likeohmygod

One more thing...i believe it's advisable to check your "internet banking" and look for a function called "Foreign country policy" or similar. With my bank i have the possibility to limit/disable payments and or ATM withdrawals from individual countries. I use to turn it off as soon as i've withdrawed my cash money. I avoid to make POS (card) payments in stores or restaurants... I also strongly suggest you to look for a prepaid Mastercard debit card named "Revolut", which allows you to make payments at the interbank rate without additional fees, and that can be easily disabled/re-enabled and topped up by the smartphone app using any Mastercard/Visa Debit card in real time. I don't know how convenient it could be for US people, but for EUR users, it's really a great and safe solution; when paying by card...if they skim it...they won't get anything.

Sorry but I only believe to facts...I do not believe to invented things...it's simple since most of them are ridiculous and illogical. Like the one of stolen organs where the bad guys actually bother to do advanced surgery to let you live with just a portion of liver or just one kidney, to happily go back to your country. The organ thing, i repeat...is a fake which has been debunked not only by the interested countries, but also by Interpol investigations. And no...countries don't hide data because it would be just stupid. If they steal you a kidney, when you come back to your country, you'll report the thing to your government (by police or whatever) and there's no case report of the kind you've described. If someone is telling you that he knows a guy who knows a guy, who knows a guy, who woke up in a bathroom, covered by ice, with a missing kidney...is telling you a complete bullshit. There are real cases, but they involve people who were already ospitalized and that "thanks" to corrupted doctors and criminal organizations, instead of getting their appendicitis out, they also got a kidney out...or more frequently they involve organs stolen from dead people without the consent of their families. This happens not only in S.A. which despite what people think, accounts only for a small part of the cases...it happens mostly in China. When some people do stupid things which result in some sort of personal damage (economical/physical), they tend to exagerate the events, to decrease their share of "responsibility" in order to don't let people tell them how stupid they've been.

Aside from the thing that direcly happened to you @floridarob which is unfortunately possible to happen in South America, if you meet the wrong person. I think that the Lima thing is invented or very exaggerated). The guy would be dead and so it would his friend since the criminal gangs who are into this kind of business, don't buy victims from people who then would easily get tracked down by police. The organ thing is a fake, the stories of people waking up in ice and blood with a patchwork on their side are invented. I could believe it if he was waking up in a hospital, but this is not the case, and this kind of things usually doesn't happen in SA. Do not lower your guard when you are in S.A....but do not get paranoid because you would not enjoy the visit at all. (I was watching the pics of the guy the author of the topic was talking about...do not date people who have pics where you can see "bare bricks", unless you are in a safe environment, like a sauna...you don't want to meet people from favelas in your apartment...i won't even express myself about dating them at their home).

For how long do you think you need to keep this bullshit going on? Cause you know....this thread looks like it became a "I am better than you because [fill it with stupid/invented reasons or rethoric]" or "I need to fill up my ego" topic. Very useful for the community.

For those into translators; if i'm not wrong, there's an android app (not sure if it exists on Apple store....it should) called Bing Translator...it's the Microsoft alternative to Google Translator. There is a feature in this app (it needs internet connection) which splits the screen in 2 parts. On each side there's a set language and a microphone icon. When the speaker of one side talks, the translation will appear in the other side, and viceversa. This could be useful since it will increase the speed of the dialogue. I've found Bing to be more accurate with Portuguese than Google.

Just my opinion...but there's no point for me to hire a gp for the night if you cannot fuck 3/4 times and you cannot speak Portuguese. However there are people who just enjoy the fact of having a sexy guy in their own bed.

Mmmh tell us!

Christopher? Tony?

Yeah I've seen it. Probably nothing will happen since the Senate will probably change the law. The worst case scenario right now, it if pass the Chamber's version, is that the single municipalities will have to decide if and how to let Uber exist.

I mean the fun...Lapa is very fun at night...a lot of young people, samba, drinks.... @KevinC: It was the Royal Regency Palace, in Catete/Flamengo.

Lapa is close to 117 and i always felt safe...anyway i always pick Uber at night...no matter where i am. While i would book a hotel in Lapa...i would never get an apartment there. I would directly go to Gloria or Catete in that case.

1) Try to go at 117, at around 17:30. 2) Is the porn actor name....Fabrizio? 3) Be careful with the "companion" thing.

You can also print and fill it at home before leaving your country. http://www.pf.gov.br/servicos-pf/estrangeiro/cartao-de-entrada-e-saida/FORMULARIO-ENTRADA-SAIDA-Padrao-Confederacoes.pdf If nothing has changed, this should work. (Keep in mind that i don't need a visa to go to Brazil, so i don't know if it could be different for people from the US)

I've sent them an email, just to be sure. Until now, i've never had problems with of any kind in the hotels, since i've always paid for a double room.

Hi guys, on my next travel to Rio i will be booking a different hotel from the last one (if i don't decide to go for airbnb). I wanna stay near Lapa for 2 reasons...the movida at night, and the proximity to 117 and MM. I've noticed that there is a hotel in there named "Hotel Atlantico Business" which is part of the Rede Atlantico (the one which owns the Atlantico Copacabana). I've also noticed that they have plenty of hotels in Rio. (check their page: http://www.redeatlantico.com.br/) Do you know if they all have the same very open guest policy?

Well the diaspora is far from being facilitated by government...they're out of plastic for passports. I've been told that the government is actually able to provide around 250k passports, while the requests are now over 2.3 million. Yesterday there was a huge shooting during a demostration happening in the motorway, against Maduro.

Yeah, that's why i was asking if he was going for leisure. If it's just for fun, then my suggestion is to strongly avoid Venezuela. A lot of hot boys and huge things between their legs :D...but as you said, it's not worth it...too dangerous, and i'm not talking about getting robbed; that would be the best thing it could happen if something wrong is going to happen. If you're forced to go there (work for example)...abstain from seeking boys unless you can speak a good Spanish and/or you have a sort of personal guide. To answer your question @Darkseraphim: yes i did sample the "Made in Venezuela". I can say that the quality of what you can get, is at least the same of what you can get in Brazil or in Colombia (at least for my standards). Grindr is also full of hot guys (even if something is changing, probably a sort of migration to other apps), but i've never tried to meet someone from there. I've been strongly descouraged to do that, because of the risks of getting fucked up, in the bad way. I have a great friend from Caracas who traveled with me, and that introduced me to his friends, and the friends of their friends. That is how i have been able to safely enjoy the place...and the "local produce" :D. Of course I'm not saying that going to Caracas will automatically result in robbery, injuries and death. There are safe places, but cruising for sex, as a tourist, could be extremely dangerous compared to Brazil, depending on where you go and who you might find.

You wanna go there to have fun or you're going mainly for work? I have been there a few times. My last visit was in August 2016 for work, and in Caracas i was able to feel the danger. Some friends i have there are telling me that the situation is now even worse due to political turmoil which is feeding criminality even more. Do not go there if your Spanish is not good.

bobbalino with all the respect i can have, since you're a good person... the only thing that the new users of this forum should avoid are the contradictory, useless TLDR, egocentric and full of questionable info posts they can find on this forum. No one cares about lifetime experiences in a forum which is meant to give information to users seeking for fun in Latin America....Brazil in this case...possibly without having to waste money in a useless way or run risks or be identified as "Certified gringos". This forum I think is not a place for egoes and for bullshit. Everyone is free to live in wonderland. You don't/can't face the reality? Not my problem. To me it's just ridiculous. Remember new readers... most of the people here don't even know a word of Portuguese... and some of the advices you can find were unaccurate or wrong. If you are 1st timer follow the suggestions of people like Tomcal (and his "guest" alter-ego) or Badboy or TotallyOz. This is what i did (and a lot more people) and I had a lot of fun. As i said i managed to learn a good Portuguese before going to Brazil...that could help but it's really not necessary if you follow the usual base rules. Don't be hypocritical and respect the market. Do not lowball GPs. Going rate is around R$120. Do not overpay GPs just because they cost 40€ instead of the £400 they would cost in London. It's not fair, it will hurt the market, and especially in Brazil it will make you look like a complete idiot. GPs will not love you...don't trust about people who just need to feed their big egos. If you don't care about all of this and about the comments GPs and people will make about you when speaking at loud voice inside the sauna in a language that you don't know...feel free to do what you think it's right to do....it's not illegal of course, but it won't buy anything more than what you'd get by the standard rate. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gotti...my comparison with Cuba was just to describe a place full of hotties that now is just full of ugly people. Saunas are small and closed environments and are more influenced by what happens inside of them, than from what happens outside, until there are local customers able to pay rates compatible to their wages. That is why gringos are seen as another possible problem for sauna businesses. It's not the owners fault, it's progress. Do you really think that in the gayiest place of Earth there are no people with the money, the interest and the knowledge to run that kind of business? No...there are...but nobody is crazy enough to jump in something which is barely floating. Brazil is getting richer...so while the GPs are abandoning saunas for internet and/or for Europe/NA, there are less and less possible candidates to take the place of the people who are leaving. No one will seek for a sauna work when the cost/benefit will be comparable to the one you'd get by having a regular job...or social welfare. This is what happened in Czech Republic and in Hungary. There are nearly no hot BelAmi-kind guys (for pay) in there. Just average looking guys. And trust me (free to don't of course)...but tourists prefer internet...it is a huge fact...and you don't need to speak with an escort, you can check by yourself. Most of the tourist prefer to get their GPs in their hotel room (i am not saying that this is safer or better than a sauna). I've never had problems of this kind in the hotel where i was staying. They registered the GP and they called me to tell me he was waiting in the hall.

Sorry but you're completely missing the point, to say it in a polite way. I don't understand why you have to make things look complicated, when they are not. The whole pseudo-analysis about currencies has nothing to do with saunas which are a local market. You're very wrong if you think that garotos don't have "the capacity for broader perspective". You don't need a degree to understand that if gringos are stupid enough to pay much more than locals (and to get the exact same service, if not less)...they are the ones to go with. This is another reason why saunas are going to shut down as tomcal wrote in another thread. The local market is going to die because the locals won't be able to make it looking easily profitable anymore. No more locals, no more saunas. Internet is moving GPs out from saunas to apps like Grindr or away from Brazil (remember what happened in Cuba?). And "overpaying fools" are boosting this switch even because GPs in the internet know they can ask more money because their main target is going to be tourists. It's 2017...mass information. Garotos have friends around the world...they know how many tourists there are in Brazil, and they know how much these tourists pay in their homeland, and they know that tourists prefer internet dating. We, people on this forum, represent a painful minority for saunas owners. Everyone is free to do think and do whatever it wants to do. But please, no bullshit. I will not filter GPs thoughts, because i would lie. GPs will love you and will be interested in you until you pay them AND until you respect them. It is all a fake. There might be some rare exceptions but you're just the ATM from where they can withdraw cash money. Everyone is free to live in wonderland. I know at least 2 friends who overpay GPs....one from Europe and one from the US. Can someone tell me why, while they like to overpay GPs (R$250/300...which are around 80/90 EUR/USD), they get mad at the idea of tipping 1 penny to a NYC escort who asked them 400 USD or 200€ in Paris? I will tell you...because they have problems with their egos, and that's why GPs laugh behind them.

Lol...i wrote a, full thread about overpaying GPs. Is your friend crazy? This is not even something he will not enjoy, but it could even be dangerous. Inviting and overpaying a GP which you have met only once in your life, for a full week in a place you don't know where they speak a language that you don't know, to me, sounds like a recipee for a ruined week. The GP itself will get to a point where he will begin to feel embarassed due to the lack of a common language.

During my fun in the saunas i had the opportunity to speak with some garotos and some local customers (i can speak a kind of average portuguese and i tend to be confused as a local too). Sometime i read posts about people overpaying garotos... I don't want to talk about the problems that people may have with their ego, but please...DO NOT OVERPAY GAROTOS, especially in saunas. This is not only to preserve the business which depends on the locals and their spending capacity (quite low because of the crysis), but also for your own personal safety. 1) Garotos are in saunas to work, following saunas rules and standards. If you overpay them, you will not get a better service. If you lowball them you will get a bad service. Pay the standard going rate, or make a deal but do not try to get a rate lower than R$100 2) Garotos see you as living Mastercards. Overpay them and the only thing you'll get is FAKE INTEREST. A guy will stay with you for money, because it's working...a guy will stay with you for free, because he really likes you. You are the ATM, they are your toys. Period. 3) Acting like a gringo in a sauna and overpaying garotos will just make you look ridiculous, and trust me...garotos talk about customers. It's quite funny to see tourists who can't speak a work of portuguese, smiling when garotos at the table are making jokes about him in portuguese. You'll also get some weird looks from locals if you act stupid. Remember that respect in Brazil is extremely important. They're very welcoming but keep your egos for yourself. 4) Outside saunas, if you wanna hang out with a GP from Grindr....do not give them the idea that you have money to waste (the GP will make this link in his mind: Overpay->TONS OF MONEY). You'll increase the risk of getting mugged or worse. Remember that outside saunas, you have to expect everything.

NO @KevinC...you're talking about absolutely different things. The black kid grabbing a handbag or a necklace and running away, are things which happen in a very short time frame...just a few seconds. I've seen this happen a lot of times and at least once in every place where i've spent some time...i've seen it happen in Brazil, in Venezuela, in the USA, in Mexico, Italy, France and Germany. My episode looked like a kind of kidnapping, and it lasted over twelve/fifteen minutes, where we were asked questions and where we were asked to stay down "to avoid further problems". Still...even today i'm unable to recall if one of the guys was hiding a weapon. This has nothing to do with the videos you see on youtube. That's why i'm telling this again, for the last time...this is very unlikely to happen, at least in the "Zona Sul". It happened to me because i've been very unlucky and because i did not follow one important rule...do not stay on the beach at night. I don't want to scare people, there's no reason to do it. Rio is safe, but you must not do stupid things, that will increase the chance of an undesired event.

You're missing one thing because i forgot to say one important thing...i was not alone! In the previous post i use the 1st person just because the friend who was with me, was completely scared and frozen, and he didn't have his wallet.Ok they might take your phone from your hands, they might rob your belongings while you're having a bath, but a direct robbery is very unlikely to happen in Copa, which was packed of police even in the night. This is why it was strange. These guys were just looking for moneys to buy drugs...but what i mean is that we did have to leave the beach before it got dark. That's the mistake.

So...here i am. I am very sorry about the delay, but these days i'm extremely busy, so i will write a more detailed report as soon as i can. I've mostly been in Club 117, and it's a paradise full of extraordinary hotties for sale. I had a lot of fun. Going rate goes from R$100 to 150...it really depends on your ability to get a deal. You will most of the times. The quality of the sex is AAA grade. BE KIND with the guys. And this doesn't mean buying drinks or overpaying them (DO NOT DO THIS...if you do, the sauna scene will be over much sooner than the expected, since it's a market which strongly depends on local customers, and to their wages). Learn some portuguese and ALWAYS think with the big brain, not with the "smaller" one. I have always felt safe and i've been always great...i've visited most of Rio South and part of the Centro and Tijuca. But this happened because i acted like a local. DO NOT wear jewelry or expensive watches, DO NOT use your smartphone while walking on the road, DO NOT carry more money than the necessary, DO NOT carry your passport with you...keep the original in the hotel, DO NOT speak english in the metro, especially if you are alone, DO NOT go in darker zones in night, even in Copa or Ipanema. If you follow the rules, you'll be 100% fine. Now what i'm going to say might be pretty scary, but keep in mind that i've been very unlucky and that i've done 2 huge mistakes...one after the other. LEAVE THE BEACHES when the sun goes down, otherwise you run the risk of getting robbed. The 1st mistake i did was deciding to stay after the sunset...i told myself "i fell safe, and i'm not far from the lights of Copa". The 2nd mistake was to remain there even when i noticed a couple of the kind of guys that, after looking at their face, you're sure they're criminals. So i got robbed...they did not touch me, they "asked" me to stay down (sit) and to give them my money. One (the one speaking) was in front of me, the other one was behind me. I gave them all my money (R$70) and i showed there was nothing on the wallet. They counted the money, and they left, telling me to remain there. Of course when they were 100/200m far, i took my things and i run to the baraca where just in front of it there was a police car. They've told me that this is something rare to see and that i was "unlucky" since i wasn't using my phone, i wasn't wearing fancy clothes....they were just 2 random thiefs/drugaholics who found me in the wrong place at the wrong time. Remember that Rio is a nice city and it's very safe until you "help the city" to keep you at safety by not doing stupid things.