BrazilSpecialist,

You say "I have a bigger list, but these should keep you busy ..... " in your post about out of the way brothels in Rio. Can you share some more of this list with us?

I would have to look it up. Also, the most recent list was produced by FOBU, I am not sure if he is on this list.

I would have to ask his permission, or set up a list by myself. You can contact me in person, if you need more info. But seriously, the list I gave will keep you busy, and it is my experience that most foreigners will not spend large amounts of time in these places.

If you really get hooked, I can give you some more advice. But the main advice is: Read "O Dia" classifieds. They are on the internet. www.odia.com.br classifieds. You need to pick "casa" in order to make it to " termas"

moondog! i think that girl usually hangs out at scandinavian bar at praza maua.shes up about 5 kilo since may last year,her three year younger sister spend her time at buzios,sandra her sister call herself or did last year.iggysca.

A bunch of us went to VM one night while I was there. Jeff set it up with one of the guys who rents umbrella's on the beach (Neitio??). He's an older guy who's also a good beach connection. Anyway, Jeff,Scott,Carl (works for Don) and I went down and looked around. Wasn't actually all that bad. I certainly wouldn't go by myself but I've been in worse places in a dozen other cities around the world. Most if not all the real cute gals were under age however...could be a real problem if you get caught. Worth a look but not a taste in my book.

Interesting reading about VilaMimosa. In my foreign travels I have always prefered the local places over the tourist clubs. Sounds safer to first explore late afternoon and return late at night. Even safer would be to get a travel buddy. So....I will be in Rio for first two weeks in March. If another Club Hombre would like to "walk on the wild side", save your money, see some local talent, drop me an email at New2Syr@aol.com. This could be the highlight of the trip!

New2syr,
Too bad you can't delay till the last two weeks of March. I also like to check out VM. I've been there once. There are a lot of dogs but you should be able to find someone to your liking and all for 20r.

Went to VM last night with 3 friends. Pretty earthy place ... felt secure being with a few guys. The Alley in TJ, KM11 in Phnom Pehn, Soi 6 in Pattaya & VM all come from the same basket.

Hey Mcdijj:
I remember when you posted the following in Asia chat: "After all of the experiences that I have enjoyed in LoS I hope that Brazil is not to big of a let down." (I cheated and re-read your post from back when) I recommended Termas and a visit to VM and thought that you would enjoy Brazil alot. Based on your recent posts, including in Asia chat, sounds like you are having a good time, and enjoying the same things in Brazil that I enjoyed during my trip down there. Looking forward to your more detailed posts.
P.S. There are definite similarities among VM, Soi 6, and the Alley, but did you find VM to be a bit more on the edge (and therefore interesting), as I did?

Moondog, VM is way below your classy standards! Though you can find/do a real young gem for 15-20 Reais top's.

I myself spent 2 consecutive nights goofing around the hot sweatty slums over 3 years ago.

Very interesting place! sf4dfish

Where do you fuck them?
do they have apt upstairs or what?
I heard there's bars on the main street with girls, I hope you dont have to pay a bar fine?

CN

LAguy,

I thought it was a very interesting trip. The four of us got a table on a veranda style bar with a railing around it so we were 2 or 3 feet above the street and a tiny bit separated. The fellow who had the VM experience knew a fat old gal who worked at this place, as long as we kept a qaurt of beer in front of her to drink and share with her friends she saved our table. We would then slip off one by one to have a look around and then return to our table in between rounds. Around midnight we decided to leave because the crowd was starting to look tougher and certainly drunker. Too bad because 10pm was when alot of 7 & 8s started arriving.
The VM seemed to be at the bottom of the filth scale ... maybe equal with K11 in Cambodia. The best short time room I was in ranks with the worst I�Lve used in the Alley

Ceenotes;

The girls wander around in a 3 block area going part way down a few side streets. You can sit in a bar or cruise the street your self. If you see one you want you must say something very sophisticated like, `Want to fuck?�L They seem to have an arrangement with one of the short time places and will take you there to do you. No bar fine, no room charge ... flat rate. I paid R25 to R30. This is a place to go for a fuckathon. The last of the 3 girls I enjoyed that night was a real cutie and a great actor ... I tipped her R10. She wanted to come home with me. R80 to the desk guy and R20 for cab when she left. I told her I was AFO (AllFuckedOut) but she insisted in shoveing her phone number in my pocket.
VM is a slum, but a fine adventure. If you find one you like but would like a finer setting ... like a clean bed and shower ... take her home with you.
All the girls I was with had their own sheet in thier purse, which was a blessing. HINT: I had a fair idea as to what kind of a place I was headed, so I wore socks and didn�Lt take them off.

I Got another week in Rio. Might go back to VM if I find a few fellows to go with.

Iggy,

Sorry about not getting back to you sooner, but I did not see your post until now.

These girls do change, and not always for the better. Not to worry, as there are hundreds more to choose from.

Moondog

Sf4dfish,

I felt like I was in Tijuana again. She was fun, and nice, and that was all it took.

Moondog

I am too chicken to visit VM. It sounds dangerous but it still arouses my curiosity. Maybe because on my first trip to Rio right on Copacabana beach three kids tried to rob me. I think I will stick to the termas and Help. Can anyone tell me if there are any pics of VM on the net?

Believe it or not, they have a web page - belongs to the VM Prositutes Association!

http://www.vilamimosa.com.br/

BS

Cueball, I hesitate to give this advice because it may turn out to have some exceptions and by no means is it bullet proof advice (so to speak). But I actually felt safer walking around VM than Copacabana. From surface appearances one would never reach this conclusion: VM is rowdier, caters to the lower class, or at best, the lower middle class, and for this reason may appear dangerous, particularly since this is Rio. However, I was told that there is a strong disincentive to any serious trouble occuring at VM, namely, swift and harsh non-judicial punishment (and I believe the police are lurking in the background and will give out this non-judicial punishment if there are some serious problems). This might not guard against a pickpocket, but my sense is that you are more likely to get mugged in many other places in Rio, including the beaches.
On the other hand, as soon as you leave the VM compound (assuming you decline to take one of the overpriced taxis that leave from there) you are in an extremely dangerous area that no one should walk through.
These were my perceptions, but based on limited experience and knowledge. I would welcome other people's opinions on the safety issue at VM.

Don't walk around like the usual dumb-ass gringo full of jewlery and money! And you'll be O.K.

If you didn't know it, many establishments have their own private security, with bouncers to boot.

I checked out this place with the fellas just for a laugh.
It's not a clean place but I think Tijuana is more of a dump and dangerous than VM.
Having sex in a stall is not my thing but many of the young girls here can pass for the girls at meia pataca.
This place reminds me of the flea market where you walk in one way, looking at these tiny bar booths with girls and then come out at the other end.

What is the best time to visit VM? Is there a better day or time? How much is the taxi ride from Copacabana? Also I read that the reverse trip (VM to Copacabana) from a taxi is more expensive. How much is the reverse trip costs?

If I bring my pocket digital camera to VM and start taking quick snaps am I asking to get robbed?

Cueball, I think you know the answer to your digital camera question:-) Not only will you get robbed you might get your ass kicked on top of it.

The ride back to Copa is more expensive because most cab drivers refuse to turn on the meter. They want a flat rate of 15-20R. One idiot tried to charge me 40R, I started laughing so hard that even he started laughing along with me.

Cueball,

We paid $R35 Roundtrip among 4 guys and the taxi driver hanged with us in VM. Usually the drivers in front of meia pataca will deal with you.

Bringing a camera, You may not get robbed but somebody may not like it, since there are no tourist there. We went at night around 7pm

CN

Four of us Paid 20R each way. I think that the early evening is best for gringos. A bunch of us went around 8pm on a sunday ... plenty of action. More good looking ones started arriving 10pm or so and the place started rocking, but we left close to mid night. Not only did we have our fill by then, but the place was definitly getting loader/drunker and we were starting to get a few evil looks from some of the local tuffs.

P.S. I don't even wear my wrist watch in VM.

McDIJJ

On the issue of cameras in VM, I wouldn't use one while outside (i.e., in the bar areas), but I had fairly good luck taking pictures of the girls I took to the rooms.

Laguy,

Just throw out an extra $R2-$R3 and start shooting...
I dont know if they have ID with them, because I saw some really cute young ones but wouldn't want to sit in that jail that's 5 minutes away.

CN

Fellow mongers thanks for the info. Thumper I like your response. I like a person who tells it like it is. No picture taking for me. I leave the camera in the hotel.

A few times I went to VM on an afternoon. At that time it is quieter, and the rooms are not total filth yet. But you miss the atmosphere of hundreds of working girls, loud music, etc.

There IS a room fee, it just is usually included in the flat rate. It used to be 15 + 5 for the room, now it seems to be 25 including the room, not sure if the room rate still is 5 or if it went up.

I am still shocked that some guys dare to take a girl up to those rooms, they really are pretty gross and disgusting. The last 2 times someone dragged me to VM I did not do a girl. I am cheap but still have my minimum standards. A girl that did 4 guys without taking a shower, and none of these guys took a shower, I am sorry, not for me. And when I am finished with her, again no shower, not even for me! Sorry, I am out! Once they install showers, I will re-consider.

I still consider any R$ 15 downtown Rio brothel cleaner than anything in VM. Just you have to check a number of downtown brothels, as each one only has 4-10 girls, and the gems are few.

Hello Brazil Specialist,

We met back in February. Is Madam Claudia still in business over at that galleria between Siquiera Campos and F. Magalheres?

There were a couple of nice young girls when I was there.

Anyways, thanks for all the help and turning me on to her. Things worked out.

I'll be returning towards the end of May.

Anjinho

Claudia is planning to move elsewhere, but this has not yet happened. Seems she is opening a "branch office" nearby, where people can come in with less hazzle and less secrecy towards building manager and doorman

The manager actually stopped me from going in the extra apartment and asked me all kinds of questions. The one bad part of the experience. I'll be there for the last week of May. Let me know if there is a change in address for her.

Anjinho

Anjinho, email me for contacts. 1234567 at innocent dot com is my email

Originally posted by Laguy from LAGuy's Opinionated Guide to the Excellent, the Good, the Bad, and the Grotesquely Ugly (Brazil)

Vila Mimosa: Where the Ghost of Fellini Roams. Vila Mimosa is an approximately R$15 taxi drive (before the 8 p.m. taxi surcharge hits--or is it 9 p.m.?--the taxi surcharge applies throughout Rio, not only to rides to Vila Mimosa) from Copacabana. The surcharge is not that substantial, something like 20 percent, so it is not going to break you. Contrary to some posts I read on one of the boards, I never had a problem getting a taxi to Vila Mimosa; in fact most of the taxi drivers I used seemed to like Vila Mimosa and were happy to take me there (the fact that for them it was a big fare doesn�t hurt, of course). If a taxi refuses to put the meter on for a trip to Vila Mimosa find another taxi. I have never had this problem but understand some others have.

If you have been to one of the Boy�s towns on the Texas Mexican border (to be clear, the boys at Boy�s towns are the customers, not the �workers,� although there are a few exceptions ala the Thailand scene), you have experienced something similar, although still distinctly different. Vila Mimosa is a sort of compound (like the Boy�s towns) although there is no fence surrounding it. Essentially it is an assemblage of many small bars, each blaring out Brazilian music, and each with a set of cubicles in the back (or upstairs) in which the �business� takes place. One American I met there (and on a typical night there are not a hell of a lot) said it reminded him of the scene in Vietnam, not now, but back when. Another told me it reminded him a bit of the Dominican Republic. In any event, it will not remind you of the United States (thankfully).

Some of the garotas hang out in bars, other in the various alleys. Those in the alleys nevertheless seem to be associated with bars because as far as I can tell they always bring their customers to the same bar�s cubicle area to perform services. Many of the girls are scantily clad, and it is not unusual to see a few walking around the area topless. Occasionally you may see a girl or two in a bar bottomless, although you can�t count on this.

Hobbyists have markedly different opinions about Vila Mimosa. Some say that there are only ugly fat garotas, others say there are a fair number of diamonds in the rough (along with the fat ugly ones). There is also disagreement as to whether having sex in the cubicles, which tend to be much less than clean and luxurious, ruins the whole thing. As to the latter issue, this is a matter of personal choice and depends on your attitude towards �cheap thrills.� If someone likes pampering in a luxurious and relaxing atmosphere, and does not want to explore alternatives, then the termas, or possibly take home from Help or the strip clubs is the way to go. But if you like to mix it up, and experience the various extremes, Vila Mimosa represents an opportunity to experience something different.

As to the quality of the garotas, in a sense both views (a bunch of uglies vs. some diamonds in the rough) are correct. The ratio depends both on what day and time you visit VM, and pure luck. If you arrive early (let�s say around 7 p.m., although based on perhaps six visits to VM over the course of two Rio trips, I can�t say I have this thing totally figured out) you may see some of the ugliest, fattest things in the world, even rivaling the worst places in Tijuana or the most ghastly images in a Fellini movie. However, as time marches forward, the pickings tend to get better, and you should be able to find something that meets your fancy (as I rarely drink alcohol when I am at VM, the improvement in the garotas� looks as time goes on is not the result of an alcoholically induced stupor!). I have been there on Saturday night, as well as weekdays; this also represents an important variable. On weekends the place becomes overrun with people and activity, whereas on weekdays there is less activity, although still enough to have a good shot at finding what you want.

This brings up the issue of safety at VM. I have seen a lot of discussion on the various boards expressing fear about visiting Vila Mimosa. From all appearances it looks like it should be dangerous; a bunch of lower class Brazilians, some of whom look like real tough guys, all over the compound. Rio is Rio, and I don�t want to mislead anyone into going to VM thinking it is absolutely safe. However, from my perspective I feel safer in VM than walking around the area near Help late at night, which I will not do owing to the muggings that have occurred in that area. I don�t have this totally figured out, but it seems there is a police presence (and perhaps some private security) operating in the background (and sometimes out in the public) at VM that really lowers the incentive for anyone to create trouble. In fact, on my last trip I saw a number of instances where police cars drove slowly through the main street (the only street that a car can drive through), making their presence abundantly clear. While I do not dress up to go to VM, even with my jeans, etc., most people know I am a foreigner. Nonetheless, I have never experienced any problems at VM, other than one instance where on a Saturday night, with wall-to-wall people throughout the compound, a garota who appeared to be high on something starting clinging onto me in a way that raised some suspicion that she could be setting me up for something. More likely she was just high off her ass.

In any event, if you have some fear about going to VM but want to go anyway, you may want to first try a weekday since it will be less intimidating; however, there is the trade-off that there will be fewer garotas, perhaps a higher percentage of uglies (although I am not sure about this) and a bit less atmosphere. One last comment on this, VM is not a good place to do your best imitation of the Ugly American; I suspect THAT could get you in some trouble. Watch your level of alcohol consumption, etc., be cool and things should be cool during your visit..

Now with respect to the routine at VM. Essentially you approach the garota of interest, unless she has already approached you, and make your desires known. If you speak Portuguese, you may in some instances buy her a drink in one of the bars and converse, but my Portuguese is very limited and I can�t really carry on a conversation. The usual price for services is R$20 for the garota and R$5 for the room for 20 minutes. Some places charge R$27 combined, and there is a slight amount of variability. If I am in the mood I may ask for anal sex (pronounced something like �sexo ah-nowl�; also referred to, particularly at the massage parlors as �completa��I guess in Brazil if you don�t include anal sex, you haven�t had a complete experience!); at Vila Mimosa my experience is that perhaps one-third of the garotas will agree to anal sex, although again this is based on a limited sample. Some, but not all, will ask for additional compensation; on average perhaps R$10 more, although one garota asked for R$40 more (yes this would tripled the cost, making the encounter a whopping $20 U.S.!; needless to say, I was outraged ). At Vila Mimosa I have never paid more than R$20 additional for this service (more usually R$10), but keep in mind that R$20 is less than $7.

One Potential Rip-off Bar. If you are like me, getting ripped off, whether for $2, or for $200, is bothersome as a matter of principle. I HATE the soapies in Bangkok that charge a �farang surcharge� and will avoid them like the plague. I will also never go to the Centaurus terma in Ipanema because of their mis-named �tourist tax� (more appropriately called the �if you are not a local, we will stick it to you, surcharge�). With this is mind, there is one bar in Vila Mimosa that I would tend to avoid. As you approach the center of Vila Mimosa coming in on the main street, it is on the left hand side, just past a food stand with a name �Rosa� or Rose� on it. The bar has purple lighting, and its steps in front ascend from left to right. Granted some of their garotas are fine looking. But both times I went into the bar for a session in the back, they tried to rip me off on the room charge by saying they did not have 3 reais change, trying to keep the difference; of course they had 3 reais. And my limited experience at this bar (with two girls) suggests you can probably expect a re-negotiation of the services offered after you have paid and gone into the room. In one instance a girl (who also works at Help) who had agreed to anal refused once in the room; in the other instance a girl agreed to have her photos taken and named a price for the session including photos, but once in the room demanded more for the photos. In the latter case I had to make a scene and get my money back from the management (the garota�s nonsense really got me out of the mood), who after some arguing finally agreed to give it back to me. Because of the small amount of money involved in these transactions, it is not a big deal, but, hey, as I stated above, I don�t like getting ripped off, and somehow it does not enhance the mood to know you are being ripped off.

All in all, though, I recommend Vila Mimosa to anyone who is adventurous; if you are not, stick with the termas. I was at VM four nights out of the ten I spent in Rio on my recent trip.

Taxis to and from VM: When I went to VM two years ago, the taxi drivers there were charging a fixed (and slightly inflated) rate to get back to Copa; I believe it was R$20. On this trip, the first three taxis I took back to Copa from VM turned on the meter; the cost ranged from R$15 to about R$20 depending on traffic, and efficiency of the route (e.g., when you leave VM, the road out points in the wrong direction, in the direction away from Copacabana. If a taxi driver wants to inflate the fare, he can take you about a mile or so in the wrong direction before turning back; a good and conscientious taxi driver will cut through a particular gas station to circumvent this, or use another trick that will probably take R$2 to R$4 off the fare). Note though that on my last trip back from VM, I got in a taxi who said he wanted R$40 fixed rate to go to Copa and insisted that was what all the taxis were charging. BULLSHIT! I then found another taxi who turned on the meter and drove so efficiently that the fare (including the after-hours surcharge) was a bit less than R$15 (however, this was to the Copacabana Atlantico Hotel, which is a shorter drive than to the area around HELP).

A word of warning. Although I consider VM reasonably safe, the area surrounding VM has a reputation as extremely dangerous. I would recommend against walking in this area; given a choice between a rip-off taxi driver (which you can probably avoid, see above) and walking outside the compound to find a different taxi, or a bus, I would strongly urge the rip-off taxi as the better of the two bad alternatives.

Great Review!!!

I will be inRio this Sunday and am a newbie who does not speak the language. Would you suggest I try VM? Is it open on Sunday? Please give me some suggestions.

Tkx Scubadiver59

Scubadiver59

In a word, no. Unless you're with a local or a guide who knows the place well and is fluent in Portuguese, I would not hit VM on your first Rio trip. LaGuy's review is very much on target, but I would add that there are occasional fights. I saw four in one night, and narrowly avoided getting hit with a beer bottle in one of them. If you have a guide or can go with a vet who knows the scene, it's worth exploring. It's not my cup of tea (the rooms there make the ones around the TJ bars look like the Four Seasons), but I'm glad I've had the experience.

Officially, according to the VM website, it is open 24/7/365.

BTW, I wonder if the Administrator can change this thread;s title to the correct spelling: Vila Mimosa.

Admin: We have corrected the spelling of this thread.

Just hit Vm tonight with Cueball. It's my third time there and the quality is the best I've seen, relatively speaking. I/We were shocked to find a top tier terma quality girl there. Her name is Sabrina and (she says) she has been working there for three years. She works at the top end of the bars which form the shoehorn shape on the right side. Unfortunately, it was a mechanical experience, but for 20r I just couldn't complain.
By the way, the food stands here are delicous, awesome boneless fried chicken on a skewer for a real. You can't beat it.
We took a taxi back to Copa from a cabdriver who turned out to be completely stoned. Cueball had the foresight to get in the front seat and and put on his seatbelt and hold on to the windowsill for dear life while I feverishly, but fruitlessly, searched for a seatbelt in the backseat. All I could do was body-english back to safety to Copa.

StayawayJoe what time did you hit VM? I have seen a number of girls who work MP, hooker Beach and Help at VM in the early evening, trying to make some extra cash.

I know what you mean about the taxi drivers, I have had a couple who thought they were Mario Andretti! I don't think that taxis have seatbelts in the back, I have never seen one.

We were there from 930p till about 1145p.I would say it's the best time to go. Early evening, there are not that many girls to choose from.

My experience also is that there are a fair number (not a great number though) of girls at VM who work Help and other Copa places. Also, there now are a fair number of girls (tending towards the better looking ones) who have their cell phones with them, I suspect waiting for calls from the escort agencies. It makes me laugh when hombres who regularly frequent Help tell me they would never go to VM, citing among other things that the girls there are diseased, and so forth. Well, guess where your garota may have been a few hours earlier.

I agree that 9:30 to about 11:45 is a good time range for visiting VM.

Also, I have now been to VM around 10 times and never seen a fight. I don't doubt they occur and that Bwana Dik saw some, but it sounds like Bwana Dik was there on a particularly, and unusually, bad night.

The best plan for a first visit is to go with someone who knows the territory and then decide your comfort level for future visits (assuming you like the place). However, IMHO if you are reasonably street smart and have the ability to blend in fairly well (and are also reasonably adaptable), chances are you will do okay if you go there alone. Not for the faint of heart though.

Vila Mimosa is NOT for everyone. It is a place like you have never visited, unique to Rio. It is an old fashioned Red * Light * District for the locals.

If any of this list describes you, you probably will NOT want to go there:

1)Only date girls 9+ for body looks

2)Afraid of the Dark

3)Tip garotas $US100

4) Stay at the Mariott or other hotels that cost $US150 or more

5)Pick up girls at HELP as their only source of femal companionshiop.

6) Believe that the higher the price and the greater the beauty score fron 1-10, the better the sex.

If you are ANY of these, then chances are you will not like Vila Mimosa.

But for those few adventuresome Hombres, this is a great place. It is located in an industrial section of Rio, about 30 mionutes from Copa. Tell the cab driver you want to go to Vila Mimosa and hand him $R20. This way you will not get ripped off. Not all cabs know where it is, so ask first. It is located in no man's land. A two block street with about 40 small bars next to each other. This is where the blue(gray) collar workers go for sex. I have never seen any fights or disorderling drunks there. The police routinely drive by. There are always Taxis waiting. When you get there you will be greated by vendors cooking kabobs of chicken and beef with vegetables (I have never gotten sick from these) They are $R1 each.

Each one of the bars are about 500 square feet. Each bar has about 5-10 girls. The small and not so clean rooms are upstairs. EVERYONE of the girls has the same price $R25 plus $R5 for the room and $R1 for a condom (but use your own USA brand).

It is kind of like a mining town or cattle cowboy town on a Saturday night back in 1900 (but this party gpoes on 24/7). Loud music, food, beer, girls half dressed---all at your service. Most nights there are about 200 girls. Yes, most of them are dogs, but with 200 you are bound to find a gem. I would try a few, check out the inventory, then take one home with me for the night ($R100). I have had 7 overnights and each one was very friendly. They changed their clothes to acceptable street dress, brought toothbrush, change of underwear. Some like 'em skinny and flat, some big and buxom, some blonde, some brunnete, whatever turns you on is there in the crowd. Don't forget not to "judge a book by its cover", There are some gems in there. Your job is to separate the wheat from the chaf.

Although I have never had a security problem, it is still good to take some mace/pepper spray. Also a disposable camera takes good pictures if you don't have a digital.

I start with a beer on one of the open decks in the front and watch the people go by. Then a walk through to narrow my choices. Think about it this way: Beer and Girl costs $R30. That is equivilent to about 10 girls from HELP. And some of the girls from Mimosa are really HOT, especially when you take them out for the night.

If yoiu are interested, but hesitant, I will be in Rio from Jan 23 to March 12 if you want a companion to show you the ropes.

Good report Riobrazil2004. I differ on a couple of items though. First, I have never had a taxi tell me they did not know where Vila Mimosa is; I suppose it is possible, but rare. Also, there is no need to hand them R$20 to get there. I have always had the meter run and it comes in around $R15 to $R20 depending on where you are leaving from and at what time. However, with the recent increase in taxi rates, it may be 10 to 20 percent more. On the way back, the occassional taxi driver will try to extort a high fare from you, assuming you are a gringo, but most will be fair and put on the meter (if you get the former, leave the taxi and get in another one).
As to prices, there is some variability. Some houses charge $R27 all inclusive, and others around $R5 plus you pay the garota $R20. If you want anal, it is often somewhat more, like R$10, although this varies from garota to garota. I don't know about the mace/pepper spray; is it legal in Brazil because if it isn't you may be setting yourself up for something worse than a mugging. In any event, I haven't felt the need for it.

Can anyone else give recommendations for the best days of the week and best times of day to visit VM? Also, do you think that it is OK to for a first-timer to go alone?

Titus, it varies but the usual Friday and Saturday afternoon all the way thru to 5 AM, is usually the best time.

I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND A FIRST TIMER GOING ALONE!, especially if you don't speak any Portuguese! sf4dfish

I am going to differ slightly with SF4dfish's comments about the best time to go. Friday and Saturday (at night) ARE the most active times at VM, which means if you speak Portuguese and are comfortable at the venue, and like a very crowded scene, these days would be preferred; they are the heavy action days. However, the only time I began to feel more than a little uncomfortable at VM (I speak a miniscule amount of Portuguese, and am whiter than a ghost) was on a Saturday night, when the people were wall to wall, and the most raucous. Therefore, for a newbie I actually would recommend going anytime other than Friday or Saturday nights, particularly if you are alone. It would probably be better to go with a Brazilian (I did my first time) although since my first visit I have gone to VM at least ten times alone without any bad incidents.
Keep in mind that whereas most people on this board make similar recommendations about how to approach termas, and perhaps Help, VM probably gets the most varied opinions. Therefore, you have to take any posts on the subject(including mine) as something less than the gospel.

titus! whatever time you get there get a cab inside the bar area.the area outside would even make an exnavy-seal a bit nervous
iggy.sca

Thanks for the advice. By first-timer I meant first time going to VM, not Rio. Another question: I read in past posts that most of the girls at VM are of the darker variety. Can anyone who has been there recently confirm this?

Titus, my advice is for a non-speaking first timer going to VM by HIMSELF! DON'T! Find a wingman or guide.

In VM you will find all types of shades. It is so seedy, that you will see some girls that you wouldn't even let your worst enemy poke. And the facilities can and do reak! Your going there to poke for cheap! As the locals do, not for quality. Though you may encounter a young gem (teenager) or two? sf4dfish

If you take bus to VM how close does it get to VM? I am planning to stay in Rio for a whole month and will be making alot of trip to VM to pick up girls to my Apt.

faster and better is take the subway the stop before maracana.the .dont cross the aveny when you leave the station.walk about5 min towards the direction you came.then the first street left, under the bridge.first street right two blocks then turn left.
the buses will be to praca bandeiras.then as above buses toward maracana will get you there and so will mny others check the telephone book.iggy sca.