TRAVEL ADVICE

Flights are not included in our prices. On request, we offer you a discount travel agency in your area.

Weather: Brazil has different climatic zones. For the sub-tropics (15° -30° south latitude), the following applies: In the summer (December-February), it is the warmest (average 30°C) and at the same time it is the rainy season. This can make hiking and horseback riding difficult, because the ground is muddy. The coldest months are August and September. The temperatures can drop to 13°C at night, and it can also rain.
The best travel months are, therefore, March-July, and October and November.
In the shallow inland, such as Brasilia, Pantanal, Foz do Iguaçu, it is much hotter in the summer than in Rio.
With increasing altitude (Ouro Preto, Serra do Mar, Chapada Diamantina), the heat augments to approximately 0.7°C per 100m.
Just north of the 15th latitude, it's warm all year round. December to February is the rainy season. After heavy rains it may cool to be about 20°C.
The humidity varies. In Rio, it is really humid only a few days in the summer, more frequently in Manaus. In the mountains and on the Altiplano humidity is very rare.

Clothing: The Brazilians always dress informally. During the day, polo- or T-shirt, shorts, sandals or flip-flops. For the evening in Rio we recommend, for women a lightweight, sporty summer dress, for men a casual polo shirt, long pants or jeans. Because you often find yourself in air-conditioned rooms, it is advised to have a light sweater with you. Under rare circumstances do you need a jacket, tie, or similar formal dress. Outerwear of lightweight synthetic fibers proved to be very practical. These can be hand washed in the evening and will dry overnight. They are available in travel stores abroad or in Rio. Do not forget swimsuits! A slight head covering should always be at hand.

Mosquitoes: There are far less than is generally feared. If at all they come, in forest and swamp areas and usually they are active only at dusk. Autan is effective. In areas where mosquitoes occur, most Pousadas make electrical appliances for their expulsion, or mosquito nets, available. However, almost never more than three bites occur. The fears of mosquitoes in South America are tremendously exaggerated!

Diseases: There is nothing on our tours to be afraid of. Also, you do not need vaccinations, and certainly no malaria prophylaxis, not even an emergency preparation (except maybe for some Amazon regions). Please check, in any case, with your family doctor.
In Rio, there is often a summer wave of dengue. The dengue fever has symptoms similar to severe influenza associated with nausea. It is usually normally overcome after 10 days of bed rest. In less than 0.1% of the cases, the disease can be fatal. These cases occur mainly in the shantytowns. The chance to be stricken during a three-day visit in Rio is extremely low. There is no vaccine against it.

Snakes, spiders, scorpions: Unfortunately very, very rare to come face-to-face.

Crime: Overall, the Brazilians a very peaceful, happy and honest people. In Rio (and other metropoles) – let’s not beat around the bush - often attacks happen on the streets, mainly in Copacabana, where most tourists are accommodated. Take a hotel on the finer and more beautiful beach of Ipanema. Here one is almost as safe as in major European cities, and can move quite freely. Nevertheless, always the motto: have no unnecessary documents or valuables with you. Valuables can be kept in the hotel safes without problems. There they are absolutely secure.

Poverty: There is much poverty in Brazil, but it becomes hard to see if not sought. Beggars, street urchins, street vendors, and the likes are met only rarely; and if so, they are usually not a threat.

Money: How much money you need depends on your lifestyle. One can get a decent meal for 5 € (Euros) plus drinks. You can easily spend 20 € too Currency exchange is best made upon arrival at the airport. In larger towns, you get the best deal - local only - with Maestro (ec) card (best price) in ATM’s. Visa is the most widely used credit card. Travelers Checks are less economical, as well as U.S. dollars, as long as you hold an ec-card and/or a Visa card.

Passport: Has to have validity for at least 6 months.

Food: The food is fantastic, the excellent ingredients are of particular taste and without precedents. Even the water is drinkable. Nevertheless, European stomachs do experience unknown pathogens, which our immune system has no antibodies for. At any rate, you ought to bring along a drug (eg Lopedium), and a mineral salt solution.

Insurance: What kind of insurance you need or want, is up to you. For active holidaymakers we recommend an accident-insurance.

Travel Literature: Which travel guide serves you depends primarily on age. For younger people, the Lonely Planet (English) is a good choice, even if its recent practice to require money for entries should lead to unfortunate loss of objectivity. If you like prosaic information, the Dumont is the one recommended. The APA Guide (English) remains a sovereign work.

Telephoning is complicated in Brazil. Public phones are often broken, and phone shops one finds only in big cities. For public phones you need a phone card, which can be obtained with street vendors, at newspaper kiosks, and at the post office (Correios).
There being several long-distance operators they each have a two-digit code. The most common and best-functioning are 21 and 31. This ID for international calls is dialed after the "00", and before the country code is selected. Germany’s country code is 49.
Following the example of 7891 1450 in Berlin (030): 00 21 49 (30) 7891 1450 or 00 31 49 (30) 7891 1450.
Within Brazil, the same, except that at the beginning instead of "00", only "0" is to be chosen.
Following the example of 9306-6747 in Rio (code 021): 0 21 (21) 9306-6747 or 0 31 (21) 9306-6747.