Have questions? Please read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section on our website or email elliot@favelaexperience.com.

Favela Experience provides affordable room and apartment rentals for travelers in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. As safe, centrally-located, and culturally vibrant neighborhoods, the favelas offer our guests a true Brazilian experience close to Rio’s beaches and main sights.

Now for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, we are offering our accommodations exclusively through Indiegogo.com at prices starting 50% below even youth hostels in Rio. Book our shared rooms, private rooms, and private apartments before this deal ends and our supply sells out on January 7th, 2014!

Safety

In advance of the World Cup, a new government initiative has installed 24-hour, community police in our favelas. Whereas just three years ago, there were no police here, now Brazil especially wants to protect visitors when it presents itself on the world stage.

Your stay will be very safe, as our other guests have described in our verified guest reviews:

“[W]e felt much safer here than anywhere in Rio. No problem walking around at night.” - Triinu (Estonia)

“The place was safe and well lit, and just about 3 minutes from the main avenue, so you can definitely walk in at night with no problems.” - Kirk (United States)

“I'm a girl, and was travelling alone - at no point did I feel at all threatened or unsafe, everyone was very friendly.” - Hannah (United Kingdom)

Moreover, we recruit our hosts through trusted personal networks and interview all household members face-to-face. During our house visits, we screen properties for security, privacy, and comfort and screen hosts to ensure they are trustworthy, reliable, and welcoming. Our hosts understand that giving you the best experience will earn them excellent reviews, drawing more guests and generating more income for their families.

In addition, we will have 24/7 phone numbers in Brazil that you can call to reach us about safety concerns.

Affordability

As accommodations in Rio for the World Cup are selling at abusively high prices, Favela Experience seeks to make the event accessible for all fans. We offer our rooms and apartments at least 50% below even youth hostels’ prices to ensure that travelers with limited budgets can afford to experience the excitement of the event.

Location

All of our favelas are located in Rio’s prime South Zone (“Zona Sul”), the center of excitement for visitors during the World Cup. Moreover, the South Zone includes the famous Copacabana and Ipanema beaches.

Our locations include the favelas of Vidigal and Rocinha, both within a 15-minute walk of the exclusive Leblon beach and São Conrado beach, respectively. Additionally, these favelas have extensive public transport access, with buses available 24 hours a day to all parts of Rio.

World Cup Accommodations Options

All of our accommodations are secure, comfortable, clean, and well-located. Our properties include one individual-size bed per person, fast WI-FI, hot showers, towels, and bed linens. Note: we will assign you to one of our properties at the accommodations level you purchase for the World Cup.

Single Bed in Shared Bedroom ("5 Nights in Shared Room" - $250): An individual-sized bed for one (1) guest in a shared bedroom with a shared bathroom and shared kitchen in either a favela home or guesthouse. View an example of one our shared rooms.

Private Bedroom ("5 Nights in Private Room" - $650): An entirely private bedroom for two (2) guests with a shared or private bathroom and shared kitchen in either a favela home or a guesthouse. View an example of one our private rooms.

Private Studio/One-Bedroom Apartment ("5 Nights in Pvt. 1-Bdrm. Apt." - $1000): An entirely private studio or one-bedroom apartment for two (2) guests with its own private bathroom and kitchen. The property is not shared with other guests or hosts. View an example of one our private studio/one-bedroom apartments.

Private Two-Bedroom Apartment ("5 Nights in Pvt. 2-Bdrm. Apt." - $1600): An entirely private two-bedroom apartment for four (4) guests with its own private bathroom and kitchen. The property is not shared with other guests or hosts. View an example of one of our private two-bedroom apartments.

How to Purchase World Cup Accommodations

To purchase your World Cup accommodations, follow these steps:

1. On the sidebar at the top right, select your accommodations type (either shared room, private room, private studio/one-bedroom apartment, or private two-bedroom apartment).
2. If you want to stay above the 5-night minimum, calculate how many extra consecutive nights you want to book. Add the following per-night prices to your total price:
   - Single bed in shared room: $40 per night
   - Private bedroom: $120 per night
   - Private studio/one-bedroom apartment: $190 per night
   - Private two-bedroom apartment: $300 per night
3. Write the total price of your accommodations, including additional nights, as your contribution amount.

Note: Prices for private bedrooms and private apartments are NOT per person. For a private bedroom or private studio/one-bedroom apartment, the price is the same regardless of whether you have one (1) or two (2) guests. For a private two-bedroom apartment, the price is the same regardless of whether you have one (1), two (2), three (3), or four (4) guests.

Other Perks

Even if you cannot come to the World Cup, we offer perks if you want to see all that Rio and the favelas have to offer.

"Video of Rio and Favelas" - $25: Get EXCLUSIVE, high-definition footage of Rio and favelas from Zac Fabian Productions and Will van der Linde, creators of our Indiegogo campaign video. The 13-minute video includes an inside look into Brazil's largest favela of Rocinha, an interview with Favela Experience CEO and Founder Elliot Rosenberg, and cultural scenes such as capoeira martial art. Of course, there is also stunning footage of Christ the Redeemer, Sugar Loaf Mountain, Copacabana beach, and Maracanã Stadium. If you are not coming to Rio soon, this video is your next best option to experiencing the beauty and excitement of "The Marvelous City." 

"1-Hour Skype Call with Founder" - $50: Speak by Skype for 1 hour with Favela Experience CEO and Founder Elliot Rosenberg. Ask him anything! Learn about his journey to becoming a social entrepreneur and his tips for running a venture in Brazil. Get his advice on starting a business during college or any time in your life.

"7 Nights in Vidigal (non-FIFA)" - $100: Total price for seven (7) consecutive nights for (2) guests in two (2) individual-sized beds in the shared bedroom at our guesthouse in Vidigal. Please confirm your stay at least 60 days before arrival. (NOT VALID during the periods of the FIFA World Cup, New Year's Eve, Carnival, Rock in Rio, and other peak season events.) This Indiegogo-only price is 50% off our normal prices!

Team

We have decades of experience living and traveling in Brazil, and we closely understand the country both as residents and travelers. We created Favela Experience to share our passion for authentic travel with our guests. Our backgrounds span favela tourism, social enterprise, and startups, meaning we are working in a field we already know and love!

Ethical Tourism & Social Impact

As a social enterprise, our mission is to generate sustainable income for favela families while breaking the negative stereotypes about these communities. So far, we have generated over $20,000 US dollars for our favela hosts and have exposed over 50 guests to the reality and vibrancy of favelas.

During the World Cup, we can make a profound social impact. Favela residents often earn near the minimum wage of $350 US dollars per month from their normal employment. From your World Cup accommodations purchase, we seek to generate many months of income for our host families, allowing them to invest in their education, health, and housing.

We recognize that much favela tourism is unethical in how it objectifies poverty and perpetuates negative images of favelas. We oppose these “poverty safaris” and strive to provide genuine interactions with favela residents while supporting community development.

Risks & Challenges 

We will provide our guests an exciting World Cup experience with safe, comfortable, and well-located accommodations. Of course, we recognize the challenge of obtaining more properties for our Indiegogo customers before the World Cup.

As such, we have limited our availability of homes on Indiegogo to levels that are conservative and realistic of our capacity to add more properties. We have already met with homeowners who are excited about and willing to host over 100 guests during the World Cup. Once you purchase our World Cup accommodations, we will be able to add these properties to our inventory. Furthermore, by June 2014 we will add a buffer of extra properties (that we will leave unoccupied) to ensure that all of our customers are satisfied with their accommodations.

Other Ways You Can Help

Whether or not you can make a monetary contribution, please share our campaign with anyone you know who is coming to the World Cup. Use the sharing tools underneath our campaign video at the top of the page to share our campaign on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, email, and other social networks.