Been going to Rio in Brazil frequently (1-2 times/month) for the past 19 months (july/03-present) mostly for work. I speak fluent portuguese and italian, so, depending on my mood I can pass for brazilian living abroad, italian or american. It is fun to see the diferent reactions and prices quoted.

Best place to get to know the working girls (localy know as "garotas de programa (or GP)" - garotas = girls, programa = program or date or afair, so loosely "program girls), is the Thermas (ask anyone at hotel or places you can rent an appartment). You'll spend about US$40 or less to get in, US$40 or less for 45 min with a girl in a private cabin, drinks at US$1-4 (beer-scoth). You get to hang out in a bar like setting and see, talk, feel, kiss the girls before deciding who to take. Cash or cc (discreet names on receipts) are accepted. Cash tips to the girs are appreciated. Almost all girls will kiss you open mouth, perform oral without condoms and vaginal/anal with condoms. Some are really bad with oral. Most are great and natural with anal.

The downside is you are rushed when you take them to the private cabin.

If you like to go to a bar or disco atmosphere you can go to Help disco (don't bother going before midnight) or the "american bars" like Ciciolina, Franks, Pussy Cat, Barbarela that are all located in a 2 block area accross from the Meridien Hotel.

There you pay for drinks, girls come to your table to talk and get you to buy them drinks (they don't make any money from it). If you like someone, you make a deal to take them out. At Help you don't pay anything to the house to take them out, at the other places you get US$20 (on average added to your bill). Drinks are US$2-6 (beer to scotch, but watch out for bill padding if you get drunk). If you are American or Japanese, the girls will open up quoting US$200.00 to go to your hotel room or to a motel (you can choose some near for US$40 or fancier ones a bit farther for more). Some hotels will charge about the same to let the girs to your room and most will ask her to fill out a form in the lobby. Motels will just let yu right in. If you are Brazilian they'll start out in the US$100 to US$150 range. If you are European in the Euro$150 range. The good looking ones will settle for 25% less early in the evening (before 2:30 AM) and 50% less for late in the evening (after 2:30 AM). Less atractive ladies will open or settle for much, much less. even some atractive ones will settle for less on slow nights or when there are a lot more girls than men in the house.

It is a lot more work (buy drinks, get the ones you don't like to leave your table to make room for the ones you do like), negotiating prices, choosing/paying for a place to go, etc, than a Thermas. In the thermas (spas) you just need to watch and call the girls you want to meet. Everything else is set for you.

The Thermas girls are on average better looking. They are selected by the managment, have probation periods and have STD/HIV screening at least once a month.

The night clubs HAVE TO let any girl in (except know trouble makers, which then can only make them pay the couver charge, but not keep out). There is NO selection. There is NO testing. The house takes NO responsibility for what hapens when you leave the place. Of the girsl, 10% will be very attractive, 50% will be ok, 40% will be ugly. don't let the cloth, makeup, lighting, liquor fool you. ASK FOR THE OPINION OF YOUR BUDDY SITTING ACROSS THE TABLE - he has a better point of view then you. Don't go alone. You won't have fun. The advantage is that you can (most times) spend more time with the girl (from an hour and a half to all night) for the quoted price.

OK, then we are back to the girls.

I think that the beauty of the brazilian women is greatly exagerated. Most girls younger than 25 are very fit and have healthy life styles, and have petite builds comparade to the average american. They are however much heavier on thighs/butts and small chested. Most working girls (GPs) use the first money they put aside for a boob job. Once they get to be 25, they need liposuction on stomach and thighs. After 28 or 30 their once attractive larger butts are hanging down, the second they get out of the tight jeans. Virtually ALL brazilian girls have a ton of celulite. Most of the working girls are mixed race with some black or indian blood. They spend a fortune straightening their hair and dying it blond. There are virtually no natural blond working girls in Rio. In Sao Paulo and South of Brazil (Florianopolis, Porto Alegre) there are some (up to 10%).

As for attitude, they are much more friendly, warm, sexy, "into sex", thenworking girls in Asia/Europe/North America. That is true, by the way, of the girls in most of South America (Argentina, Chile, Venezuela), not true in Mexico, by the way.

There is NO REASON to pay more than US$100 to US$125 for great company in Brazil. Do not pay US$200. You don't have to. Trust me, the local brazilian guys will not pay more than US$80 for the top girls, often give them no tips, and make them work hard for the money. You don't need to be rude or hard. Just say "I really like you, I'd love to spend time with you, but I can only spend US$100 tonight". If she says no (unlikely), thank her, and tell her to come back later if she changes her mind. She will. Unless the house is packed with foreigners and few girls.

There are also adds in newspapers, pick up points at the beach, etc for girls that come to your hotel or you go to a private appartment. I think it is more fun to go to the places where you can choose.

If you go to a regular night club/disco in Rio (alone or guys only), unless you are very good at it, it will be very hard to pick up a non-working girl. Brazilians are a bit stuck up that way, and will not want to be seen by their friends as being easy and going with a tourist for the night. It is very much a double standard catholic country in many ways (e.g. abortion is a crime, though generaly available if you have money).

Oh, by the way.... Don't even think about openly using drugs (enven in the bathroom) to Brazilian working girl night clubs like Ciciolina, Barbarela, Help, you will be escorted out.

Be very, very, very careful of the police checkpoint at night. If you have a party going on in your taxicab or car. E.g. 2 girls with you in the back seat or visible drunk people, they WILL STOP you and if they find any drugs, you'll be paying about US$1,000-US$2,000 for a get out of jail free card. All they want is money, they have no interest in arresting you.

Thermas are extremely safe - politicians, brazilian executives go there. You can leave wallets/watches/currency in the lockers. No worries.

For the girls in the night clubs, it is very unlikely they'll rob you, drug you, be dishonest. It is virtually unheard off. I count a few working ladies as personal friends and know a lot about the scene.

Don't pick up any girl on the streets. Never. Ever. They are there because they can't work in any decent place. It is not worth it.

If you are into the tranvestites/shemales/whatever, you pretty much have to pick them up on the street (Copacabana Beach). I was told that many carry blades for protection and can cause trouble if you don't pay them or something. But I don't have any first hand knowledge of it, other than horsing around and telling the cab driver to stop and ask one for my friend. They (the tranvestites) got really mad in seconds. By the way, it is sometimes hard to tell them from a girl. There are a lot of gays that come to Rio for sex, and I know of one regular night club Le Boy that attracts those. There are probably others.

Oh there are lot of swing clubs. Where you can get a working girl (GP) to go with you, and there you can swap/tade/have sex with multiple women. I don't know any personaly but "2 a 2", "4x4", Amarela, etc are mentioned as good places to go. You pay US$40 or so per couple and have sex right there in different rooms, etc.

Is 1996-1999 (I think) the exchange rate was about 1US$=1BR$ (now it is 1US$=BR$3), so the prices in US$ were much higher. That was a temporary aberration, so any prices quoted in reports from those years is over inflated.

Mid December to End of March is high season in Rio, prices are higher for everything (including Hotel and Sex). Prices may be a bit higher and you'll see lots of guys in the night clubs bidding up the prices (not in the Thermas though, which don't change their prices). April-November is the time to go. It is still warm enough to go to the beach, not too hot to walk around, and many more girls/guys everywhere.

Lately, my GP (working girl) friends are telling me that they are having a hard time making money. The foreigners are becoming more savy on prices - I think in part due to sites such as this.

This is critical. Don't overpay. An informed consumer is a smarter and happier consumer. Trust me. If you overpay, the girls won't treat you any better for it. They'll take you for a sucker and treat you worse. Suddenly they'll be asking (hard) for a tip, for taxi back home, extra for anal or oral, you name it. If you go to the night clubs don't over pay. Negotiate a fair price upfront, and in the end if you want give her something more than she expected.

Well I hope this helps.

Gatopardo95, Great info! Thanks i will use it on my next trip in Nov 05. Your are right about not paying unfair prices. Peace!