Hello.
Looking for hostel advice in Rio, Paraty, ilha Grande and Florianopolis Brazil- top personal recommendations (I have mostly looked on Hostel World)
Also, how is the public transit system in the cities about for a solo traveler who does not know a lot of Portuguese?
Thanks in advance!

Be very careful traveling on own in Brazil! My husband has relatives in sao paul we were not aloud to o out on own. No jewellry worn either. This is where i have seen true poverty.

I will be flying into and out of Sao Paulo but not staying over night. I will also not be bringing or wearing jewellery. Thank you for the help

Rio is actually more dangerous than sao paulo. I know I told you this before, but be extra careful. Very unfortunate since I am originally from Brazil, but I feel obligated to let you know since I lived there for most of my life.
Just read news the other day about a hostel in rio where tourists were robbed at gun point overnight (while sleeping, they were awakened by the robbers).
Obviously doesn't mean every hostel will get robbed frequently, but it could happen again, it is not an anomaly...

No jewelry, no fancy smartphone, don't take a lot of cash around... pretty much everywhere you can pay with credit cards, and in this case it is worth the extra conversion fee in lieu of safety...

Try this site for accommodations

Eduardo! That is very scary! Thank you for the recommendations and help!

I travelled solo in 2006. It was incredible. But as a woman who is used to being able to walk anywhere on my own without a man or fear of being robbed, it was quite the culture shock! Transit is great. Took cabs at night. Be careful of cab drivers there - there are some that will charge flat rates and others on a timer. I preferred flat rates as you can negotiate. I also did not speak Portuguese and found it a tricky language. I was determined to get off the beaten track which meant less English. Beaches are high crime zones. Also cafes where you might leave your bag at your feet. It's a wonder place but keep your wits about you always!

I'm glad you had fun there. Things did change a little from 2006 until now...
major one is economic crisis hit a couple of years ago, and as you can imagine crime went up.

Eduardo absolutely.

Raelene Just an update: the rio de janeiro state police just went on strike. Equivalent to the rcmp or vpd going on strike here. I was planning to visit family in November or December but changed my mind. I am going to meet with them somewhere safer. It's the second state (equivalent of province in brazil) thst the police goes on strike, in the other state (called espirito santo) it was chaos with looting, shootings and killings all over.