Nightlife and Hotels: Rio De Janeiro Edition

Experiencing Rio de Janeiro’s animated nightlife is an essential part of every traveler’s Rio vacation. The music, dancing, women, drinks, and more are all hallmarks of Brazilian culture. Plus, it’s beyond fun.

You’ll want to find a hotel with clubs close to or inside it. This will make sure you’re not spending too much time traveling to have fun. Moreover, if you hit it off with someone in a club, you’ll want to minimize the commute time from the club to your hotel. Here’s a breakdown on the liveliest bairros (neighborhoods) and where to stay in them.

Lapa

Lapa is the center of live music and parties in Rio de Janeiro. Though you can easily find a club here where you can let loose, Rio Scenarium is my recommendation. If you do choose to frequent this club, book a room in Arosa Rio. It’s a comfortable hotel, has excellent service, is close to Rio Scenarium, and is easy on your wallet.

Rio Scenarium is arguably Rio’s most popular live music venue. The club is one of the best places to experience samba for foreigners. However, it’s also a great place to get drunk and pick up chicks.

The club also sets itself apart from other clubs with its unique environment. It functions as a warehouse for film props and antiques.

Ipanema

Ipanema is full of many popular bars and clubs, so you can’t go wrong with your hotel and club choice. The Gringo Cafe (directed squarely at us North Americans) and Ipanema beach are my recommendations.

It’s exciting and fun to see how Rio’s recreated our culture at the Gringo Cafe. Ipanema beach is a bustling place like its sister beach in Copacabana. This beach is a great place to eat and meet some Brazilian delicacies.

For both places, book a room in the San Marco Hotel. It’s budget-friendly, close to the beach and most of Ipanema’s trendy restaurants and clubs, and has great bilingual staff. San Marco is one of those hotels that doesn’t have much competition when it comes to the tourist experience.

Copacabana

Like Ipanema, Copacabana is full of clubs and bars, of which Fosfobox is one of the best. What Fosobox lacks in size, it more than makes up for with quality. It’s one of the most famous underground clubs in Rio, and it’s known for its animated and theatrical character. It’s also a very versatile club.

You can dance and listen to a broad range of music, or you can go to the upstairs bar and balcony to drink and flirt.

Fosfobox is located in the heart of Copacabana, so you’ll want a hotel near the center. My recommendation is the Premier Copacabana Hotel. It’s the closest to Fosfobox and the kindest to your wallet. A close second would be the Arena Copacabana Hotel.

For more information on all the things you can do in Rio de Janeiro at night, get in touch with me at Julian Jones Travel. I offer consultancy services for solo travel, as well as some amusing Rio anecdotes on my solo male travel blog.