You’ll be staying at the Art Hostel Rio, a hostel set up by an artist with a wish to create a hostel that is different to anything else in Rio. Set in a beautiful redeveloped building from the end of the 19th century, you will be surrounded by wonderful Brazilian art, dipping you straight into the culture from the first minute you arrive!

Accommodation is situated in the Flamengo region of Rio and just a short metro ride from Copacabana beach. This is a great place to be as you are only 3 minutes away from the metro station, opposite the Catete Palace and you will be able to visit Sugar Loaf Mountain and the Christ the Redeemer statue with great ease.

With 100 rooms, some decorated with an “art” theme you will be sure to meet like-minded travellers, other volunteers and artists from all over the world!  You will have access to a kitchen and a couple of communal areas, where you can relax with friends or use the internet. From time to time the hostel has live Brazilian music and there is always a fantastically vibrant, friendly atmosphere.

You’ll be staying in a dorm room; however singles and doubles are also available. If you'd like to upgrade to a double or single room, just let us know at time of booking and we can arrange it for you, but there will be a supplement for upgrading. All rooms have their own bathroom and individual locker, but you must bring your own padlock. 

You are located in the heart of Rio so there is an almost endless variety of dishes and restaurants available to you to sample - which is why we've provided the accommodation as breakfast only. Volunteers can also use the hostel’s kitchen facilities, exclusively for guests of the hostel

Food: Past experience has shown us that most of our volunteers regard eating out as one of the highlights of living in South America. Therefore, to enable you to sample the endless variety of dishes, Brazilian and otherwise while you're there, we have arranged for your accommodation to include breakfast only. The Brazilian twist to the continental breakfast is fantastic - natural fruit juice, fruits, coffee, milk, bread, cheese, ham, butter, jams, and sweet cakes (popular in Brazil for breakfast), biscuits, cereals and yogurts should also set you up for the day.

Lunch: This is the cheapest meal of the day. Volunteers often dine out together for lunch at ‘por kilo’ restaurants, which charge based on the weight of your food and can cost as little as (12 BRL) for a fantastic meal (this is at lunch time – dinner at these restaurants is more expensive (25 BRL). Another good option is to eat at cafes or ‘botecos’, where a ‘salgado’ (a type of savoury pastry filled with meat, cheese or chicken), ‘pao de queijo’ (literally ‘cheese balls’ – delicious little cheese and bread balls) and other things can cost as little as 2.50 BRL.

Dinner: Evening meals are more expensive, generally ranging from around 15-25 BRL depending on your location. A good way around spending too much money on this meal, if you have use of a kitchen at your accommodation, is to cook meals yourself. Staple foodstuff like rice, beans, a whole variety of vegetables and salads can be found very cheaply at supermarkets, and volunteers often buy large bags of rice and beans between them, then supplement this with treats to make really tasty meals.

Brazilian food and drink are some of the most diverse in the world, thanks to large immigrant groups from several continents that have made their way there. Being influenced by Portugal, the Amazon, West Africa, and Morocco, Brazilian cuisine is enticing and delicious. Many recipes are very regional and the food may contrast drastically from one part of the country to the other. Food in Brazil revolves around three key things, 1) arroz which is white rice, 2) feijao which are black or brown beans and 3) farinha which is like manioc flour. The other basic ingredients of Brazilian cuisine are coconut, chilli, onions, lime, fish, shrimp, cod and manioc.

Coconut water is a great drink option when chilling out on a Brazilian beach. You can also try the famous ‘guarana’, the Brazilian soft drink made of the Amazonian fruit or try the ‘açai’ in liquid form, which is another typically and exotic Brazilian fruit.

The Brazilian passion for food is reflected in the number of people you will see spending long, balmy evenings dining in restaurants and ‘ao ar livre / al fresco’ in the city’s buzzing streets, feasting on fare from the traditional Feijoada (black beans and pork stew) or Mariscada (seafood stew) to modern global cuisine rivaling that of any other international city! If you’re partial to a tipple, you might like to indulge in a caipiranha, Brazil’s traditional drink made with lime and cachaça, best enjoyed in the sunshine with a churrasco, which is a Brazilian barbeque of rice, meats, salads, sauces and – of course – samba the most popular Brazilian dance!

Evenings in Brazil will typically start with dinner at around 9 or 10 pm, usually at a local 'Churrascaria' on weekends. This is a traditional Brazilian BBQ where you'll help yourself to a buffet of salads, pastas and potatoes. Smartly dressed waiters then circulate the restaurant with an endless variety of flame grilled meat for you to choose from, which will be sliced straight onto your plate. A spoonful of Manioc flour (made from the locally grown cassava root) is then sprinkled on top of the meat. This gives a unique, slightly salty flavouring and is strangely moreish! The idea is eating as much as you can and you just need to pay a fee (average 40 BL).

Authentic experiences such as these are a great way to eat out affordably and provide the best opportunities to try out the variety of Brazilian cuisine available.

Area: The hostel is located only a 15 minute-walking distance away from the Arches of ‘Lapa’, ‘Cinelandia’ and ‘Flamengo’, from where you can visit Sugar Loaf Mountains (Pao de Acucar) and the Statue of Christ, the Redeemer; only 3 minutes away from ‘Catete’ Underground station, where you can catch the train and get to ‘Copacabana’ or ‘Ipanema’ beach in less than 15 minutes.

There are several banks, ATMs, supermarkets, drugstores, cinema, hotels, shops, etc., all within a couple of minutes away, which makes the area interesting and busy, even at night! The options for entertainment are endless too; one night you can choose to watch a film at the cinema, or you can just chill out with friends in a local bar or pub.

TRAVEL:
To read about Travel arrangements and what happens when you arrive in your new country, please click here.

As there is so much to do in Brazil, we recommend that you do some travelling around the country once your placement has finished. If this is the case, we can arrange your flights accordingly.

Support & Backup: To read about the excellent Support & Backup we provide before you leave and during your programme, please click here.
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Art Hostel Exterior in Rio

Ilha Grande, just a hop away from Rio!

The spectacular Iguassu Falls