Practical info before traveling to Brazil

Health

Risks

• Zika: Zika virus disease (Zika) is a disease caused by the Zika virus, which is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week after being bitten by an infected mosquito. People usually don’t get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika. For this reason, many people might not realize they have been infected. However, Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause a serious birth defect called microcephaly, as well as other severe fetal brain defects. Once a person has been infected, he or she is likely to be protected from future infections. Source: http://www.cdc.gov/zika/about/index.html

Check the current situation in Brazil

• Malaria: The risk is omnipresent in the Amazon Basin (the whole Northern region, and therefore, in the neighboring states such as the North of Mato Grosso and the West of the Nordeste). The best is to try to avoid getting bitten (anopheles mosquito bite) by using mosquito repellant especially right at sunset and/or following a prophylactic treatment (depending on the length of your stay in the infected area). Contact your doctor for further information.

• Dengue: A type of flu transmitted by mosquitoes. Apply mosquito repellant regularly on the exposed areas (especially during the warmest hours of the day).

• Hygiene and alimentation: The risks can be benign (simple diarrhea) or important (typhoid, dysentery); water from facets is advised against. Choose bottled water or use purifying tablets. Also, be aware of unpeeled fruits and vegetables.

• Bilharzias or Schistosomiasis: make sure the water where you want to swim in isn’t infected.

Vaccinations recommended

• Diphtheria, Tetanus, Polio, Typhoid, Hepatitis A and B.

• Yellow fever vaccine: strongly recommended for the Amazon Basin, some areas of the Nordeste (Northeast) and the Pantanal. An international vaccination booklet, certifying that you have been vaccinated against yellow fever, is usually mandatory (but controls are rare, or non-existent) to visit these areas and the booklet will be required to enter Brazil from a bordering country (Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela, Guyana).

You can check for the nearest place to get vaccinated to make sure everything is in order before you travel to Brazil.

Safety

Your security is our priority.

Some activities like rafting, trekking, excursions in the Amazon rainforest require that you follow basic security rules. Specialized guides will accompany you and they will be equipped with quality gear.

Brazil has the reputation of being a dangerous country for tourists but this is an exaggeration. Brazilians themselves are often the victims of violence (brawls between favelas, abandoned children, new slaves, indigenous people, drivers, and wealthiest people). For tourists, a few precautions and a little good sense are usually enough to avoid trouble. The large urban centers, concentrating the poor at the same time as hordes of tourists, present the most risks. Furthermore, some places are better suited than others, particularly bus or train stations.

We therefore recommend that you be extremely vigilant during your transfers and stay in town, to ban all exterior signs of wealth, to travel light, to never leave bags or cameras on the unattended, use the hotels safes when available, always carry with you a copy of your important documents (passport, drivers license...).

Carry a copy of your individual insurance policy with the policy number and the contact information.

Insurance

Please, check our Insurance Policy page.

Emergency Number

Upon confirmation of your trip, you will be given an emergency contact number that you can reach at all times of day or night during the entirety of your stay.

Electricity and batteries

The electricity is not standardized; it oscillates between 110 and 220 V. In Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, it is almost always either 110 or 120 V.

Most of the sockets are equipped to receive plugs with round or flat double prongs.

Cell phones

Please, check with your operator if your phone will work in Brazil.

Comfort

Some of our circuits (Pantanal, Amazon, Lençóis Maranhenses, treks) involve at time rusticity and the unreliability of local conditions. They don’t involve athletic feat but require a good physical condition and some capacity to adapt to the environment and the conditions. In any case, comfort remains one of our foremost priorities in our choice of hotels and of camping sites.

When we state, for some of the nights, "basic comfort", it is usually in reference to lodging with local host (or in a shelter) where the ground can be of dirt or cement, and in which collective dormitories are offered, equipped with basic cots (wooded frame + mattress + blankets). We will rarely find showers and 24 hour electricity.

But be assured that our team on the field (inhabitants, hosts) will be at your disposal and will do their best to accommodate you as well as they can.

Accommodations

The number of stars is indicated in the program (according to the Brazilian classification), in double occupancy with bathroom. Breakfast included except if otherwise mentioned.

The selection is done with your comfort in mind.

In theory, there is a difference between pousada and hotel.

The pousadas, are similar to guesthouses, they are supposed to be a little more familial and warm.

The hotels are in opposition more impersonal.

This nuance is not always true...

Luggage

For convenient traveling, we advise you to travel light and to take only what is strictly necessary, and luggage should be as compact as possible (a big suitcase and a smaller bag). The contents may vary according to the season and your itinerary, but you will certainly spend most of your stay in a T-shirt, shorts and sandals. For trekking, it is essential that you limit the weight of your bag to 30 lb, so as not to overload the porters or the mules.

Sites protection

The ecosystem of some areas that you will cross is very fragile. The regularity of the tourist flow, even in small groups, can easily and rapidly disturb it. In everyone’s interest, each participant is responsible for the cleanness and the state of the areas crossed or used for camping. The battle against pollution needs to be fought by everyone.

Vehicles (private transports)

Depending on the group size, we can use a minibus. All the vehicles are covered by insurance.

Drivers

All the drivers we use are professionals. They have extensive knowledge of the areas you’ll be travelling through and good mechanical skills.

Guides

Portuguese and English speaking guides – except if notified in the program – who know the country. Local specialized guides for some areas (Chapada Diamantina / Amazon / Pantanal).

If airport pick up:

A guide or a driver will await you upon arrival with a sign bearing “your name + Terra Brazil".

The spirit of traveling and trip modifications

Un-foreseeable events (late plane / train, breakdowns, etc.) can occur and are part of the traveling experience.

Depending on weather conditions and the desire of the group, the itinerary can be modified. What we mean by tailor made program is a total flexibility in relation to the tour established before departure. A potential decision to change the program will have to be accepted by the group members. Price may vary.

Shopping

Cotton hammocks, lace, precious and semi-precious stones, Brazilian music and its diverse instruments, indigenous handicrafts (arcs, arrows, baskets, feather hair-dresses, sculptures, pottery…), bikinis, these make for a non-exhaustive list of gift ideas.

Gastronomy

The feijoada is omnipresent. The ingredients are: feijão preto (black beans), carne de sol (sun-dried salt beef), rice, cabbage, manioc flour, hog feet and ears and sausage.

Bahianaise cuisine consists of a mix of African and Brazilian recipes, based on classic ingredients such as coconut milk, ginger, chili pepper, coriander, shrimps and dendé oil.

The most typical plates are the acarajés (balls of peeled red beans, salt, onions, the whole fried in dendé oil) and the moqueca (type of fish stew, shrimps, oysters or crab, with a lot of dendé and coconut milk).

The cachaça is a popular alcohol, acquired by distillation of sugar cane juice, Brazilian equivalent of Caribbean rum. This alcohol is the main ingredient of caipirinha, famous cocktail with lemon, crushed ice and cane sugar.

You can also try countless different fruit juices, which are prepared right before your eyes.

Arts

Brazilians are one of the people who most appreciate music, which is the most famous art form in the country. Brazilian music, colored by its African roots, is often enjoyed in groups, turning itself into a celebration and a party. Most music genres also have their own dance such as pagoda, freio, forro and lambada.