Rio De Janeiro on Dec. 31st.

[RobertQM2]

Hello, I do have a question about Rio de Janeiro on Dec. 31/08.

 

Has somebody been in Rio with Splendour of the seas and tried to visit the statue of christ on the 31st?

 

We'd like to do that next year but we are not sure if there is enough time on the last day of the year and also if it is offered by some tour operators.

 

thank you for your help in advance

[patlanta]

We were in Rio during mid-December this year and visited the Christ the Redeemer statue. During our stay we were told over and over again that New Year's Eve is a humongous happening on the Rio beaches and we saw that numerous vendor stands were already being erected. Consequently I'd expect that traffic in Rio could present a problem on December 31. Perhaps an experienced local guide could navigate you around the busy places, but you'd have to get an early start.

 

I hope you have good weather as the site is really glorious under sunny skies. Most of the time the statue is in the clouds. We had quite a surprise from our hotel room in the morning when we could clearly see the statue.

[greatam]

New Year's Eve and Carnival are two of the most dangerous, chaotic times to be in Rio. As a frequent SA business traveler, I no longer go to Rio and neither will my colleagues from South America. It is a very dangerous city and any large celebration (NY Eve, Carnival, All Saints Day) just makes it that much more dangerous.

 

As patlanta posted, the celebration is HUGE (and televised world wide). This is one time I would take the ship tour. IF for some reason you were detained with a private tour (traffic, riot, etc) you may miss the ship. You also have the security of someone "watching your back", which you will not have on a private tour.

[RobertQM2]

New Year's Eve and Carnival are two of the most dangerous, chaotic times to be in Rio........

 

We ........were told over and over again that New Year's Eve is a humongous happening on the Rio beaches ........

 

 

Thank you for your advice, probably you made us sure not to go there at this time. The main reason for the trip is the statue as beeing one of the 7 new wonders of the world, which we like to collect.