If you plan to do a fair amount of travelling within Brazil (or to other South American countries), think about buying an air pass with your main ticket. These passes offer substantial savings, but can only be bought outside South America with your international ticket.

Depending on the airline, children pay between 50 and 70 percent of the discounted fares, while infants under the age of two generally pay 10 percent of the airline’s cheapest official, non-discounted fare. All fares quoted below include tax.

Getting around

Car rental is also possible, but driving in Brazil is not for the faint-hearted. Some international car rental companies have local agencies and there are quite a few reliable Brazilian ones as well. Hitchhiking, over any distance, is not recommended.

Airplanes

Flying to the Northeast or Amazonia from southern Brazil can be tiresome, as many of these long-distance routes are no more than glorified bus runs, stopping everywhere before heading north again. In planning your itinerary, it’s a good idea to check carefully how many times a plane stops – for example, between São Paulo and Fortaleza a flight may stop as many as four times or as few as one. On scheduled domestic flights you should check in an hour before take-off, but expect delays if the plane you’re catching is arriving from elsewhere.

A word of warning: in many parts of Amazonia air travel in small planes, or aerotaxis, is very common – the regional word for these flights is teco-teco. Before taking one, you should be aware that the airstrips are often dangerous, the planes routinely fly overloaded and are not reliably maintained, and no checks are made on the qualifications of pilots – some don’t have any.

When buying your international ticket, you should consider the possibility of adding an air pass: even if you plan on taking just a couple of flights, they can work out far cheaper than purchasing individual tickets. Brazil’s three main airlines – Transbrasil, Varig (along with its regional subsidiaries RioSul and RioNordeste) and Vasp – all offer passes. Their route options vary somewhat but their basic conditions are virtually identical: passes can only be bought outside Brazil in advance of your trip with a return air ticket to the country. Only Transbrasil passes are available to anyone regardless of which airline they’re travelling into Brazil on.

Varig’s Brazil Airpass is still the most easily available of the three and gives access to the largest route network, but it can only be purchased if you travel into Brazil with Varig or British Airways. The air pass fare is $490 low season, $540 high season, for adults and children (infants pay ten percent) and gives you five coupons for use within a period of 21 consecutive days. Coupons are not valid for the same route in the same direction more than once. Connecting flights count as only one coupon and you can buy a maximum of four additional coupons for $100 each. You can leave your route completely open, to be decided in Brazil, or you can specify it at the time of purchase, in which case changes of route are not permitted (but flight times and dates can be altered). Bear in mind though that flights on some routes can be heavily booked long in advance. Less expensive regional Varig passes providing four coupons valid during a 21-day period are also available covering south and central Brazil ($350 low season, $400 high season) or the Northeast and the Amazon ($290 low season, $340 high season).

An even greater bargain is the Mercosur Airpass, an air pass covering eight airlines of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay which can only be bought outside South America. The regulations are fairly complicated but basically allow two stopovers per country (plus point of origin) up to a maximum of eight coupons, although an extra coupon is allowed to give you use of both the Argentine and Brazilian airports at Iguaçu Falls. The route must include at least two countries and the price of a pass is based on the number of miles flown, always working out to cost far less than purchasing regular tickets. As examples of the kind of price to expect for a Mercosur Airpass, the route Rio–Iguaçu–Buenos Aires–Rio costs $225, while the route Rio–Recife–Salvador–São Paulo–Asunción– Buenos Aires–Montevideo–Rio works out at $545. Prices may be affected by the time of year that you travel.

For all internal flights you have to pay an airport tax: between $7 and $9 depending on the airport, payable in local currency usually at the airline desk of the company you’re travelling with (not the check-in desk, except at Rio and São Paulo); airline desks are generally in the entrance hall of the airport. Departure tax for international flights is $36, payable in local currency or dollars when you check in. Note that duty-free shops do not accept reis – only credit cards or dollars.

It is always a good idea to reconfirm onward flights a day or two in advance: it can be done over the phone – airline offices always have someone who speaks English – and you can make seat reservations at the same time. Another point to remember is that if you have an air pass and change your flights, always remember to cancel the original flight. If you don’t, the computer flags you as a no-show, and all your other air pass reservations will also be cancelled.

Trains, ferries and boats

Water travel and ferries are also important forms of transport in parts of Brazil. Specific details are included in the relevant parts of the Guide, but look out for the ferry to Niterói, without which no journey to Rio would be complete; Salvador, where there are regular services to islands and towns in the huge bay on which the city is built; in the South between the islands of the Bay of Paranaguá and most of all in Amazonia.

Amazon riverboats

In all the large riverside cities of the Amazon – notably Belém, Manaus and Santarém – there are hidroviárias, ferry terminals for waterborne bus services. Amazon river travel is slow and can be tough going, but it’s a fascinating experience. On longer journeys there are a number of classes; in general it’s better to avoid cabine, where you swelter in a cabin, and choose primeiro (first class) instead, sleeping in a hammock on deck. Segundo (second class) is usually hammock space in the lower deck or engine room. Take plenty of provisions, and expect to practise your Portuguese.

The range of boat transport in the Amazon runs from luxury tourist boats and three-level large riverboats to one- or two-level smaller boats (the latter normally confining their routes to main tributaries and local runs) and covered launches operated by tour companies. As a rule, most local boats cost about $20 a day (including food), more for the tourist boats and tour-based launches. The most popular route is the Belém–Manaus trip which costs $55–85 (hammock space) and takes four to six days.

Buses

Buses are operated by hundreds of private companies, but prices are standardized, even when more than one firm plies the same route, and are very reasonable: Rio to São Paulo is around $20, Rio to Belo Horizonte $35, Rio to Foz do Iguaçu $35, São Paulo to Brasília $50, Recife to Salvador $35 and Fortaleza to Belém $55. Long-distance buses are comfortable enough to sleep in, and have on-board toilets (which can get smelly on long journeys): the lower your seat number, the further away from them you’ll be. Buses stop every two or three hours at well-supplied postos, but as prices are high it’s not a bad idea to bring along water and some food to last the journey. Some bus companies will supply meal vouchers for use at the postos on long journeys.

There are luxury buses, too, called leitos, which do nocturnal runs between the major cities – worth taking once for the experience, with fully reclining seats in curtained partitions, freshly ironed sheets and an attendant plying insomniacs with coffee and conversation. They cost about a third of the price of an air ticket, and between two and three times as much as a normal long-distance bus; they’re also less frequent and need to be booked a few days in advance. No matter what kind of bus, it’s a good idea to have a light sweater or blanket during night journeys as the air-conditioning is always uncomfortably cold.

Going any distance, it’s best to buy your ticket at least a day in advance, from the Rodoviária or, in some large cities, from travel agents. An exception is the Rio–São Paulo route, where a shuttle service means you can always just turn up without a ticket and never have to wait more than fifteen minutes. Numbered seats are provided on all routes: if you want a window ask for janela. If you cross a state line you will get a small form with the ticket, which asks for the number of your seat (poltrona), the number of your ticket (passagem), the number of your passport (identidade) and your destination (destino). You have to fill it in and give it to the driver before you’ll be let on board. Buses have luggage compartments, which are safe: you check pieces at the side of the bus and get a ticket for them. Keep an eye on your hand luggage, and take anything valuable with you when you get off for a halt.

City transport

Taxis

Taxis in small towns and rural areas do not often have meters, so it’s best to agree the fare in advance – they’ll be more expensive than in the cities. Most airports and some bus stations are covered by taxi co-operatives, with a slightly different system: attendants give you a coupon with fares to various destinations printed on it – you pay either at a kiosk in advance, or the driver. Tipping is not obligatory, but appreciated.

Driving and car rental

Road quality varies according to region: the South and Southeast have a good paved network; the Northeast has a good network on the coast but is poor in the interior; and roads in Amazonia are by far the worst, with even major highways closed for weeks or months at a time as they are washed away by the rains. Around half of Brazilian cars now run on álcool – a mixture of petroleum-based fuel and alcohol – which is half the price of gasolina, but which works less efficiently. Outside of the towns and cities, service stations can be few and far between, so keep a careful eye on the fuel gauge. Service stations do not accept international credit cards, so make sure you always have sufficient cash.

Renting a car in Brazil is relatively straightforward, as long as you’re confident that you can handle the drivers. Hertz, Avis and other big-name international companies operate here, and there are plenty of Brazilian alternatives, such as Interlocadora (www.interlocadora.com.br), Nobre and Localiza (www.localiza.com.br). Unidas (www.unidas.com.br) are also represented throughout the country and are highly recommended, as their cars are always in excellent condition, service is efficient and – if you take out their comprehensive insurance policy – there is no excess payable if your car is stolen or damaged. 

Often, though, you’ll find the lowest rates are offered by smaller, local companies, but this can be a risky proposition. Car rental offices (locadoras) can be found at every airport and in most towns of any size. Try to avoid renting an alcohol-powered car: they always take two or three tries before they start, whatever the weather, they accelerate more slowly, and have a maddening tendency to cut out in lower gear if you make the slightest mistake with the clutch.