ABOUT KARİNA

Rio de Janeiro is more than a city, it’s my life

A woman wearing a black T-shirt, shorts, sunglasses, and a blue cap standing with an orange bike on a wooden seaside boardwalk. In the background, there are people sitting and walking, a sandy beach, high-rise buildings, and the ocean with waves under a clear blue sky.
A woman with curly hair and sunglasses is smiling while leaning on a railing during daytime. Behind her, there is lush green vegetation, a body of water, and a large mountain with a building on top, suggesting a scenic outdoor location, likely a famous viewpoint in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
A woman with curly dark hair wearing a star headband and a sparkling dress, smiling at night with a cityscape, river, and sky with clouds in the background.

Welcome to Going to Rio — my love letter to the city that shaped me. Born and raised here, I've spent a lifetime learning its rhythms, its secrets, and the quiet magic that no guidebook quite captures.

Image of a girl from Rio de Janeiro standing at a viewpoint overlooking the Guanabara Bay and the Sugar loaf

A carioca who turned a lifelong love into a mission

My name is Karina, and I've been navigating Rio's rhythms since before I could name them. I grew up here, a proud Carioca, learning the city's unwritten rules and falling in love with its contradictions, the jungle that meets the sea, the chaos that somehow feels like home.

I've traveled the world searching for a place that could make me feel the way Rio does. I lived in different countries, walked through cities filled with history and beauty. But every time, I came back to the same truth: nowhere feels like Rio.

With over 12 years as a tourism professional, I created Going to Rio because I kept seeing the same gap: Rio is one of the fastest-growing international destinations in the world, and travelers were arriving armed with outdated information, generic itineraries, and a lot of unnecessary fear. The city they were experiencing wasn't the Rio I know. And that felt like a waste.

I've built this space to be a real, living knowledge of Rio. Not the postcard version, the Rio that locals live. The small rituals, the hidden corners, the laid-back lifestyle, the conversations you overhear on the beach, the warmth of strangers who become friends. This is my home. It always has been.

That's the Rio I want to show you.

I love hearing from readers. If you're planning a trip or just want to chat, reach out here →

A woman with curly hair and sunglasses smiling on a boat or near water with Sugarloaf Mountain in the background in Rio de Janeiro.
A person wearing a white shirt, black pants, and white sneakers is standing with a bicycle on a roadside overlooking the city with a mountain in the background, featuring the Christ the Redeemer statue on top.

MY STORY

Need help to plan your trip to Rio de Janeiro?

If you're planning a trip and want someone who genuinely loves this city and can cut through the noise and help you make the most of every single day, I'd love to help.

Check my trip planning packages.

Beach in Rio de Janeiro with high-rise buildings, green hills, Sugarloaf Mountain, and boats in the water.