Are you Jonesing for a Rio de Janeiro Trip? Lonely Planet Has a Guide for That.


Christ-Redeemer-Rio-de-Janeiro
Lonely Planet Accessible Rio de Janeiro reports that Christ the Redeemer is accessible, except for the escalator to the very top.

Do the 2016 Summer Olympics have you jonesing to visit Rio de Janeiro but you’re worried about accessibility?

If the answer is yes, check out Lonely Planet’s brand new guide, Accessible Rio de Janeiro. In typical Lonely Planet form, the 160-page guide is chock full of detailed information, maps, pictures and an astounding amount of accessibility information.

The media coverage of Rio has tended to focus on the high crime rates, poor water quality and general unpreparedness of the 2016 host city. While the guide doesn’t apologize for any of that, it can give you the confidence and tools to enjoy one of the world’s most alluring destinations.

Author Emily Rose Yates has spent a great deal of time living in Rio consulting on accessibility and she dedicated a month of long days to hitting as many of the included restaurants, tourist spots, hotels and whatever else she could find. The result is little details like, a restaurant not having an accessible bathroom but having access to a fully-accessible bathroom right around the corner.

Of course, the guide covers all the hot tourist destinations like Copacabana Beach (sand free pathways and beach chairs on the weekends), Christ the Redeemer (accessible, but you can only make the top by escalator) and Ipanema Beach (hit the paved promenade for the best access), but it also breaks down the city by neighborhood.

Yates’ love for the city and its people (the cariocas) comes through in all of her writing and she makes it clear that while access has improved a great deal in the buildup to the Olympics and the 2014 World Cup, it has lots of room for improvement. Yates did most of her research solo and found the people to be very helpful in assisting her and her wheelchair with the many inaccessible spots, but said if she could do it again she would definitely travel with a companion.

Perhaps the best part is the guide is available as a free download from Lonely Planet. It’s also available from iTunes, Kobo, Google Play, and Amazon.


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