Russian Travel Blogger Says Night Walks Are 'Taboo' in Rio de Janeiro

A Russian travel blogger has described Rio de Janeiro as a city where tourists cannot afford to let their guard down, sharing his impressions in his personal blog on the Dzen platform.

In his account, he warned that holding a phone on the beach is a bad idea, and that gold jewelry, expensive bags and watches can draw unwanted attention. Walks through empty streets at night, he wrote, are "taboo."

He also noted the large number of homeless people and beggars on local streets, and pointed to the favelas sitting beside wealthy neighborhoods, where residents live in very difficult conditions. That contrast, he said, is jarring and impossible to get used to.

The blogger was also taken aback by prices for accommodation, food, taxis and excursions, which he called steep. A mid-range hotel in Copacabana costs as much as a good hotel in Paris, lunch for two at a restaurant can easily exceed 100 dollars, and taxis are expensive while apps do not always work reliably - making budget travel there, in his words, a quest.

For savings, he advised tourists to eat at kiosks and markets, use the metro, visit free observation points and buy food in supermarkets.

His post follows a Russian flight attendant working for Emirates who named her biggest disappointments on a trip to Rio, complaining first of all about the capricious weather.