About Brazil
 The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) travel advice for Brazil
 FCO’s Country profile
 BBC’s Country profile
  Online encyclopedias written by their readers include h2g2: BBC and Wikipedia
  The site of the Embassy of Brazil in London
   Footprint has an excellent travel guide to Brazil


Bahia and Salvador
  Wikipedia’s entry on Bahia
  The state’s official tourist website
  The city’s official tourist website
   A good site about Salvador, music and culture
  Map of the region
  Map of Salvador

Carnival
  A good short history by Dan Rosenberg
  A photo essay of Carnival in Salvador by Piers Armstrong
  Spectacular photos of Rio’s Carnival by Terry George
  Rio's official Carnival site
  Salvador’s official Carnival site (in portuguese)


Climate
  Brazil is 90% tropical and being in the Southern Hemisphere seasons are the opposite of those in Europe.
Temperatures range considerably from the cooler south and central highlands to the heat and humidity of the Amazon and Pantanal.
Rio can be quite rainy, hot and humid in the Brazilian summer; Bahia has year-round sunshine with heat up to mid-30˚C.
The BBC’s weather site has more details

Culture and arts
  Brazilmax, a lively cultural and travel information website
  Visual arts
  Cultura and cooking


Currency
  Brazil’s currency is the Real, plural Reias (pronounced “hey-eyes”). It comes in denominations of R$1, 2,5,10,50 and 100.
Coins come as Centavos. Money exchange is easiest at the airport as often only the main branch of the banks have a foreign desk – expect long queues too!
ATM cash machines are the best option but don’t expect to find them outside the big cities. If you’re heading off the beaten track make sure you to take enough cash,
in the smaller denomination notes.
  Brazil’s currency has been stable and rising in recent years against the US$, £ and Euro – check your rates of exchange.
Credit cards are widely accepted but do be careful as identify fraud is a growing problem - it’s best not to let your card out of sight.

Flights
  Scheduled airlines
  Charter flights


Football
  A fun English-language site on Brazilian football

Health
  You won’t need to have vaccinations if you’re only visiting main cities. If you’re planning to go inland (eg. the Amazon) or travelling via other countries,
check the Brazil consulate site for details.
Your body may feel the effects of any big changes in temperature and humidity from what you’re used to – drink lots of water to avoid being de-hydrated,
and don’t overdo things – relax, you’re on holiday!
 Brazil has good chemists and private doctors but you will have to pay for treatment (usually a claim on insurance is afterwards so keep any receipts).
Dental and other private healthcare is mainly of a very high standard and much cheaper than the prices you’ll be used to paying.
  AIDS & HIV is a continuing problem in Brazil as it is everywhere – for the sake of yourself and any partner, use a condom!


Insurance
  You should have travel insurance - it’s important that you are covered for any medical costs.
You may also want to insure against other risks – take out a policy from your bank or broker.

Language
  Listen and learn. Many short courses teach Portuguese – try and find one for Brazilian Portuguese if possible.
They share the same language and grammar but the sound is totally different.
  If you’re in London, City Lit. is excellent.


Literature
  Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
  Jorge Amado
  Paulo Coelho
  Specialist online bookshop

Music
  Comprehensive site on Brazilian music, including by genre and artist, with sample downloads
  A membership site with Afro-Brazilian music
  Brazilian Beats


Security
Brazil is a country with huge inequality – poor people can be desperate and opportunistic in seeking to take advantage of those they perceive
as being wealthy, including foreigners. Accept that reality and you’ll be much less resentful if you are unfortunate enough to be mugged – the best
protection is to behave modestly yourself, to travel with what you need, and to be street-wise.

When you first arrive we strongly recommend that you find a cartório – for less than R$5 get a certified copy of your passport and keep that in your
wallet at all times. It’s a legal requirement to have ID with you at and you’ll need it for local travel by bus – a certified copy has equal status as the original
so keep your passport somewhere safe and don’t travel with it unless you really need to.

Other tips – check your wallet to make sure you’re not carrying credit cards or cash that you don’t really need. If you’re attached to a wallet, or photos
within it, buy another locally and carry only what you need. If you are unlucky and find yourself the target of some petty criminal, armed or otherwise, don’t
resist – just surrender and hand over what they want. It’s really not worth showing bravado – if they’re agitated (afraid of the police rather than you),
keep repeating ‘Calme’ (kal-mer) meaning ‘Stay calm’ as you co-operate.

These precautions are set out to help you protect yourself, and your possessions – we hope you’ll have no bad experiences. Brazilians are by nature
a kind, generous and very hospitable people and that’s the side of the culture that will touch your heart. Enjoy yourself and trust your instinct – and you’ll likely
come away with only great memories!



Responsible tourism
  Tourism Concern
  The Travel Foundation promotes responsible and sustainable tourism.
  Carbon offsetting gives you a means to offset environmental damage caused by your air travel by supporting sustainable energy projects.
Climate Care – Carbon Neutral

Travel Tips
The Brazilian consultate site has comprehensive travel advice.
A comprehensive guide to what's going on in Rio.
Responsible travel tips.

Visas
You won’t need a visa to visit Brazil if you hold a UK or EU passport, (valid for six months or more) unless you’re planning to work or stay for a long period.
You may be asked to show your return ticket and proof of sufficient funds to support yourself.
Full details are on the  Brazilian consulate site.


Wallpaper
  Keep Brazil in your mind with a download of wallpaper for your computer!