Brazil: Getting there & around

Getting There

• bus

  International buses travel between Brazil and Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, along decent roads. Prices of bus tickets between countries are substantially more than you'd pay if you took a bus to the border, crossed on foot and caught another on the other side, but you'll lose a lot of time that way. If arriving by bus, make sure your papers in order.

• car

  If you plan to take a vehicle into Brazil, you will be asked to sign a bond ( termo de responsabilidade ) at the border containing the owner's ID details and home address, destination, and description of the vehicle (make, model, year, serial number, color and tag number). You will also be asked to pay a bank guarantee (to be determined by customs) and sign a statement agreeing that if you stay for more than 90 days, you will contact customs in the area where the entry was registered to apply for an extension for the permit. This must be presented to customs at the time of departure. If your vehicle overstays its permitted time in Brazil, it is liable to be seized and the bank guarantee forfeited. It's illegal to sell the vehicle in Brazil.

• air

  The most popular international gateways are Aeroporto Galeão (GIG) in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo's Aeroporto Guarulhos (GRU). From both these airports, connecting flights to airports throughout the country leave regularly. Further north, Salvador (SSA) and Recife (REC) receive a few direct scheduled flights from Europe. Recife, Fortaleza (FOR), Belém (BEL), Manaus (MAO) and Belo Horizonte (CNF) receive some direct scheduled flights from the US.

  Varig, Brazil's international airline, flies in to the country from Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, nine European and 11 South American cities.

  If you're combining travel in Brazil with other countries in southern South America, the Mercosur Airpass is valid for flights within Argentina, Brazil, Chile (except Easter Island), Uruguay and Paraguay. The pass has to be bought before you travel to South America and is available to holders of an international round-trip ticket from outside South America to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay or Paraguay. The pass gives you up to two stopovers in each country (plus your starting and finishing points) in one month, and its price depends on how many miles you will fly. Ask your travel agent for details.

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Getting Around

• bus

  Except in the Amazon Basin, buses are the primary form of long-distance transportation for the majority of Brazilians and many foreign travelers. Bus services are generally excellent. Departure times are usually strictly adhered to, and most of the buses are clean, comfortable and well-serviced. The drivers are good, and a mechanical governor limits their wilder urges to 80km/h (50mi/h). All major cities are linked by buses - one leaves every 15 minutes from Rio to São Paulo during peak hours - and there are a surprising number of long-distance buses. It is rare that you will have to change buses between two major cities, no matter what the distance. Every big city, and most small ones, has at least one main long-distance bus station ( rodoviária ).

  Bus service and road conditions vary by region. The South has the most and the best roads. Coastal highways are usually good; while the roads of Amazonia and the sertão (backlands of the Northeast) are quite bad. The Quatro Rodas Atlas Rodoviário , a very useful road atlas for any traveler, helpfully marks the worst stretches of road with lines of large Xs and classifies them as estradas precárias .

  Brazil has numerous bus companies and the larger cities have several dozen rival agencies. Before buying a bus ticket from São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro to other destinations, be sure to shop around.

• boat

  The Amazon region is probably the last great bastion of passenger river travel in the world. Rivers still perform the function of highways throughout much of Amazonia, with passenger-carrying vessels of many shapes and sizes putt-putting up and down every river and creek that has anyone living near it.

  River travel in the rest of Brazil has decreased rapidly due to the construction of a comprehensive road network, but it's still possible to travel by boat along the lower reaches of the Rio São Francisco.

  Boat is also the only - or at least, the most interesting - way of getting around many parts of the Pantanal and to the many islands and beaches along the Atlantic coast.

• car

  The anarchic side of the Brazilian personality emerges from behind the driver's wheel as lane dividers, one-way streets and sidewalks are disregarded. The police take little interest in road safety. The number of fatalities caused by motor vehicles in Brazil is estimated at 80,000 per year. The roads can be very dangerous, especially busy highways such as the Rio-São Paulo corridor. This cult of speed is insatiable. Many drivers are racing fans and tend to imagine they are Ayrton Senna.

  All vehicles in Brazil must carry the registration document and proof of insurance. To take a vehicle in or out of Brazil, you might be asked for a carnet de passage en douane , which is kind of a vehicle passport, or a libreta de pasos por aduana , which is a booklet of customs passes; in practice these are not often required. Contact your local automobile association for details about all documentation.

  Your home-country driver's license is valid in Brazil, but because local authorities probably won't be familiar with it, it's a good idea to carry an International Driver's Permit (IDP) as well. This gives police less scope for claiming that you are not driving with a legal license. IDPs are issued by your national motoring association and don't cost much.

  A small four-seat hire-car with unlimited kilometers costs around R$100.00 a day ( R$130.00 with air-conditioning). You can sometimes get discounts for longer rentals. To rent a car you must be 25 years old (21 with some rental firms, including Avis), have a credit card in your name and a valid driver's license from your home country (not just an IDP). There is little price variation among the major rental companies. Some agencies have been known to charge your credit card long after you've returned the car. This is less likely to happen with more-established agencies.

• train

  Brazil's passenger-train services have been scaled down to almost nothing in recent years, as the railways became more and more debt-ridden. There are still over 30,000km (18,640mi) of track, but most trains carry only cargo. Rail enthusiasts should not despair, however, as there are still a couple of great rides. The outstanding one is the trip from Curitiba to Paranaguá, descending the coastal mountain range with some unforgettable views. The Belo Horizonte-Vitória run, via Santa Bárbara and Sabará, is cheaper and far more pleasant than the bus ride.

  Steam trains in Brazil are affectionately known as Marias Fumaça (Smoking Marys), and a couple of them still run as leisure attractions. One is the 13km (8mi) ride from São João del Rei to Tiradentes in Minas Gerais. Another pleasant short trip, this time by electric train, is the ride through the Serra da Mantiqueira of São Paulo state from Campos do Jordão to Santo Antônio do Pinhal, the highest stretch of track in the country.

• air

  Brazil has three major national carriers and many smaller regional airlines. The biggest airlines are Varig (tel: 0300 788 7000; www.varig.com.br), TAM (tel: 0300 123 1000; www.tam.com.br) and VASP (tel: 0300-789 1010; www.vasp.com.br). At least one of these flies to every major city. Varig, Brazil's biggest airline, has two affiliates, Nordeste and Rio Sul, which offer flights all over the Northeast and in the South. Of the big three, VASP is usually the cheapest, though Varig tends to have better service. Gol (tel: 0300 789 2121; www.voegol.com.br) is the biggest of the budget airlines, with a decent number of routes and usually the lowest prices of any carrier. Fly (tel: 0300 313 1323) and Trip (tel: 0800 701 8747; www.airtrip.com.br) are also budget airlines. Usually tickets can be booked online.

  A Brazil Airpass is a good investment, if you're planning on covering a lot of ground in a short amount of time. Each of the three major Brazilian airlines offers a version of the Brazil Airpass, giving you five flights on its domestic routes, within a 21-day period. Up to four additional flights can usually be added for an extra fee. You have to buy the pass before you go to Brazil, and to do so you must also have an international round-trip ticket to Brazil.

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