Favela Vidigal Guesthouse

  Lydia S. on 9 April 2012 

I thought it was a great encounter to stay in a favela in rio. It felt really secure and really opens your mind. As you are staying in a couples home rather than a hostel you do get a true encounter of living in a favela! I really like it an Vanessa and Tito are fantastic hosts

  Customer Review on 30 March 2012 

This is one of the extremely best places we&'ve stayed in our 5 months in South America. Not only is it affordable and in an amazing location (close to beaches), it also gave us a real authentic expertise of how locals live within the favela. We never once felt unsafe, even at night, and everyone was friendly and willing to help. Vanessa and Tito are fantastic - they help with transport advice, where to eat and what to see and do. We can&'t suggest this place highly enough - it&'s a chance not to be missed.

  Customer Review on 11 February 2012 

Vanessa and Tito, the owners are lovely, helpful and welcoming people. The favela felt safe, much safer than places like Copacabana. It&s really straightforward to get to Ipanema, Copacabana, Leblon etc by bus or walking. The points of interest from the rooftop rooftop are amazing.

  Customer Review on 31 January 2012 

If you desire to stay in a fevela in Rio, this is the place to be. The atmosphere in Vidigal is extremely nice, calm and safe. The fevela is quite compact and during the night bustling with activity. The staff, Vanessa and Tito, are an incredibly nice couple. One of the very best places exactly where we stayed in our trip through South America. Huge thanks for a fantastic experience!

  Katie S. on 3 January 2012 

Quite simply one of our extremely best experiences in our 6 months in South America. Vanessa and Tito could not have done much more in welcoming us to both their guesthouse and Favela Vidigal generally. We stayed 6 nights here right after spending 2 nights at another hostel in Copacabana and we can honestly say the encounter we had here was infinitely better than the other place. We did a fair quantity of research prior to staying at the guesthouse for obvious reasons and we found a very good degree negatively, especially on one particular thread on Thorntree. However, having now been here it&'s clear these contributors had never been to this favela (or any other one most likely) as our experiences there were so far removed from the concerns raised. Travelling into and out of the favela right after dark was safe, affordable and straightforward with the moto-taxis along with the services nearby within the favela (restaurants, bars, food marketplaces (one with an ATM that accepts foreign cards)) meant we could just as happily hang out within the favela both during the day and later on into the evening. Ironically the only unwanted attention we received was from the police (who had pacified Vidigal one month just before our stay) but this was done politely and once we were identified as tourists they left us alone. The local individuals themselves were pretty and kind - never did we really feel our presence was intrusive or unwanted. This is by far the longest review we&'ve ever left on HB but we really feel so strongly about the positive encounter we had in Vidigal. It was simply an incredible 6 days and as a result we can not recommend this place extremely enough.

  Customer Review on 24 November 2011 

I liked the fact that it was right in the middle of a favela which was nothing like i have heard in the past the people were fantastic and was really safe

  Adriana R. on 7 November 2011 

What a fantastic and affordable way to encounter life within the favelas of Rio. Really safe, and very friendly people around. Is a little tricky to uncover so follow the directions on the page. We loved our stay with Matas, he is a fantastic guy and super friendly. The facilities are fantastic, limitless warm water and very clean. Really basic to move around from and get to Ipanema beach and beyond. We ended up extending our stay here simply because we loved it so much! Cheers Matas and Tito!

  Customer Review on 8 October 2011 

Defintely a exceptional spot to stay if you want to sample the hustle and bustle of Brazillian life in a favella. Believe it or not but it is safer than Copacacaban! Delicious and low priced street food and a friendly environment. The 2 brothers who run the guesthouse will go out of their way to help you and make you feel at home. They even let me borrow their surfboard.

  Janaka R. on 8 October 2011 

Defintely a great spot to stay in case you want to sample the hustle and bustle of Brazillian life in a favella. Believe it or not but it is safer than Copacacaban! Delicious and low-cost street food and a friendly environment. The 2 brothers who run the guesthouse will go out of their way to help you and make you really feel at home. They even let me borrow their surfboard.