Although my one-month-journey through Brazil has come to an end, and I’ve long returned to Buenos Aires, WednesdayWords by lenacatherine won’t cease to exist. In this post, I’d like to share some tips and tricks, that might come in handy when travelling through Brazil for the first time. For all of you who got inspired by my posts, for those whose travel agenda has always had ‘Brazil’ written on it, or those who might have already booked their tickets to this marvellous country, here are some of my top travel tips for backpacking through Brazil.
Apps
The applications that I found very helpful while travelling through Brazil, include the following:
Uber – taking an Uber is so much more comfortable, easy and cheap than taking a cab, and connecting your PayPal to your Uber account makes for another huge advantage through the cashless payments.
CouchSurfing – I can only recommend couchsurfing through Brazil and getting to know the country in this way. During my month of backpacking, I stayed with 6 different hosts and met so many more through meet-ups, random hang-outs or through staying with the same host. CS is such a great way to meet amazing, open-minded, friendly, helpful, curious and interesting people, share experiences, stories & recommendations, and get to know a place in a whole different way than you would, if you stayed at a hostel. And before you ask: no, as a girl travelling by herself, I did not feel unsafe at any moment, sleeping at strangers’ houses, that I’ve never met before. I rather felt like an old friend, coming to visit, welcomed into homes that I would call my own for a couple of nights.
MeuVivo – For €2,60 you can buy a SIM card at almost every kiosk on the street, and for another €4 you can charge the prepaid card with 2GB of internet for a week. This can also be done at some kiosks or pharmacies/drug stores. In the app, you can easily track how much data you’ve already used. Once you have your SIM card installed, it’s super easy to recharge it. However, I got some help by a Brazilian guy (who also stayed at my CS host’s place in Rio) to do so, since the process of activating the chip was really complicated, and, for some reason, included the input of a Brazilian social security number, which I, obviously, couldn’t provide. You can just ask someone at the store or in a hostel to help you, the Brazilians are really really friendly and helpful, and it won’t take you long to find a willing knight in shining armour to help you with your internet problem.
BikeRIO – There are loads of rental bike stations all over the city and it’s really easy to use them. You simply download the app, register, and either pay €1,40 for a week, or €2,70 for a full month of using the bikes. You can then go to one of the stations, decide which bike you’d like, unlock it via the app, and use it for free for up to 1h. Afterwards, you simply return it at any station nearest to you, and after 15 minutes, you’ll be able to get another bike. You can also use more than one bike with one app, by registering two accounts and paying the required amount twice on the same phone. The bikes are a very nice alternative to taking the bus or metro, and riding along the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema on the provided bike paths is a lot of fun, especially when the sun is up.
Bus Travel
Travelling through a country as big as Brazil might sound like quite a challenge at first, but fortunately, bus travel – though not cheap – is really easy and comfortable in the country. I recommend the website Busca Ônibus to find the best offers. The check-out is then usually the easiest via the providers ‘Click Bus’ or ‘Brazil Bus Travel’.
Some bus companies – incl. prices & destinations – that I used and would definitely recommend are the following:
São Sebastião –> Parati (3h) – UTIL – $15
Rio de Janeiro –> Campinas (8h) – COMETA – $40
São Paulo –> Florianópolis (12h) – CATARINENSE – $46
The buses themselves are very comfortable, safe, and clean and there’s always a restroom on board. Often there’s even functioning 4G wifi available, and for the overnight bus I took to Florianópolis, there were even USB power outlets. The buses leave on time and it’s easy to collect your ticket at the counter by simply showing your passport and online booking confirmation. After around 3 hours, there’s usually a restroom break somewhere along the road where you can also buy snacks and drinks. Make sure to bring a blanket/jacket/scarf when travelling over night or longer distances, since the air con is usually turned up all the way and it tends to get a little chilly. Other than that, it’s safe to say that, although it takes forever to get somewhere due to the size of the country, bus rides can be pretty enjoyable in Brazil and make it fairly easy to travel around between cities.
Food
Let me start this section right: Brazilian food is simply amazing! Here in Buenos Aires, I’m already missing the variety of different things that you’ll find on your plate, if you get to enjoy typical homemade Brazilian food. Each meal always includes many different things, ranging from meat, over different kinds of vegetables, to my very favourite: mandioca frita. I can almost guarantee that anyone will find something to enjoy in the Brazilian cuisine.
Below you can find a list of some of my favourite food discoveries from Brazil that you should not miss out on when visiting the country (and possibly send me some, if there’s any chance).
- Açaí (usually served with granola, banana, milk powder & honey)
- Biscoito de Polvilho (chips-like snack made from manioc flour, savoury or sweet – of course I like the doce (= sweet) version better)
- Bobo de Frango (traditional dish made from chicken, manioc, & tomato sauce)
- Estrogonofe de Frango (another traditional dish with chicken and a onion-cream sauce)
- Farofa (fried mandioca flour)
- Feijoada (stew of cooked black beans with either meat or sausage)
- Fruta di Conde (very sweet fruit, also called Chirimoya)
- Goiaba (against any expectations, this fruit can be eaten as a whole, including the rather rough looking skin)
- Guaraná (really sweet but delicious Brazilian soft drink)
- Mandioca Frita (fried manioc, comparable to french fries, but so much better)
- Pamonha (cooked corn paste)
- Pão de Mortadela (exactly what it sounds like: bread with mortadella, not my favourite but a classic Brazilian snack, you’ll have to at least give it one try)
- Romeu e Julieta (dessert consisting of white cheese and a jam-like – but much firmer in texture – sweet paste made from the Goiaba fruit)
- Tapioca (gluten free pancake, served savoury or sweet) – MY NO. 1!
Typical Brazilian lunch/dinner plates:
Language
To be honest, I expected Portuguese to be a lot easier to understand when you already speak Spanish. I also thought, it would be much easier to simply speak Spanish or English to communicate with the people in Brazil. Turns out, I was wrong in both cases. Not only is Portuguese significantly different from Spanish (vocabulary-, as well as pronunciation-wise), but it is also the only language that most people will be able to speak and understand in Brazil. I met very little people along the way whose Spanish or English skills were advanced, and in daily situations, it was usually my Spanish vs. their Portuguese, and whatever mix evolved from that when having a conversation, or trying to communicate. However, this seeming language barrier can once again quickly be overcome by simply talking, trying, and not being afraid of making a fool of yourself, when doing whatever is necessary to make yourself understood, or simply buy that apple on the market.
Here are some basic vocabulary that will soon come naturally to you, once you’ve spent a couple of days in Brazil:
- bom dia – good morning/hello
- oi/olá – hello
- boa tarde – good afternoon
- boa noite – good night
- obrigada/o – thank you
- de nada – you’re welcome
- tudo bem/tudo bom? – what’s up/how’s it going (probably the first thing you’ll hear anywhere every day)
- gelo e/ou limão” – Ice and/or lemon? (when ordering a drink)
- prazer – nice to meet you
- muito gostoso/delicioso – very delicious
- muito bom – very good/nice
- legal – cool/great/fun/awesome
- até a próximo – until next time
- banheiro – restroom
- isso – exactly/yeah/right
- Eu não falo português. Eu só falo espanhol/ingles/alemão. – I don’t speak Portuguese. I only speak Spanish/English/German.
Money
Withdrawing money
If you have a credit card that allows you to withdraw money without a few worldwide (such as the DKB Visa Card), make sure to only use the ATMs at official banks, such as Santander or Itaú. While the withdrawal of cash is free at those machines, there are red ATMs all over the cities which charge you up to €7 to withdraw money.
Paying with credit card
I used my DKB Visa card literally everywhere without any problems. The first couple of days, I didn’t even have any Reais on me, since even the smallest shop or street food cart accepts Visa. They will always ask you what type of card it is, to which you can casually respond with “crédito” or “débito” in your best Portuguese accent.
Changing money
Western Union is probably still the best place to exchange money in a safe way and with a good exchange rate. Don’t forget to bring your passport! A picture or other ID won’t be accepted.
Places
One month is not a whole lot of time to travel through a country as big as Brazil, but I found it the perfect amount of time for the places that I visited in the south of the country. Since I loved every single one of my destinations, I can’t really give a ranking or anything like that. Below is simply a list of all the places I went to (South to North, incl. suggestion for length of stay), and that I would recommend you to visit, if you get the chance:
Florianópolis – beautiful beaches, amazing sunsets and chill island vibes (in summer time you can easily spend 4-5 days laying on the beach here)
São Paulo – incredibly large city with beautiful parts & corners, simply a place you have to see (but probably not for more than 2 days)
Parati – picturesque little town by the water, great to go on an island-hopping-boat tour, perfect to relax (2 days, due to its small size)
Ilha Grande – beautiful car-free island, perfect to relax, hike and lay on the beach (2-3 days during summer time)
Rio de Janeiro – MY FAVORITE! Rio is simply one of the most amazing cities I’ve ever visited. There are tons of things to do, amazing nightlife, great hiking & climbing opportunities, including some stunning picture opportunities (you HAVE to spend at least 4-5 days in this city!)
Prices
Below you can find a short overview of prices that might give you an idea of the general price level in most places I’ve visited (August 2017):
- €1,20 – subway ride
- €0,40 – postcard
- €1,20 – international stamp
- €0,50 – 0,5l water bottle
- €5,40 – 30 minute uber ride
- €2,00 – tapioca on the street
- €1,30 – corn on the street
- €9-16,00 eating at a restaurant (incl. drinks)
- €1,30-2,60 cappuccino at café
- €1,50 – pack of cigarettes
- €2,20 – Kinder Überraschungs-Ei
- €2,60-4,00 – caipirinha at bar
- €1,40 ice-cream on the beach
- €2,70 – rental bike in Rio for a month
- €4,00 – 2GB internet for a week
Useful Information
Here some last FYIs when travelling through Brazil:
- You can almost everywhere use regular German plugs, I didn’t use my adapter at all
- Tap water is usually not recommendable to drink. Most people have either filters in their sinks, or an extra machine/filter/bottle for drinkable water.
- All showers in Brazil seem to function in the same weird way: there’s only on switch, turn on the water just a little until you hear the boiler working, but not more than that. The further you open the tap, the colder the water gets.
- Ordering a “Cappuccino” in Brazil will most likely result in you getting a hot chocolate with an espresso shot. The regular Cappuccino called “Italiano” or “Tradicional” always comes with chocolate and cinnamon and tastes more like a hot chocolate than a coffee. To be on the safe side it’s always the easiest to simply order a “Café com leite”.
lenacatherine 