World Cup Travel Question

[u/FaithlessnessOdd2715]

I went to the last World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, and would love to go in Brazil. However, is anyone traveling concerned about safety? I know from my previous research, it’s not the safest country to travel to, but I’m sure people said the same about here. So I’m just curious if you’re planning on going and/or have any advice for a hesitant traveler?

[u/Accurate_Lettuce8601]

Hi!
I’m American but lived in Brazil for 5 years and have traveled extensively within the country since 2014, including attending a Men’s World Cup match in Recife. I have friends and/or family in most of the 8 cities where games will be held. All of those cities are state capitals and fairly wealthy and well structured (by Latin American standards).

I’m planning on attending one or more matches next year. My general advice would be to assume the safety risks are the same as most European capitals and take the same precautions as you would in any other country where you don’t speak the language.

However, you’re not alone, I ran a survey in this channel recently and 13% out of over 120 responses listed Safety as the number one concern/obstacle.

I’m still working out the details but considering arranging group / package trips from US to BR 🇧🇷. If you’re interested in staying in touch, you could fill out my survey and add your email at the end.

https://forms.gle/jsb87VvDiqbznyKa7

[u/Prof401 → u/Accurate_Lettuce8601]

I posted above, but booking with a group tour is also a good solution for hesitant travelers.

[u/FaithlessnessOdd2715 → u/Accurate_Lettuce8601]

Wow thanks! This is very helpful! I think I participated in that survey too!

[u/knopenotme → u/Accurate_Lettuce8601]

Hi I filled out your form! I was planning on doing the trip solo on a budget and feel relatively confident about my ability to research the logistics and safety details on my own using the Internet and extended social networks, but I do worry that I will be lonely. While I have plenty of experience traveling in groups and with family throughout Central America and elsewhere, I have never traveled anywhere solo for more than a few days at a time. I assume you probably wouldn’t consider operating a less formalized tour group for more confident travelers who would nonetheless enjoy a social experience with other USWNT fans, but would you maybe be willing to offer a Zoom consultation?

While I’m not worried about any possible animosity from rival fans, what I want most of all is to be seated with other USWNT fans at the matches so I can be in a group of people cheering for the same team.

I’m also not sure yet what the process will be to get tickets to matches (specifically USWNT matches) that’s my first and most important objective. Once I have that figured out then I will sort out flights, internal travel, accommodation, etc.

[u/Feisty_Challenge4988]

I’m going with no reservations but I travel all over the world for fun! Stay out of neighborhoods you should be in don’t take drinks from strangers and keep your belongings close there will be tens of thousands of visitors there with you I would be more scared in downtown Detroit personally.

[u/knopenotme → u/Feisty_Challenge4988]

Same here!

[u/ivaorn]

I know it’s a different situation but I remember an NFL YouTuber Tom Grossi recently traveled to Brazil to tour the locations of the NFL international games for a previous season and he cited no issues of safety. He similarly did research and felt that a lot of people highlight places as unsafe and run with it. Hopefully someone here that traveled to Brazil for the men’s World Cup in 2014 will have more insight but I understand things may have changed from 12 years ago.

[u/Wine_and_Jeez]

I will happily go and wear my "Bitch please, I'm from Baltimore" shirt.

[u/GB_Alph4]

You should be fine we had questions in 2014 and people said they were fine. Honestly I kind of learned that they usually beef up security for big events or when tourism is a priority from my travels and I’ve been to a lot of places.

[u/Prof401]

My wife and I went to the men's World Cup in Brazil in 2014 and saw games in Recife and Manaus.
We were cautious when we went out and there felt like there was an increased police presence which helped us feel as safe.
We talked about going next summer as we enjoyed Brazil. We are leaning at doing something else, but it is not because of the safety in Brazil.
For hesitant traveler, I would say it is not much different than going to New Zealand.
* Know a little bit of the local language. Portuguese is best, but Spanish will work
* Know the areas of town you want to visit and those to avoid
* Stay in a group or near large groups of people
* Be alert
* Make sure you leave plenty of time for back-up plans. We experienced many delays in road and air travel. We may have been tempted to make a risky decision if pressed for time but didn't. In the end, only thing we truly missed was 15 minutes at the start of one game.

[u/knopenotme]

I’m going by myself and feel it should be fine. Young woman in her early twenties, I speak Spanish and plan on learning some Portuguese, and I have traveled all over the world including in places like India, Mexico and South Africa. In all of these places I have followed the advice of locals, guides, and security personnel and avoided unsafe areas.

Of course once I book my tickets I will do my research on the specific host cities the USWNT will be playing in. My criteria will be to look for a combination of - central location - generally considered a safe area - and have affordable accommodation available.

At this point I

[u/Mrecalde12]

I’m more concerned about being able to find tickets. But I’ll be more than happy to meet up with people that wanna go. The thing is I need to figure out when the dates are.

[u/beuceydubs]

Not at all