Brazil travel info

The practical questions, answered once and kept current. We live and guide in Brazil, so these are the things we end up explaining to nearly every traveller before a trip. Each page says when it was last checked.

• Money in Brazil: the real, cards, cash and Pix

  Brazil's currency is the real, written R$ and pronounced hay-AL, with reais as the plural. Cards work almost everywhere, including small cafés and beach kiosks, so you need far less cash than most guidebooks suggest. Carry a little anyway for boat operators, tips and the places where the card machine has no signal.

  Last checked: 3 October 2026

• Brazil visa requirements and entry rules

  United States, Canadian and Australian passport holders need an e-visa, applied for online before travel, at a fee of US$80.90. German, Austrian, Swiss and most other EU citizens do not, and enter visa free for up to 90 days. Everyone needs a passport valid for the whole stay and a ticket out of the country.

  Last checked: 19 August 2026

• Emergency numbers in Brazil

  Police is 190, ambulance is 192, fire and rescue is 193. All three are free from any phone, including one with no credit and no local SIM. If you dial 911 or 112 out of habit, the call is routed to the same place.

  Last checked: 13 August 2026

• Time zones, dialling codes and staying connected in Brazil

  Most of Brazil, including Rio, São Paulo and Salvador, runs on UTC minus 3. The Amazon and the Pantanal are an hour behind that, and Fernando de Noronha an hour ahead. Brazil abolished daylight saving in 2019, so the gap to Europe changes twice a year even though Brazil's clocks never move.

  Last checked: 13 August 2026

• The language in Brazil, and how far you get without it

  Brazil speaks Portuguese, not Spanish, and it is the only country in South America that does. English is not widely spoken outside hotels and the tourist trade, which sounds like a problem and mostly is not: a dozen words and a translation app carry you through a holiday comfortably.

  Last checked: 13 August 2026

• Tipping, eating and everyday manners in Brazil

  Restaurants add ten percent to the bill as a service charge and paying it is the norm, so you rarely tip on top. Guides and drivers are the exception and are tipped in cash. Beyond money, the thing worth knowing is that Brazilians stand closer, greet more warmly and treat punctuality more loosely than northern Europeans expect.

  Last checked: 13 August 2026

• Health and safety in Brazil, without the scare stories

  No vaccination is required to enter Brazil from Europe or North America, though yellow fever is recommended for the Amazon, the Pantanal and much of the interior. On safety, the honest summary is that Brazil rewards ordinary urban caution: the risk is opportunistic theft in a few specific settings, not danger everywhere.

  Last checked: 13 August 2026

• Public holidays in Brazil, 2026 and 2027

  Brazil has ten national public holidays a year, set by federal law, and since 2024 that includes 20 November. Carnival and Corpus Christi are not among them: they are optional days off in the federal calendar, although most of the country stops anyway. States and cities add holidays of their own.

  Last checked: 23 September 2026

• Booking terms and conditions

  These are the terms your booking runs on: what we do, what you pay and when, what happens if plans change, and who is responsible for what. They apply to every trip we arrange, alongside your written quotation and your invoice. Version of 22 August 2026.

  Last checked: 22 August 2026

• Amazon river level at Manaus, live

  The Rio Negro at Manaus rises and falls about twelve metres every year, from roughly 17 metres in early November to roughly 29 metres in early June. Below is today's reading from the gauge, updated through the day, against twelve years of normal and the record drought of 2024.

  Last checked: 3 October 2026