[Marcos Wolff]

as far as i've experienced, brazilian southern beaches are not that warm during august / september... and i guess rio has no point of comparison to the south of brazil, praia rosa close to florianopolis is nice tough... to answer your questions mdj: Praia Ipanema Hotel is right in front of the sea, close to Posto 9, most famous part of Ipanema beach (read the story of Garota de Ipanema)... I don't usually recommend Copacabana for girls as during night is less safe than Ipanema and (sorry for this comment) full of women offering sex... The Christ and Sugar Loaf are about 30/40 minute cab ride from Ipanema (depending on the traffic), every travel agency offer tours to do both sites in the same day... During the weekends, most of the museums are opened, but if you visit Downtown area, Lapa and Santa Teresa, it is better to do it on a weekday where there are more people around... Do not miss Lapa on Friday night as it is one of the highlights of Rio if looking for going out, dunno your style but you'll probably like Rio Scenarium and Carioca da Gema (outside those places, people party on the street or other less (touristy) popular bars/discos)... both samba schools i mentioned are close (Botafogo and Downtown)... Any questions just let me know...