Friday, January 20, 2012

Rio Carnaval - how to





There's nothing like Carnaval to get your juices flowing.

Just getting tickets is a feat in itself. Like a Lady GaGa concert, the tickets for the whole event sell out in minutes. We worked two phones on re-dial and were able to score 16 tickets. Yes!

But getting tickets is just the start of the adventure. Now you have to navigate Rio streets, parking, subway, walking - whatever. The streets near the Sambadromo are PACKED with vendors offering everyting from beer, to food, to Johnnie Walker shots, to hot dogs, to ice.

If you go to Carnaval in the Sambadromo (and you are not in a luxury box) then come prepared. Bring your food and drink. You will be there for at least 8 hours.

The Sambadromo is clean and safe - so there is no inconvenience or danger involved. But the food for sale inside the stadium is "Bob's" - which is a lousy McDonald's knock off. And it is always cold. Vendors walk around selling drinks (ice tea, soda, beer) but the drinks are usually warm. Urgh!

The best approach is to be self-sufficient. Bring your sandwiches, birng your drinks, bring LOTS of ice. Oh - and bring a rain coat. It always rains...

It is general seating, so you have to arrive early and stake out your territory. Hold firm!

We love it. Our group is usually about 12 people. What a party!

This year we have a few extra tickets. Let me know if you want any.

5 comments:

shelle said...

Hey Jim--can you send me an email srkelz at gmail dot com. I may be interested in a ticket...

Stephanie said...

I always love when you post about Carnaval! I told Sidnei that it is one of those things I think you need to do at least once in life (he is not thrilled about the whole crowd thing and isnt too interested) and hopefully one year we can get out there and go! Just as a curiousity, how much do the tickets run?

Jim said...

Steph - we go in the cheap seats. they are not perfect, but they give a good view of the event.

We are in sector 3. There is a lot of of enthusiasm there.

The tickets by us there are just R$250. Life is good and life is tough.

Come join the party.

Jim said...

Stephanie - here is this year's list of prices -- IF you can get them in the 12 minutes or so they are available - AND you can come to the bank in Rio during the two days they are sold.

FYI -- http://liesa.globo.com/

Click through to Ingressos.

Stephanie said...

Thanks for all the information! I'm all about cheap by the way :) Of course I can't do anything for a couple of months because I just spent wayyyyyyy to much money in the us...but this gives me a good idea of what to put way for next year hopefully! It is definitely on my lists of must do! But hopefully we'll be able to get to rio sometime just this year to visit..and I'd love to do it on a day when we have a blogger meet up so I can meet everyone! Anyway thanks again for all the information! :)