Travel Tips Brazil for planning and on the go

Brazil is a country of extremes, from the Amazon rainforest to the samba-fueled streets of Rio de Janeiro. But before you pack your bags, there are a few things you should know. This guide covers the essentials — entry requirements, safety tips, costs, and accessibility — to help you plan a hassle-free trip.

Accessible travel

Traveling in Brazil for people with disabilities is likely to be difficult if special facilities are required. For example, access even to recently constructed buildings may be impossible, as lifts are often too narrow to accept wheelchairs or there may be no lift at all. In general, though, you’ll find that hotel and restaurant staff are helpful and will do their utmost to be of assistance to try to make up for the deficiencies in access and facilities.

Buses in cities are really only suitable for the agile; taxis, however, are plentiful, and most can accommodate wheelchairs. Long-distance buses are generally quite comfortable, with the special leito services offering fully reclining seats. Internal airlines are helpful, and wheelchairs are available at all the main airports.

The IBDD (www.ibdd.org.br), Centro de Vida Independente (www.cvi.org.br) and Turismo Adaptado (www.turismoadaptado.com.br) campaign for disabled rights in Brazil, but with the exception of the latter, their websites are in Portuguese only – English-speakers are better off visiting sites such as www.disabilitytravel.com for tips on Brazil travel.

Costs

Prices in Brazil have risen considerably in recent years, though the recent economic downturn has tempered this somewhat – hotel prices in particular have dropped overall (along with the cost of car rentals) and most tourist attractions have frozen (or even lowered fees), though the price of food, taxis, local transport and most goods have continued to increase. Indeed, the custo Brasil (“Brazil cost”) has become one of the most contentious issues of the day, with millions of Brazilians unable to participate in the nation’s “middle-class” economy. In most of Brazil you’ll still pay relatively high prices comparable to the US and Europe for meals in top restaurants and long-distance flights – things like sunblock, good-quality clothing, cameras and anything to do with computers tend to cost even more. Hotels in São Paulo and Rio are still very expensive.

The good news is that outside of these two big cities, Brazil remains very much a viable destination for the budget traveller. Every town has a range of cheap eats and hostels, and the fact that the best attractions, such as the beaches and many museums, are free, makes it possible to have an enjoyable time on a budget of less than R$250 a day. Staying in good hotels, travelling by comfortable buses or planes and not stinting on the extras is likely to cost you a lot more – at least R$700 a day.

Crime and personal safety

Brazil has a reputation as a rather dangerous place, and while it’s not entirely undeserved, it is often overblown and you should not let fear overshadow your stay. If you take the precautions outlined below, you are extremely unlikely to come to any harm. The tips in this section apply everywhere, but be particularly alert in Rio, Salvador and São Paulo.

Criminals know that any injury to a foreign tourist is going to mean a heavy clampdown, which in turn means no pickings for a while. So unless you resist during an incident, nothing is likely to happen to you. Avoid favelas in any city unless you know they are safe, or are visiting with locals/tour guides who know the area – drug gang members have been known to shoot tourists who have accidentally driven into the wrong favelas. Use GPS/SatNav devices with caution (double-checking routes with maps), as they can sometimes lead you through shady areas as the “fastest” or “shortest” route to a destination.

Avoiding assaltos

As a rule, assaltos (muggings) are most common in the larger cities, and are rare in the countryside and towns. Most assaltos take place at night, in backstreets with few people around, so stick to busy, well-lit streets; in a city, it’s always a lot safer to take a taxi than walk. Also, prepare for the worst by locking your money and passport in the hotel safe – the one in your room is more secure than the one at reception. If you must carry them, make sure they’re in a moneybelt or a concealed internal pocket. Do not carry your valuables in a pouch hanging from your neck. Only take along as much money as you’ll need for the day, but do take at least some money, as the average assaltante won’t believe a gringo could be out of money, and might get rough. Don’t wear an expensive watch or jewellery: if you need a watch you can always buy a cheap plastic digital one on a street corner. And keep wallets and purses out of sight – pockets with buttons or zips are best. Needless to say, flaunting fancy phones, iPads and other high-tech paraphernalia is not a good idea.

If you are unlucky enough to be the victim of an assalto, try to remember that it’s your possessions rather than you that are the target. Your money and anything you’re carrying will be snatched, your watch will get pulled off your wrist, but within a couple of seconds it will be over. On no account resist: it isn’t worth the risk. If in a car, and someone taps on the window with a gun, they want your wallet – hand it out through the window. If they want the car, they will signal you out of it; get out immediately and do not delay to pick up anything. If you try to drive off at speed, there’s a good chance they will shoot. If in a restaurant or sitting down, make no sudden movements and do not stand up, even if only to get your wallet out – wriggle instead.

Scams

At international airports, particularly Rio and São Paulo, certain scams can operate; for instance, well-dressed and official-looking men target tourists arriving off international flights in the arrivals lounge, identify themselves as policemen, often flashing a card, and tell the tourists to go with them. The tourists are then pushed into a car outside and robbed. If anyone, no matter how polite or well dressed they are, or how good their English is, identifies themselves as a policeman to you, be instantly on your guard – real policemen generally leave foreigners well alone. They won’t try anything actually inside a terminal building, so go to any airline desk or grab one of the security guards, and on no account leave the terminal building with them or leave any luggage in their hands. Scams involving ATM machines are also common in the big cities .

Avoiding theft

More common than an assalto is a simple theft, a furto. Brand-new, designer-label bags are an obvious target, so go for the downmarket look. You’re at your most vulnerable when traveling, and though the luggage compartments of buses are pretty safe – remember to get a baggage receipt from the person putting them in and don’t throw it away – the overhead racks inside are less safe; keep an eye on things you stash there, especially on night journeys. On a city beach, never leave things unattended while you take a dip: any beachside bar will stow things for you for free.

Most hotels (even the cheaper ones) will have a safe (caixa), and unless you have serious doubts about the place you should lock away your most valuable things: the better the hotel, the more secure it’s likely to be. In cheaper hotels, where rooms are shared, the risks are obviously greater – some people take along a small padlock for extra security and many wardrobes in cheaper hotels have latches fitted for this very purpose. Finally, take care at Carnaval as it’s a notorious time for pickpockets and thieves.

Drugs

The drug wars in the favelas that you will have heard about and may well see on local TV during your stay are very localized and unlikely to have any impact on foreign tourists. But you should be extremely careful about using drugs in Brazil. Marijuana – maconha – is common, but you are in trouble if the police find any on you. You’ll be able to bribe your way out of it, but it will cost you the daily withdrawal limit on whatever plastic you have.

Foreigners sometimes get targeted for a shakedown and have drugs planted on them – the area around the Bolivian border has a bad reputation for this – in order to get a bribe out of them. If this happens to you, deny everything, refuse to pay and insist on seeing a superior officer and telephoning the nearest consulate – though this approach is only for the patient.

The police

If you are robbed or held up, it’s best to go to the police immediately, even though, they’re very unlikely to be able to do anything (except with something like a theft from a hotel room) – and reporting a theft can take hours even without the language barrier. You may have to do it for insurance purposes, for which you’ll need a local police report: this could take an entire, very frustrating, day, so think first about how badly you want to be reimbursed. If your passport is stolen, go to your consulate and they should be able to assist.

There are various types of police. The best are usually the Polícia de Turismo, or tourist police, who are used to tourists and their problems and often speak some English, but they’re thin on the ground outside Rio. In a city, their number should be displayed on or near the desk of all hotels. The most efficient police by far are the Polícia Federal, the Brazilian equivalent of the American FBI, who deal with visas and their extension; they have offices at frontier posts, airports and ports and in state capitals. The ones you see on every street corner are the Polícia Militar, with blue or green uniforms and caps. They look mean – and very often are – but, apart from at highway road blocks, they generally leave gringos alone. There is also a plain-clothes Polícia Civil, to whom thefts are reported if there is no tourist police post around – they are overworked, underpaid and extremely slow. If you decide to go to the police in a city where there is a consulate, get in touch with the consulate first and do as they tell you.

Electricity

Electricity supplies vary – sometimes 110V and sometimes 220V – so check before plugging anything in. Plugs have two round pins, as in continental Europe.

Insurance

Prior to traveling, you should take out an insurance policy to cover against theft, loss and illness or injury. Before paying for a new policy, however, it’s worth checking whether you already have some degree of coverage – credit-card companies, home-insurance policies and private medical plans sometimes cover you and your belongings when you’re abroad. Remember that when securing baggage insurance, make sure that the per-article limit – typically under £500 equivalent – will cover your most valuable possession.

Internet

Brazil has the highest number of computers with internet access in South America and all things online are highly developed, with wi-fi increasingly available; as a result, internet cafés are dwindling in number. Almost every hotel in Brazil (unless in very remote locations) offers free wi-fi, as do many cafés.

Laundry

Even the humblest of hotels has a lavadeira, who will wash and iron your clothes. If the rates are not clearly published, agree on a price beforehand. Larger hotels always have set prices for laundry services – they are usually surprisingly expensive. Very common in larger cities are lavandarías, which operate a very useful por peso system – the clothes are weighed at the entrance, you pay per kilo, and pick them up washed and folded the next day for a couple of dollars per kilo. Ironing (passar) costs a little more.

LGBTQ travelers

Queer life in Brazil thrives, especially in the large cities, Rio in particular being one of the great gay cities of the world. In general, the scene benefits from Brazil’s hedonistically relaxed attitudes towards sexuality in general, and the divide between gay and straight nightlife is often very blurred. Attitudes vary from region to region. The two most popular gay destinations are Rio and Salvador. Rural areas and small towns, especially in Minas Gerais, the Northeast and the South, are conservative; the medium-sized and larger cities less so.

Maps

Detailed maps are surprisingly hard to get hold of outside Brazil and are rarely very good: Bartholomew, International Travel Maps, Michelin and National Geographic produce country maps (typically 1:4,200,000), but these are not updated often. Much better are the regional maps in the Mapa Rodoviário Touring series (1:2,500,000), which clearly mark all the major routes, although these, even in Brazil, are difficult to find; almost all Brazilians with cars use some sort of GPS navigation system (usually via smartphones).

Money

The Brazilian currency is the real (pronounced “hey-al”); its plural is reais (pronounced “hey-ice”), written R$. The real is made up of one hundred centavos, written ¢. Notes are for 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 reais; coins are 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 centavos and the 1 real. However, US dollars and euros are easy enough to change in banks and exchange offices anywhere. Exchange rates have stabilized somewhat after the real weakened sharply against the dollar in 2015/2016; the currency has been strengthening a little since 2017, but exchange-rate turbulence is unlikely to be a feature of your stay. Rates out of ATMs are usually better than at câmbios.

ATMs

Getting cash in Brazil is simple in theory; just take your debit or credit card and use ATMs – they are now ubiquitous in Brazil, to be found in most supermarkets, many pharmacies and all airports, as well as banks. The problem is getting them to work for international cards – always plan ahead and make sure you have enough cash to last a day or so in advance.

Increasing numbers of Brazilian banks are linking their cash dispensers to the Cirrus and Maestro networks; the most reliable and widespread is the Banco 24 Horas network, including Banco do Brasil, Citibank and HSBC (Santander and Bradesco also usually have ATMs that are compatible), though don’t be surprised if your card is rejected; only try machines which have the “Visa” or “MasterCard” (or Cirrus and Maestro) logos (not all the machines in the same bank do). Another important thing to note is that for security reasons most bank ATMs stop dispensing cash after 10pm (or at least, limit the amount you can take out). Airport ATMs are the only ones that dispense cash at all hours.

Credit cards

All major credit cards are widely accepted by shops, hotels and restaurants throughout Brazil, even in rural areas. MasterCard and Visa are the most prevalent, with Diners Club and American Express also widespread. It’s a good idea to inform your credit-card issuer about your trip before you leave so that the card isn’t frozen for uncharacteristic use (and Brazil always raises red flags). Travelers’ cheques are not recommended.

Opening hours

Basic hours for most stores and businesses are from Monday to Saturday 8am to noon and 2pm to 6pm (with smaller shops tending to close Saturday afternoons). Shops in malls tend to stay open until late Friday and Saturday nights. Banks open at 10am, and stay open all day, but usually stop changing money at either 2pm or 3pm; except for those at major airports, they’re closed at weekends and on public holidays. Museums and monuments more or less follow office hours but most are closed all day on Monday and Sunday afternoons.

Phones

With the explosion of mobile/wireless communications, public phones are now hard to find in Brazil – aim to use a mobile phone if you can. Hostels are also usually happy to call ahead for reservations at your next stop.

Mobile phones

International visitors who want to use their mobile phones in Brazil will need to check with their phone provider to make sure it will work and what the call charges will be. Assuming your phone does work, you’ll need to be extra careful about roaming charges, especially for data, which can be extortionate; even checking voicemail can result in hefty charges. Many travellers turn off their voicemail and data roaming before they travel.

If you have a compatible (and unlocked) GSM phone and intend to use it a lot, it can be much cheaper to buy a Brazilian SIM card to use during your stay. Vivo (www.vivo.com.br) has the best coverage – foreigners can buy SIM (“chips”) or phones but you’ll need to show your passport. Currently, TIM Brasil (www.tim.com.br) usually offers the best deals for pre-paid SIM cards (look for TIM outlets or visit a branch of the Lojas Americanas chain store). Once the SIM is installed, you should opt for a pre-pay plan (pré-pago); to add credit to your phone, just go to TIM shops, newspaper stalls or pharmacies and ask for TIM “cargas”.

Carrier selection codes

The privatization of Brazil’s telephone system has led to a proliferation of new telephone companies and increased competition. Before making a national or international call you must now select the telephone company you wish to use by inserting a two-digit carrier selection code between the zero and the area code or country code of the number you are calling. To call Rio, for example, from anywhere else in the country, you would dial zero + phone company code + city code (21) followed by the eight-digit number. For local calls, you simply dial the seven- or eight-digit number. Assuming you have a choice, it doesn’t matter which company you use, as costs are very similar (this goes for international calls too).

The most common codes are 21 (Embratel), 23 (Intelig Telecom), 31 (Oi), 15 (Telefónica), 41 (TIM) and 14 (Brasil Telecom). If you want to reverse the charges for a local call, dial 9090 plus the number. For long-distance collect calls, dial 90 then the number with carrier code as above (90 + carrier code + area code + number).

To reverse the charges on an international call, dial 0800 703 2111 or 0800 890 0288 (for the English-speaking AT&T operator, for North American calls) and follow the instructions. The country code for Brazil if calling from overseas is +55.

Post

A post office (run by the national postal service Correios; www.correios.com.br) is called a correio, identifiable by their bright yellow postboxes and signshops An imposing Correios e Telégrafos building will always be found in the centre of a city of any size, but there are also small offices and kiosks scattered around that only deal with mail. Queues are often a problem, but you can save time by using one of their franking machines for stamps; the lines move much more quickly. Stamps (selos) are most commonly available in two varieties, either for mailing within Brazil or abroad. It is expensive to send parcels abroad.

Mail within Brazil takes three or four days (longer in the North and Northeast), while airmail letters to Europe and North America usually take about a week. Surface mail takes about a month to North America, and two to Europe. Although the postal system is generally very reliable, it is not advisable to send valuables through the mail.

Time

Most of Brazil is three hours behind GMT/UTC (Fernando de Noronha is two hours behind); during daylight saving (summer) time (Oct–Feb) it’s two hours behind, but confusingly, the northern and northeastern states don’t change – check timetables carefully. Most of Amazonas, Rondônia, Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul are four hours behind – that includes the cities of Manaus, Corumbá, Rio Branco, Porto Velho, Cuiabá and Campo Grande.

The far-western tip of the country (Acre and the southwestern portion of Amazonas) is five hours behind.

Tipping

Restaurant bills usually come with ten percent taxa de serviço included, in which case you don’t have to tip – ten percent is about right if it is not included. Waiters and some hotel employees depend on tips. You don’t have to tip taxi drivers (though they won’t say no), but you are expected to tip barbers, hairdressers, shoeshine kids, self-appointed guides and porters. It’s useful to keep change handy for them – and for beggars.

Tourist information

You’ll find tourist information fairly easy to come by once in Brazil, and there are some sources to be tapped before you leave home. Popular destinations such as Rio, Salvador, the Northeast beach resorts, and towns throughout the South have efficient and helpful tourist offices, but anywhere off the beaten track has nothing at all.

Most state capitals have tourist information offices, which are announced by signs saying “Informações Turísticas”. Many of these provide free city maps and booklets, but they are usually all in Portuguese. As a rule, only the airport tourist offices have hotel-booking services, and none of them is very good on advising about budget accommodation. Tourist offices are run by the different state and municipal governments, so you have to learn a new acronym every time you cross a state line. In Rio, for example, you’ll find TurisRio, which advises on the state, and Riotur, which provides information on the city. There’s also EMBRATUR, the national tourist organization, but it doesn’t have direct dealings with the general public apart from via its excellent website, www.visitbrasil.com.