cities, public transportation is the most efficient way to travel around the city. However, travellers must be cautious when traveling during late evening hours. On weekdays, Sunday through Friday, the subway closes at midnight and on Saturdays the subway closes at 1a.m.
Should you opt to take the train or bus during evening or late night hours, be sure that you are not doing so alone. Although I have not heard of many incidences occurring regularly, you still want ensure you will get to and from your destinations safely.
When researching transportation options in Brazil, I learned that cabs are also a safe and efficient method to travel from point A to point B. The downside is that there may be a communication barrier between passengers and the driver unless you are well-versed in Portuguese. It might be helpful to write your destination on a piece of paper so you can show the driver where you would like to go.
Something else to you should be aware of is that very few cabs in Brazil accept payment in the form of debit or credit card so it would be ideal to have cash on hand and ask the driver for the rate of your ride prior to arriving at your destination. Apps like Uber are always great to have in situations like this when travelling.
Money:
Although many cabs will not accept debit or credit as form of payment, many -in fact almost every restaurant, hotel, or shop will. There is no need to have a huge wad of cash on you during trip.
Regardless of how much money or how many cards you are carrying, be sure that the bag you are holding them in is tightly secured and keep it in front of you, in your line of vision at all times. Try your best to remove money from your purse tactfully before and after making purchases.