I was reminiscing over my trip to Brazil more and more recently, as it is looking likely that I won’t get to travel this year. I thought there were some things that were quite common across all the cities in Brazil, which would be great to put forward as tips. If Brazil is a destination you’re planning on visiting once things get better, these tips may be of help to you.

1. Cash – Prior to my trip, I had the notion that cards work everywhere. To be fair, this has always been the case for me. However, in taxis in Brazil, they do not have machines to take payment on card. My recommendation would be to use your cash for taxis as much as possible, as with stores you are likely to have more luck with your card. The issue with keeping too much cash with you is pickpockets. You absolutely do not want to be walking down the beach with a ridiculous amount of cash on you. Be careful about this.

2. Restaurants – In Brazil, it is quite common to come across buskers sitting outside restaurants and performing some musical entertainment. What does this mean for you? When you ask for your bill at the restaurant, they usually will have a line item that states a small fee for the busker. Not to worry, this is quite a common practice in Brazil. Meals in Brazil aren’t that expensive usually, and so people usually don’t mind paying the extra few Rios.

3. Toilet paper – shit is getting real! Sorry I had to. Brazil doesn’t have the best sewage system, and so it is recommended that you do not flush your toilet paper down. Instead, you have to throw it in the bin. Don’t worry, for you people getting nasty thoughts right about now, they do have hand jets, to well, you know what.

4. Booking tours with your hotel or an appropriate member – Across Brazil and Argentina, people don’t speak a lot of English, which probably doesn’t come as a surprise to you. If you’re doing a group tour, you are better off booking activities through your tour or if you are going by yourself, booking through your hotel. Whilst some of these may cost a little bit extra, it’s best to do it through ‘official’ channels, as there are lesser chances of getting scammed.

5. Clothing – Brazil is an interesting country to visit. Whilst, for the most part, it is quite a warm country all year round, there are times when the temperature can drop slightly due to rainy days. It’s always wise to keep a warm jacket/jumper handy with you, and even better if it doubles as a rain jacket.

I feel like I may have repeated some of these in other blogs, but I felt the need to put this blog together as my experience travelling through South America was quite different. Some of this information, if I had before my trip, I feel like I would have been a lot more prepared.

I hope this helps you on your trip and enjoy Brazil.

Until next time,

MiliG