Rio or Belize?

[Diamond_Hawk]

Hello all,

As we do here on PriceScope, I am looking for great value as well as terrific quality. So, in that spirit, my fiancee and I are deciding on a 5-day 'exotic' trip for a honeymoon in November and there are currently great sales going to two places we have always wanted to go. We are having trouble deciding which would be better. Do any of you have experience with Belize vs. Rio de Janeiro? If so, what are recommendations for the "must dos," the things to see, and the places to stay?

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Personally, I would skip Rio itself, other than a day for looking around. Drive down to Paraty and stay at one of the gorgeous B&B, look around the charming historical district, hire a boat to go to an isolated beach just for yourselves or find a good snorkeling spot.

 

[urseberry]

I can't speak to Rio, but I visited Belize in September of 2013 and found it to be a very relaxing and easy vacation. Everyone speaks English and the country is very small. My partner and I divided our time between the jungle and beach. During the first half, we stayed in the San Ignacio area at a jungle lodge, and for the second half, we stayed at a small hotel on Ambergris Caye. Due to unseasonably heavy rainfall, we couldn't do most of our planned jungle activities. Some of our favorite things we did get to do were visiting Mayan ruins and the Belize Iguana Project. I want to go back some day and tour a cacao (chocolate) farm.


Edited for wording.

 

[Diamond_Hawk]

Thank you both.

Wow urseberry- Beautiful pictures. How far is the trip to the Mayan ruins from the beach area?

 

[WinkHPD]

Se você quiser um intérprete, estou disponível ...

Wink

(If you want an interpreter I am available.)

I lived there for three years and LOVED Rio and the surrounding country very much. I spent time in Sao Paulo, I played on the Brasilian National Rugby team, I studied Jiu Jitsu with Carley Gracie, long before the Gracie family became known in the USA and I protected, proudly, the American Embassy in Rio as a Marine Security Guard. I even met my American wife there and started dating after breaking up with my Brasilian girlfriends.

It is a beautiful country with wonderful people and when her people are properly educated she will take her place as one of the worlds most prosperous and powerful countries. She has more natural riches than the USA but lacks a well educated population. If you love to dance she has Samba and if you love to eat, well you have seen me my friend, I obviously LOVE to eat. I ran ten to fifteen miles per day when I lived in Rio, just to maintain the weight required to stay in Rio as a Marine Security Guard.

My wife, Resa, and I were just talking earlier this evening about how we would like to go back yet again, for a fourth time together there, this time down in the South to see Iguassu Falls and perhaps sneak on down to Buenos Aires, Argentina to visit friends from there too.

Chile is also nice! Man, that time of year is Spring in South America and it can be so exciting to be there. I have not been to Belize, but if I were to find myself with another free few weeks I would love to travel there too. Seems that I am just too busy to leave for more than a couple of days any more, but wow, how much fun it would be to go back to Brasil again, and then tack a week on to go to Belize too...

Wink

 

[urseberry]

Thank you both.

Wow urseberry- Beautiful pictures. How far is the trip to the Mayan ruins from the beach area?

It depends on whether you have more money or more time. Ambergris Caye is an island. We got there by driving about two hours from San Ignacio to Belize City, then flying on a tiny prop plane for 20 min. The cheaper water taxi takes 75 minutes. If you have money to spare, it's possible to fly all the way from San Ignacio to San Pedro on Ambergris Caye.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

If either of you, Brian and Wink, make it to Rio, let me know. I would love to meet you!

(of course, this extends to any PSers in the area)

 

[telephone89]

I'm not sure if this is typical for other countries & brazil, but Brazil is a bitch to get into from Canada with their visa requirements aka rejections. Not only does it take forever (you also have to mail away your passport and hope it gets to the right place AND comes back), possibly have already booked your trip (so you're really screwed if you get rejected), and $$. I had friends do this, did everything to the T and got their visa rejected. They were able to go back to the company they booked with and adjust their trip to Peru, but still.

 

[boerumbiddy]

I had a recent experience in Belize and one of my good friends just got back from Rio. It depends on what you want. Excitement (perhaps too much)? Go to Rio. Relaxation and peace? Go to Belize.
My friend traveled with Brazilians who constantly warned her not to show her rings, not to go out alone, not even to admit she spoke English, etc., etc., etc. She LOVED the food and the music and and and but never felt comfortable.
In Belize, tourists are still something of a novelty, the people are poorish but not desperately poor, and most are very glad to see you indeed. There is some drug-related crime in the capital but the countryside is quiet. They are working hard to develop the industry of tourism and top high school students head for the business schools to study it. The ruins are fantastic, almost unbelievable. The vibe is laid back indeed. Even the "luxury" resorts seem reasonable. We were near San Ignacio in a resort called Ka'ana. They couldn't have been nicer.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I can't speak to Rio, but I visited Belize in September of 2013 and found it to be a very relaxing and easy vacation. Everyone speaks English and the country is very small. My partner and I divided our time between the jungle and beach. During the first half, we stayed in the San Ignacio area at a jungle lodge, and for the second half, we stayed at a small hotel on Ambergris Caye. Due to unseasonably heavy rainfall, we couldn't do most of our planned jungle activities. Some of our favorite things we did get to do were visiting Mayan ruins and the Belize Iguana Project. I want to go back some day and tour a cacao (chocolate) farm.


Edited for wording.

I suspect that Urseberry and I stayed at the same resorts (they're often packaged together). I went to Belize for my honeymoon in July 2008. I stayed at Chaa Creek in San Ignacio for the first half and then at the Victoria House Inn on Ambergris Caye for the second half. It was the perfect balance of adventure and luxury and I'd totally go again. I think the experience of Chaa Creek was likely the more authentic "Belize" than Ambergris Caye, which has more of a Caribbean vibe. But both were phenomenal resorts.

 

[WinkHPD]

If either of you, Brian and Wink, make it to Rio, let me know. I would love to meet you!

(of course, this extends to any PSers in the area)

I would love to, but it is not likely for at least another couple of years.

I do thank you for the invitation and will take you up on it if I make it.

Your accent is so perfect, I could not read that you were not a native born English speaker...

Wink

(Bad joke, feel free to ignore me...)

 

[Diamond_Hawk]

(Bad joke, feel free to ignore me...)

You made me chuckle ..

So we may be leaning Belize. Though Rio does sound exciting .

 

[WinkHPD]

(Bad joke, feel free to ignore me...)

You made me chuckle ..

So we may be leaning Belize. Though Rio does sound exciting .

Glad to be of service.

Perhaps Lady_Disdain would weigh in on the current danger status in Rio.

When I lived there it was perfectly safe for young Marines who were perhaps a little tougher than your average street thug, and none of my civilian American friends reported any problems either, although they did tell us to quit going to the dock areas as they were dangerous even for Brazilians. Being young, we did not pay any attention to them, nor did we actually believe them.

We were well known in the dock areas and the only problems I ever had there were when three drunken American sailors attempted to "jump" us in a bar. I was the smallest in the group of Marines at the table by about 30 pounds of rock hard muscle, none of us were fat back then. It was the only time in my life that I ever HAD to use my Jiu Jitsu, and unlike the movies, those fights are over very quickly. We picked their pockets to pay for all the drinks spilled and the broken table plus a nice tip for the bar owner and then we took the silly squids to their ship and turned them over to the MP's.

Next time we came in the bar owner bought us a round of drinks as a thank you for cleaning things up so quickly...

One thing I learned while studying Jiu Jitsu with Carley was that there are some super tough people in this world, and I am NOT one of them. I learned enough to defend myself, but never got cocky thinking I could ever be the boss bully.

Last couple of times Resa and I were in Brasil we went a lot of places other than Rio, but we did go back to Rio for a week a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. There were parts of town that we knew better than to go to, but there were plenty of places we could comfortably go to and we did. I have a fun story to tell when I accidentally wandered too close to a favela (slum) near Ipanema, but that is for another day.

Wink

P.S. Which ever way you go, I predict you will enjoy it.

 

[liaerfbv]

We went to a wedding in Placencia, Belize a few years ago and we did not enjoy our trip at all. The international airport was difficult to maneuver, travel within the country was impossible. I did not feel safe. I also found the beaches very overrated (though I live on the Florida gulf coast so I have high beach expectations).

 

[nala]

We just got back from a Caribbean cruise and one stop was Belize. We opted for the city tour and Alta Hun day trip. The city tour consisted of a trip around the small town. The tour guides pointed out the "nice" area and the not so nice area. They pointed out a casino as well. Then it was a good one-hour drive to the ruins and lots of rural areas, and sadly, I saw lots of trash along the way. We must have definitely missed the resort area and the nice beaches. We know that we could have opted for the cave tubing or zip lining, but we wanted to see the authentic side of Belize and it looks like we did--at least one half of it. I have no plans to ever visit again.

ETA: The beach options they offered consisted of a small island that according to the reviews, was 45 minutes from Belize and was too small for all the cruisers or Amber Guys (?) which required a small helicopter ride to get to. I guess the resorts don't open their beaches to the Cruisers and we didn't see any public beaches for swimming.

 

[Diamond_Hawk]

I have no plans to ever visit again.

This is not a good sign!

Wink or others - if we do 5 full days in Rio, what might you recommend as a 1 or 2 day side trip instead? 3 days in Rio and 2 days . . . . . . . ?

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Well, what kind of side trip would you like? As I mentioned before, Paraty is well worth a visit. If you would like something different, head up the mountains to Petropolis, a small town that was where the elite would go to avoid the sweltering summer heat and yellow fever in Rio. The scenery is spectacular and you can visit the Imperial Palace, as well. There is also a museum about Santos Dumond, the aviation pioneer and all around eccentric (the first wrist watch was made for him and is still sold today - the Cartier Santos).

You can head over to the other side of the bay to visit Niteroi, with the Nieyemer designed Museum of Modern Art and the best view of Rio (an old joke cariocas tell about what is good in Niteroi). Another day trip is Paqueta, an island inside the bay that has a very small town vibe, with a lot of old architecture and tree lined streets. There are no cars on island and you can walk around or rent a bike. Very peaceful!

If you would like a longer side trip, the historical villages of Minas Gerais are a good bet. They date back to the 18th century, when gold, diamond and gems were found in the region. The colonial baroque churches are covered in wood carvings and gold leaf - pretty impressive! - and you can learn a lot about the early history of Brazil, slavery, some of the earlier independence movement, etc. The scenery is also nice. If you have spare time, head over to Inhotim, a mixture of sculpture garden and tropical vegetation.

In Rio itself, there is a charming runner's trail around the base of the Sugar Loaf that is often overlooked. It is short (2kms, I think) and asphalted all the way. The view is just stunning. And, if you like, you can also go up Morro da Urca (the lower rock where the gondola stops first) on foot quite easily. You can have lunch in the Military Club just by the beach, overlooking the sea, for another stunning view.

The Pontal Museum is quite out of the way (in Recreio dos Bandeirantes) but their collection of folk art is well organized and well explained, featuring several very important folk artists. The Royal Portuguese Reading Cabinet is a jewel box of a building and my dream library! Another fun non beach outing is the Botanical Gardens, which merge with the Floresta da Tijuca (a huge urban tropical forest). Or, if you prefer, there are also several interesting historical sites, since Rio was the capital during the later colonial period, the imperial period and the Republic until Brasilia was built.

And how could I've forgotten the two jewelry museums! They are almost beside each other in Ipanema. One is run by H Stern and focuses more on jewelry making, including some glass windows into their workshop (so visit during working hours). The exit is through their flagship store and their salespeople were always quite nice to me, showing things that were obviously out of my price range (including a multi million ruby necklace that one insisted jeans-and-tshirt me try on!). The other is a gemstone collection owned by Amsterdam Sauer, with a good collection of tourmalines, aquas and other Brazilian stones (although quite poor on anything else - no spinels and their chrysoberyls were terrible).

If you go in November, you can probably go to samba school rehearsals but check if there is an organized visit. It may not be the best place to go own your own (although it is certainly doable).

Sorry for the somewhat stream of consciousness format. I was noting down ideas as they occurred to me.

 

[Diamond_Hawk]

Well, what kind of side trip would you like? As I mentioned before, Paraty is well worth a visit. If you would like something different, head up the mountains to Petropolis, a small town that was where the elite would go to avoid the sweltering summer heat and yellow fever in Rio. The scenery is spectacular and you can visit the Imperial Palace, as well. There is also a museum about Santos Dumond, the aviation pioneer and all around eccentric (the first wrist watch was made for him and is still sold today - the Cartier Santos).

You can head over to the other side of the bay to visit Niteroi, with the Nieyemer designed Museum of Modern Art and the best view of Rio (an old joke cariocas tell about what is good in Niteroi). Another day trip is Paqueta, an island inside the bay that has a very small town vibe, with a lot of old architecture and tree lined streets. There are no cars on island and you can walk around or rent a bike. Very peaceful!

If you would like a longer side trip, the historical villages of Minas Gerais are a good bet. They date back to the 18th century, when gold, diamond and gems were found in the region. The colonial baroque churches are covered in wood carvings and gold leaf - pretty impressive! - and you can learn a lot about the early history of Brazil, slavery, some of the earlier independence movement, etc. The scenery is also nice. If you have spare time, head over to Inhotim, a mixture of sculpture garden and tropical vegetation.

In Rio itself, there is a charming runner's trail around the base of the Sugar Loaf that is often overlooked. It is short (2kms, I think) and asphalted all the way. The view is just stunning. And, if you like, you can also go up Morro da Urca (the lower rock where the gondola stops first) on foot quite easily. You can have lunch in the Military Club just by the beach, overlooking the sea, for another stunning view.

The Pontal Museum is quite out of the way (in Recreio dos Bandeirantes) but their collection of folk art is well organized and well explained, featuring several very important folk artists. The Royal Portuguese Reading Cabinet is a jewel box of a building and my dream library! Another fun non beach outing is the Botanical Gardens, which merge with the Floresta da Tijuca (a huge urban tropical forest). Or, if you prefer, there are also several interesting historical sites, since Rio was the capital during the later colonial period, the imperial period and the Republic until Brasilia was built.

And how could I've forgotten the two jewelry museums! They are almost beside each other in Ipanema. One is run by H Stern and focuses more on jewelry making, including some glass windows into their workshop (so visit during working hours). The exit is through their flagship store and their salespeople were always quite nice to me, showing things that were obviously out of my price range (including a multi million ruby necklace that one insisted jeans-and-tshirt me try on!). The other is a gemstone collection owned by Amsterdam Sauer, with a good collection of tourmalines, aquas and other Brazilian stones (although quite poor on anything else - no spinels and their chrysoberyls were terrible).

If you go in November, you can probably go to samba school rehearsals but check if there is an organized visit. It may not be the best place to go own your own (although it is certainly doable).

Sorry for the somewhat stream of consciousness format. I was noting down ideas as they occurred to me.

What great information - thank you!