Things to Bring to Rio de Janeiro

Many tourists slowly begin to realise that Rio de Janeiro can be quite an expensive city — it is the second most expensive city in South America after São Paulo — and they can find that many items are pricier than they had imagined.

But don’t worry! We’ve made a list of things you should bring with you to reduce your costs while you stay at ‘Cidade Maravilhosa’ (‘Marvellous City’).

Travel Packing List

• A phone (preferable to bring an older phone just in case it gets lost/robbed — make sure you back up all of your photos too)
• Travel adaptors
• Photo ID — you will get a Student Card from Caminhos and need a photo ID in order to get discounts at all most of the tourist sites
• Insect repellent — mosquitos are common in Brazil
• Hiking shoes for all the great free tours and hikes offered by Caminhos
• Appropriate footwear (sneakers) to play your favourite sports
• Books in your language
• Bathers/swimwear and a beach towel/bag (you can buy the famous Havaiana flip flops here!)
• Sunscreen
• Sunglasses
• Compact umbrella just in case it rains
• Makeup — it’s expensive here to buy so bring supplies if you need

Hopefully this list will help your decision-making when it comes to packing for the trip. The best advice we can give you is: if you can’t imagine your daily routine without it, bring it! You may look strange at the airport with your giant container of protein shake powder and yoga mat, but you (AND your wallet) will feel better about packing it in the long-run.