Free PDF. Free audiobook. $15 deep dive.
Start with the free Rio Starter or stream the audiobook narrated by Bryant. Ready for everything? The 36-page Por Dentro is $15. Pick your depth.
- The basics for a first Rio trip
- Money, neighborhoods, beaches
- Two clubs to ask for any night
- How to book BBE in 6 steps
- Bryant's voice, full guide read aloud
- Listen on the plane or on a run
- No email, no signup, no upsell
- 18 chapters, 13 of Rio + 5 deeper
- Everything in the free guide, expanded
- Nightlife week by week
- 25 restaurants with our notes
- Adult, favela, spiritual, Salvador, SP
The Three Doors
Same Brazil. Three Ways In.
Each card below is the full version of the tier above. Pick one, or take all three, they're built to stack.
Honest answers to real questions.
Long-form pieces written from 6 years on the ground in Rio. No email gate, no pitch, just the honest read.
Is Rio safe for Black travelers?
The honest read on actual risk: what's hype, what's real, and how routing drops it close to zero.
Rio vs Salvador for Black culture
Two cities, two homecomings. Which to visit first, or how to do both in one trip.
First-time Rio: 7 days, done right
Day-by-day plan with the rest day in the middle. Built around how locals actually live the week.
"These itineraries are what I'd build for a friend who handed me their dates and said just figure it out." Founder · BBE
What's included in the itinerary price?
Your Experience Concierge throughout the trip, transportation with a dedicated driver, and the experiences you choose from the menu. Priced per person, scaling down as your group grows, and confirmed on your free call.
Not included: hotel, flights, food (unless an experience covers it). More on itineraries →
How far in advance should I book?
2-3 months minimum. Carnival, NYE, and Flamengo home games need 4+ months. Booking details →
Is Rio safe?
As safe as any major city when you have someone on the ground. Most BBE problems are people problems, not crime, we navigate around them. How we operate →
What about LGBTQ+ travelers?
Rio is one of the most openly gay cities in the world. The Gay Rio Insider itinerary is built specifically for that scene. Our founder came out at 29 in this city. More for specific travelers →
Or Skip Straight to the Trip.
Free 30-minute concierge call with the founder. No purchase required. The guides are great, but the call gets your trip moving.
Field Notes
Field Notes from Brazil.
Six years on the ground in Rio, Salvador, and São Paulo. Carnival prep, NYE survival, North Zone access, and the stories behind the menu.
Read the field notes
Carnival 2026, planned right: a six-month checklist. When to book Sambadrome tickets, which blocos are actually worth it, how to survive seven days.
Why Madureira Saturday is the best night in Rio. Parque Madureira into Baile Charm into Casa Black until sunrise, and how it actually flows.
Pequena África: the history you won't find on Wikipedia. Why every Black traveler should walk Saúde first, Pedra do Sal, Valongo Wharf, the Pretos Novos cemetery.
NYE on Copacabana: the 3-million-person playbook. Where to stand, what to wear, how to get home, what locals do that tourists miss.
Inside the Maracanã: a first-timer's guide to a Flamengo game. The chants, the rivalries, which section, how to walk in like you've done it before.
The Sunday move: a day at Rasta Beach. Posto 1 Leme, the music, the regulars, why we shifted our whole Sunday here.
Salvador after Rio: why you should add three days. Capoeira, Candomblé, Pelourinho, the food, where the cultural roots actually live.
Get the next one in your inbox. One field-note essay a month from Bryant, ask on the call or grab the free starter guide above.