There's no shortage of choice of accommodation in Rio, but it's as well to bear in mind two things: From December to February (inclusive) is high season, so if you arrive then without an advance booking, either make one through a tourist office or leave your luggage in the guarda volumes (baggage offices) at the Rodoviária or at Santos Dumont airport while you look; there's no point lugging heavy bags around Rio's hot thoroughfares, and it makes you vulnerable to theft. One other period when prices tend to fluctuate wildly is at Carnaval, when accommodation becomes that much harder to find.

During the low season, hotels usually lower their prices by around thirty percent but, when a discount is given, you may not be allowed to pay with a credit card (which budget hotels rarely accept anyway). There is keen competition for tourists and you should be able to find a reasonable double room for $40-60. It is unusual for a hotel not to have air conditioners in each room; and, unless otherwise indicated, hotels serve some form of breakfast included in the price. The highest concentration of budget places is in Glória, Catete and Flamengo, but reasonably priced accommodation can be found just about anywhere.

If you have any problems with unscrupulous hotel owners, call SUNAB (Mon-Sat 8am-6pm; 262-0198), the government's consumer affairs agency.

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There are no campsites within easy reach of Rio, but there are a handful of hostels in Botafogo and Copacabana for those with a youth hostel card; remember, however, that the universities are on holiday between December and March, when these places will be packed out.

For apartments, try Rio Star Imóveis Ltda in Copacabana (275-8393; English and French spoken) or Rio Flat Service (274-7222), which has apartment buildings in Copacabana, Leblon and Lagoa - from $40 a day for a small apartment, with breakfast and swimming pool. If you want to be in Ipanema, call Ipanema Sweet (239-1819), who have one- and two-bedroom apartments near the beach from $50 per day. If you're stopping in Rio for a while, check out the classified ads in the Jornal do Brasil for rented rooms - "vaga" (vacancy) and "quarto" (room) signify space in someone's home; "conjugado", abbreviated to "conj", means a bedsitter.