Brazil

This is probably the most asked question when it comes to planning a trip to Brazil. Our friends/family would ask us “isn’t it really dangerous?”, or “Rio isn’t safe, is it?” when we told them we were heading to Brazil.

The short answer is YES, it is safe for tourists – however, you need to exercise a strong sense of situational awareness while you’re there, especially in large cities. Let us expand on that… almost all trips to Brazil are incident-free. That being said, being aware of your surroundings, not flashing your cash or wearing expensive jewellery, and not being distracted by your phone when you’re in public spaces can all go a long way to preventing anything happening.

Muggings can happen, especially when it comes to phones, and especially in Rio de Janeiro. So, it’s best to avoid taking it out of your pocket or bag while you’re on the street (check maps or messages by stepping into a shop/restaurant, or before leaving your accommodation). That kind of extra little cautionary step will prevent all sorts of (unlikely) troubles.

That’s the small stuff – the larger part of safety considerations is wandering into the wrong area. As usual, it’s ALWAYS best to stick to well-lit, touristy areas. Places like Rio are not where you should be meandering into an unfriendly neighbourhood because you want to ‘explore off the beaten path’.

We’ve written a load about this just above in the “Weather in Brazil” section, but to summarise: Brazil has a rainy and a dry season, with the rainy being from Dec – Mar and the dry from Jun – Aug.

However, Brazil is a massive country, so the conditions will vary a lot by location. It’s best to check the expected weather for exactly where you’re planning to visit.

A good ‘all-round’ time to visit places like Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, or Florianópolis (the southeast coast) is during Jun – Aug. Read more in our Weather in Brazil section!

Travelling within Brazil is super simple. Between cities you can opt for buses or short flights, while inside of cities you can hop in a taxi/Uber or use an available public transport system. Trains aren’t common in Brazil.

We found that, for most intercity journeys, we could simply arrive at the bus station and purchase tickets on the day of travel. However, if it’s a busy time or you’d simply feel more comfortable doing so, you can purchase tickets online in advance using sites like Busbud. We’ve used Busbud hundreds of times and always found it to be reliable – you can often reserve your seats in advance too, which is a nice bonus.

Tip: Many companies will accept mobile tickets from Busbud, but a few require you to print your tickets. Look for the Boarding Requirements before you checkout – look for the line “Tickets displayed on phone or printed and photo ID required”.

For travel within cities, Uber is the best and safest option most of the time. If there is a bus/tram network, you can save money by using it, but it’ll be longer, hotter and potentially confusing to use.

The currency in Brazil is called the Brazilian Real and is written as ‘R$‘.

In English, we pronounce it as it’s written – “real” (or “reals” when plural), but in Brazilian Portuguese it’s pronounced “hey-eye” (or “hey-ice” when plural). That’s something that baffled us on our first day in Rio; much of the time an R is pronounced as an H.

Cards are generally accepted in cities, such as when paying in shops, restaurants or using Uber. It’s always good to carry a little cash for smaller transactions or rural areas, though. Beach drink stands and tipping are good examples of the kinds of things that may not accept card.

Brazil uses Type N (three round pins) and Type C (two round pins) plugs.

Type N is mainly only used in Brazil and South Africa, whereas Type C is extremely common worldwide, especially across most of Europe as well as many countries in South America, Asia, and Africa.

Tip: Type N is basically just a Type C with an extra grounding pin, so all sockets should take a Type C. If you’ve got a universal adapter then that will definitely have a Type C, so you should be good!

As usual, whether you need a visa to enter Brazil will depend entirely on your nationality. Many travellers from Latin America, the EU, the UK and others do not need a visa for tourism purposes when staying less than 90 days (and can sometimes enter with just an ID if from Mercosur).

However, some nationalities such as the U.S., Canada, and Australia now must obtain a visa before travelling – even for short tourist stays. This requirement took affect for these countries in April 2025.

We’d always recommend consulting your government’s foreign travel advice site before you even book your flights just to be sure. This is the official site for the UK, for example.

English isn’t widely spoken in Brazil, so while you may be able to communicate rudimentarily with locals it would definitely help to know basic Portuguese phrases – especially if you’re in more remote areas.

If (like us) your Portuguese is next-to-non-existent, translation apps will be your best friend – just make sure to download the Portuguese language before you arrive for offline use.

It’s one of the most popular events for tourists in all of Latin America, and deciding if it’s worth visiting for Carnival is completely up to you and your interests. It’ll be crowded and more expensive, especially in Rio, but if you’re a big party animal or you just love being immersed in an event on this scale, then go for it!

Generally, most visitors are recommended to be vaccinated against Hepatitis A, Tetanus and Typhoid when visiting Brazil.

Depending on your risk level (long length of stay, visiting rural/jungle areas, etc) you may need to be vaccinated against Chikungunya, Dengue, Hepatitis B, Rabies, Tuberculosis, Yellow fever. You may also need to present a Yellow fever certificate upon entry to your next destination/home country after visiting Brazil, so a Yellow fever vaccination may be required.

As usual, we’d recommend speaking to a doctor or travel nurse well before you travel to get up-to-date advice and requirements.

Yes, it’s generally safe to rent a car in Brazil, especially from major international rental companies and for travel outside large cities.

However, driving in big cities can be difficult. Traffic, road conditions, and occasional safety concerns are common challenges. We’d recommend avoiding driving at night in unfamiliar areas and keeping doors locked whenever you travel. It’s probably easier and more relaxing to consider alternatives (Uber, taxis, buses) for urban travel.