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I have been there 3 times. My wife and I stayed in pousadas near the center and pretty much stuck to that area. I have heard stories of people being robbed or car jacked, but I never saw or experienced any crime.

Just use common sense and don't make yourself a target. With all that being said I found it to be a nice place.

I came to Brazil the first time to do a "spiritual journey", rented a car for a month and drove it over 5,000 miles, while hiking extensively in the Chapada Diamantina, much of it alone.  I am accustomed to being alone and self-reliant, I've travelled all through Europe and Africa alone.  It was the hardest trip of my long life of traveling and it was successful.

Living here in Bom Jesus, however, I simply cannot get that experience  again to save my life.  Not too long ago, I was just feeling crushed by all the Portuguese being spoken around me and the people constantly insisting on my attention, so I set out just to walk in the town.  I bought some snacks for myself and found a quiet street where I could, I thought, sit down on the curb and be at peace with my thoughts for a few minutes.

Lo and behold, almost immediately, three different people, strangers to me, all stopped to tell me that it was not safe to be alone, to be in this neighborhood, or even just to be outside in the sunlight,  they knew who I was and who my wife was and where I lived and they all wanted me to go back home.  They were all very sweet about it, what could I say, what could I do?

This is Brazil.

@dianagrasselli

I have been to Brazil several times but always with my wife who is Brazilian and a very good guide. I think it really depends on where you are and who you are with. If you are talking specifically about Paraty, we went there last year and had no concerns about safety (although now with the rains and mudslides, I would go somewhere else😢). In my town of Campos do Jordão, I feel perfectly safe shopping and driving around by myself although my limited Portuguese constrains me considerably. The most difficult part for me is the language barrier. I have been trying really hard to learn Portuguese, but it’s pretty hard for me and it appears that few people in Brazil speak English.

We went to Paraty over Christmas break for a few days.  It seems safe enough, it's very touristy which I liked for about a day and then had my fill.  We walked all over the old town and did not use the car at all. You can't park in the old town and it's a small area.  We did not feel unsafe at any time.

The unsafe part was driving to Paraty from Campinas coming in on the 459 in the rain.  Very sketchy drive through the mountains with the road washed out in several places.  We decided for this reason to drive back on the 101 towards Picinguba but the road was closed in multiple places due to be washed out.  So we had no choice to drive back through the mountains on the 459.

So as a conclusion.  If you like quaint old villages that are very touristy you'll enjoy Paraty.  To me the highlight was the day on the boat going to several beaches.  The drive in and out of Paraty can be dangerous so check the road conditions because it has rained for months now.  The roads are not well maintained in this area. There is a website CCR RioSP that may be helpful.