Planning a trip to Brazil is usually an exercise in choosing priorities. Because Brazil is so large, just about any trip is going to be too short. It would take a couple of months just to see Brazil’s principal attractions. Along with its size comes a huge diversity in its population. Its unique history has created an abundance of racial mixtures, cultural differences, language variations, customs, foods, and religions. Planning a trip to Brazil is usually an exercise in choosing your priorities and focusing in on the possibilities.
Brazil is officially divided into five regions, but these regions were not designed with tourism in mind, so most travelers end up dividing the country a bit more. First, there’s Bahia, which boasts its Afro-Brazilian influences, historical cities, and monuments from Brazil’s colonization period. Of course, there’s also the unparalleled tropical coastline: a mix of quaint coastal villages, urban beaches, and untouched, virgin coast. The interior of Bahia is rich in eco-tourism and is home to many natural wonders. The center of Bahia is Salvador and you can visit the rest of Bahia from there.

Brazil’s north coast requires a different travel strategy, as it consists of a string of coastal cities, each with kilometers of coastline around it. This area is known for its super-warm, super-clear water and is a haven for divers and beachcombers alike. Most travelers hop from one major hub to the next, all the way up or down the coast from Recife to Fortaleza.

The Amazon and Pantanal are Brazil’s principal regions for those seeking nature and ecology. A trip to the Amazon region usually involves joining some kind of guided tour or boat excursion up the river. There are jungle lodges and different types of hotels in the cities of Manaus and Belém. The Pantanal, to the south, is a similar experience, with all visits hosted by guides through privately owned nature preserves. Most visitors enter and exit these areas in packaged (or at least self-contained) trips.

The southeast area is the most heavily populated region, containing three of Brazil’s five largest cities: São Paulo, Rio, and Belo Horizonte. Because this region gives Brazil its reputation for being a dangerous country, most visitors end up breezing through here in just a few days or a week. But the area is loaded with history—from the historical gold-rush towns of Ouro Preto and Tiradentes in Minas Gerais to the lavish architecture of the coffee-boom era in São Paulo. The region also contains several national parks and some of the prettiest coastline in the country, including the historical port town of Paraty and the fabulous islands of Ilha Grande and Ilhabela. The best approach for this part of the country is to stick to the main areas and use trustworthy transportation. You can easily spend two or three weeks here, but it can be done in 10–14 days.

Finally, the south of Brazil is a region quite unlike the others. Here, you’ll find high concentrations of German and Italian immigrants and, unlike in the other regions, these communities remain separate and distinct. You’ll find German architecture in Joinville, Brusque, and Pomerode and Argentinean architecture along the Emerald Coast down to Florianópolis and even Rio Grande do Sul. The area is known for its rural villages, incredible national parks, and great waterfalls, such as the unequalled Foz de Iguaçu. Most visitors zig-zag their way down the coast to see most of the beaches and inland villages. The trip takes 10–20 days, depending on the angle of your zag.

WHEN TO GO

The trick to visiting a tropical country is trying to avoid the rain as much as possible. In Brazil, that’s fairly easy to do outside of the Amazon. The northeast coastline, from Fortaleza all the way to Bahia, is sunny until around March or April. The best months for the beach areas are September–December, when you’ll get few crowds, low prices, and warm weather. Rio and São Paulo have heavy rains beginning in November and lasting through February, but the rains are not constant. It’s always a crapshoot in the southeast region whether Carnaval (generally held in February) will be hot and wet or hot and dry. São Paulo and everything south of it gets quite cold in the winter (June–August), although many people still like to go south during those months. The best months for the south are March–May or during the peak-season months of January and February if you don’t mind the crowds. Mangos are in season in December and January, along with cashews and most fruits. Coffee harvest takes place in June and July. There are wonderful cultural festivals during Holy Week (40 days after Carnaval) and in June (the Juninho festivals in the northern region).

The Pantanal and Amazon regions are best during dry season, which is June–September, unless you go for sportfishing, which is better in the wet season. Note that Brazilians have extensive holidays from just before Christmas through Carnaval. This is the peak season for most vacation spots throughout the country. Just after Carnaval is a good time to visit, as prices come back down and crowds disperse. Note that the big cities are probably best to visit during this peak season, since most Brazilians are leaving the cities and heading to the remote areas. You can get good deals in Rio and São Paulo during peak season. There is a special holiday in late October, which is when students take their spring break. It’s called Semana do Saco Cheio (Fed Up Week). All beaches are crowded for 7–10 days, especially Buzios, Maresias, and Porto Seguro.

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WHAT TO TAKE

Clothes
Outside of São Paulo and Rio, Brazilians generally dress casually. Typical social attire for men includes some type of jeans and a new, white tee shirt. Short-sleeve button-down shirts are also popular and considered acceptable for business dress and dinner occasions. It’s common to see bank officials wearing these types of clothes. Business suits are usually only worn by executives of large companies—and then only in the big cities. Women usually dress a bit snappier, with the latest jeans and pointed shoes with plenty of accessories. On the beach, Bermuda shorts are the most common for men, and women wear all sorts of sun dresses or netted bikini covers, draped sarongs, shorts, and skirts. Jeans are not a good choice for the beach because it’s just too hot. Brazil is generally a warm country, but if you’re planning to visit during the winter months (June–August), then you might bring one change of warm clothes—especially if you’re traveling to any of the colder regions (São Paulo to the south and in the mountains). In São Paulo and the south of Brazil, you’ll find that clothing is a bit more upscale and stylish, although nice jeans are always a good choice for men or women.

So what should you bring in terms of clothes? Simply put, as few items as necessary to get by. After the first few days, you’ll want to wear the new clothes you bought in Brazil. After all, buying clothes is one of the greatest pleasures in traveling to Brazil. You can find well-made, inexpensive, and stylish clothes almost anywhere in the country. So come with your suitcase half empty, so you can return with it completely full.

Oh, about jewelry—don’t bring any. You don’t want to be calling attention to yourself by wearing some expensive watch or necklace. Do yourself a favor and leave the good stuff at home. If you don’t have a cheap watch that you can use, you can buy one when you get to Brazil.

Money
Don’t bring traveler’s checks. They are difficult to exchange in Brazil and they will cost you more than they should. The best way to get money while you’re traveling is through the extensive ATM network. All major tourist areas and cities have international ATMs with the Plus and Cirrus systems. And they give you the best exchange rates, up to the minute. Just look for the Plus and Cirrus stickers on the ATM machines. Banco do Brasil is always a good choice (not all machines, but they usually have one or two) and the system called Banco 24 Horas, which is a network of ATMs that represent several different banks, including the Plus and Cirrus systems. You can also find Citibank offices in all large cities.

If you’re heading to a small town or beach town, be sure to pull out some cash at the nearest large city when you arrive. Almost all small tourist destinations have a big-city hub nearby. Once you get to your destination, leave most of your cash in your hotel room or safe. You probably don’t want to walk around with more than R$500 in your pocket at any time. Pay with your debit (or credit) card whenever you can, but don’t let it leave your sight for too long. Even hotels and restaurants in small towns accept international credit cards (although not always, and exceptions are noted throughout the book). If you have credit cards that you don’t intend to use in Brazil, leave them at home. All Banco do Brasil offices are Western Union agents, so you can receive money wires at any one of them.

Note: All prices in this guide are listed in Reals (R$). The currency exchange rate in Brazil fluctuates a lot (although it is supposedly stabilizing) so using Reals will help keep the majority of the prices listed accurate no matter what the rate. Keep in mind that Brazil experiences periods of inflation, so prices are liable to increase over time. Also, there are a few destinations, like the Amazon Region, that base their prices on the U.S. dollar. Prices in these sections are listed in dollars (and are noted as such) to keep them as accurate as possible.

Papers and Documents
Bring your passport and driver’s license for ID purposes. You should make at least two photocopies of your passport. Keep one copy at home. Keep another copy with you when you go out. Your original passport should stay in your hotel room or other safe location. You’ll need the original only when entering and leaving the country, when presenting yourself to the federal police, or when doing any banking activities. For identification purposes, a copy is almost always acceptable. To make your copy even more acceptable, you can bring the original and a copy to any cartório office (like a notary public) and get the photocopy authenticated and stamped (Brazilians love to stamp things). The stamped copy can be used as the original in most cases. Every city has a cartório somewhere. Large cities have many. Bring a list of important phone numbers and addresses or email it to yourself. There are Internet cafés all over the country and a good Web-mail account comes in very handy when traveling.

Brazil is one of the few countries in the world that does not accept the standard international driving permit, which includes a Portuguese translation. Nevertheless, it can’t hurt to get one and use it if you think you might drive in Brazil. Details on Brazilian driving permits and related issues appear in the Know Brazil section.

Health Items
Naturally, you should bring anything you feel is necessary for your health and comfort. If you have drugs of a delicate nature, make sure you bring any doctor’s prescription with you as there are some drugs available in the United States and Europe that Brazil has not authorized. This also works the other way around and Brazilian drugs are known for being low-cost and effective. If you think you might need a prescription filled in Brazil, then bring your doctor’s prescription to the Brazilian Consulate when you make arrangements to go. They should be able to help you with a translation that will work in Brazil. Since brand names will not apply in Brazil, ask your doctor for the scientific name of your prescription.