Travel Guide to Brazil

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Locations
Brazil is a super holiday destination with a huge variety of things to see and do – jungle, beautiful beaches, historic towns, beautiful cities, the biggest waterfall in South America. We are offering holidays in Rio the pulsating city with the best beach life, Salvador a Unesco World Heritage site and later in the year Natal in the North East corner. We have an excellent range of hotels.

Rio De Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro is a one of Brazil’s most major cities and subsequently offers great shopping opportunities. The balmy beachside avenues offer a range of chic boutiques and malls although the most exclusive shopping district is Ipanema. Street fairs and markets sell all manner of goods from world-renowned brands to locally crafted items such as tiled ceramics, leather goods, coffee, kites and gold jewellery with gemstones.

Salvador
Brazil is a very large country and as a result, has an extremely varied landscape. Rio de Janeiro, the most famous city, is divided into two distinct zones – North (norte) and South (sul). The South Zone is home to the beaches and entertainment areas while the North Zone houses the industrial sector. The close proximity of Sugar Loaf Mountain to the coastline means that the city is thinly stretched out between the two.

Basic Information

Language
Portuguese is the official language. Although English is spoken in some establishments catering for tourists, we suggest you take a Portuguese phrase book containing Latin American usage with you.

Currency
Brazilian real (R$) is divided into 100 centavos (¢). Coins from 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 centavos to 1 real. Notes from 1, 5, 10 and 50 to 100 reals. Notes are all the same size and are differentiated by colour. US dollar traveller’s cheques and all major credit cards are accepted. ATM machines are available.

Electricity
110/220 volts AC 60 Hz. Plugs should have two round rather than flat pins.

Banks
Opening hours Mon-Fri 10.00 a.m. – 14.00 p.m.

Driving
Driving is on the left.

Time difference
GMT – 3 hours

Tipping and local customs
10% is generally expected in cafes, restaurants and hotels where service is not included on the bill. Taxi drivers also expect a 10% tip.

Water
Bottled mineral water is recommended.

Visas
Visas not required for tourist and business visits by adults for stays of up to 90 days. All non-Brazilian nationals under 18 years of age, when not accompanied by both parents, must have a birth certificate (an original or authenticated photocopy). This must be in English, French, Portuguese or Spanish, otherwise an official translation must be presented as well. When travelling alone or with one parent, a declaration from the absent parent(s) must be presented authorising the journey and giving the name and address of the person in Brazil who will be responsible for the minor. In the case of divorced or deceased parents, papers attesting to full custody must be presented. Passports valid for at least six months from date of entry required.

Tourist information
www.embratur.gov.br