Capital: Brasilia
Time zone: Spans several time zones:
Eastern Standard Time = GMT – 3, North East States and East Pará = GMT – 3,
Western Standard Time = GMT – 4, Amapá and West Pará time = GMT – 4,
Acre State = GMT – 5, Fernando de Noronha Archipelago = GMT – 2.
Telephone services: Country Code: 55
Outgoing Code: 00
Emergency telephone numbers: All services: 0.
Tourist information: Brazilian Tourist Office and Embassy of the Federal Republic of Brazil, 32 Green Street, London, W1Y 4AT. Tel: (020) 7499 0877 Fax: (020) 7493 5105 or 7493 4621.
Passport information: A valid passport is required by all. Return Ticket required. Requirements may change at short notice. Contact the embassy before departure.
Visa information: Visas required unless travelling as tourists for stays of under 3 months. Required by all except: Nationals of the EU (except nationals of France who do require a visa)
Health information: Polio, Typhoid: Vaccination recommended.
Malaria: Exists throughout the year below 900m in some rural areas. Falciparum variety has been reported as being highly resistant to chloroquine.
Yellow Fever: A vaccination certificate is required by all travellers over 9 months of age arriving from infected areas.
Other Health Risks: Bilharzia, Rabies.
Food & drink: Water is untreated and not safe to drink. Avoid dairy products as they are not pasteurised. Fruit and vegetables should be peeled before consumption.
Currency: Real’ (RI) = 100 centavos. All banks and Gambios exchange foreign currency.
All major credit cards are accepted. Travellers cheques can be easily exchanged. US Dollar cheques are the preferred currency.
ATM availability: Over 10000 locations.
Cost of living: Deluxe hotels are generally restricted to the cities in the south whilst all other accommodation may be found in inhabited areas.
Languages: Portuguese. French, German, Italian and English are also spoken.
Weather: Climate varies considerably across the different areas. Arid scrub land in the interior to impassable tropical rain forest of the northerly amazon jungle and tropical eastern coastal beaches. The rainy season in the south is from January to April, in the north, it is from April to July and in Rio and Sao Paulo from November to March.
Electricity: Brasilia – 220 Volts AC, 60 Hz. Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo – 100 Volts AC, 60 Hz. 2 pin plugs are used.
Post: 4 -6 days. Reasonably reliable. Sending mail registered or franked will eliminate the risk of having stamps steamed off.
Transport: TAXI: Recognised by red number plates and fitted with meters. DRIVING: Car hire is possible but parking is difficult as is driving through the congested city streets. DOCUMENTATION: IDP is required. RAIL: Limited services exist between the major cities but there has been a substantial decline in the number of long distance services operated.
Special information: SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS: Crime is a growing problem, particularly in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Taking extreme caution and avoidance of showing expensive possessions is recommended. By law, a passport should be carried at all times.