Brazil

Brazil is the largest country in Latin America. It spreads across almost half (47.3%) of South America, and occupies a total area of 8,547,403.5 km2. It is the fifth largest country in the world after Canada, the Russian Federation, China and the United States. Except for a small number of islands, Brazil is a single and continuous land mass. The Equator passes through the northern region, near Macapá, and the Tropic of Capricorn cuts through the south of the country, near São Paulo. Brazil’s east to west extension (4,319.4 km) is almost equivalent to its north to south distance (4,394.7 km). The country borders French Guiana, Suriname, Guiana, Venezuela and Colombia, to the north; Uruguay and Argentina, to the south; and Paraguay, Bolivia and Peru, to the west. Ecuador and Chile are the only two countries on the South American continent that do not border Brazil. The Atlantic Ocean extends along the country’s entire eastern coast, providing 7,367 km of coastline.

Language
The official language is Portuguese; however, the accent and the intonation are very different from what one hears in Portugal and other former Portuguese colonies. Some people say that Brazilians speak “Brazilian”, just like Americans can say they speak “American”, and not English. And there are also many Brazilians who are descendants of immigrants and who speak German and Italian, especially in cities in southern Brazil.

Brazil – a country that greets visitors with a huge smile
The mix of races has made Brazil a culturally rich and at the same time unique country. This miscegenation began with the Indian, the African and the Portuguese, but in a short time, immigrants from around the world began to arrive: Europeans, Asians, Jews and Arabs. The result was a happy people, open to everything new, a people only found in Brazil.

Because of this tremendous diversity, Brazil is one of the last places on earth where no one is a foreigner, where one can change one’s destiny without losing one’s identity and where each and every Brazilian has a little of the entire world in his or her blood. This may be the reason the Brazilian receives anyone from another land so well. According to surveys carried out with foreign tourists who visited the country, 97.2% intend to return soon; 56.5% had their expectations completely satisfied; and, for 31.7%, their expectations were completely exceeded. As you can see, those who come to Brazil become fans on the first visit.

Find out more about Brazil by navigating through our site. Or better yet: visit the country in person and feel for yourself the happiness and enthusiasm of our people.

Brazilian democracy
Brazil has been a republic since 1889. Throughout this entire period, the country actually lived little more than thirty years of democracy (1946-1964 and from 1985 to the present). Nevertheless, it is one of the most democratic nations on earth. Brazilian democracy, which was won back after 21 years of a military dictatorship, proved to be vigorous and became an important part of the life of its people.

The National Congress has been operating like clockwork for 175 years. In the entire history of the country, only on three occasions did the elected representatives not complete their terms. The strength of the Congress is actually so great that not even the military dictatorship of the 1960s could do without it. There have been national elections in Brazil since 1823. And these elections have been open to voters in a manner almost unheard of even for European democracy standards.

Useful Information:

Visas and Passports
Tourists and visitors from Mercosul countries do not need to present passports. They merely need to show their ID cards. Visitors from other countries must present a passport that is valid for the next six months. For further information on Visas and necessary documentation, access: www.mre.gov.br or www.braziltour.com.

Electricity Voltage
Electricity voltages vary from one state to another. Check the voltage before connecting any electrical appliance to an outlet.

Car Hire
All the well know car hire firms have counters at the country’s main airports and in the main urban centers. Tourists may also book cars through their travel agencies.

Taxis
The tourist may opt to take an ordinary taxi easily found in the streets or through radio taxi services. It is recommended that accredited taxi services at the airports and at points nearby the main hotels be given priority. It is not usual in Brazil to tip a taxi driver although it is common to round off the amount and let the driver keep the change as a gratuity.

Tips
Most bars and restaurants include a service charge of 10% in the Bill. It is usual to leave a little extra if the service has been satisfactory. When no service charge has been included then a tip of 10% to 15% is the general rule.

Currency
The Brazilian currency unit is the Real ($R). Dollars and Travelers Checks can easily be changed in hotels, banks or travel agencies. Most establishments accept credit cards.

Communications
To make an international call, dial: 00 + operator code* + country code + area code (if there is one) + telephone number For reverse charge international calls dial 0800 7032111.

Operators:
Brasil Telecom 14
Embratel 21
CTBC 34
GVT 25
Intelig 23
Telefónica 15
Telemar 31

Language
The national language is Portuguese but it is a little different from the Portuguese spoken in Portugal

Climate
The climate is predominantly tropical with some variation according to the region. The average annual temperature in the north is 28º C and 22º C in the south.

Time Zones
Because of its continental dimensions Brazil has 4 time zones. The official time is Brasília time and it corresponds to 3 hours less than GMT. From September to February the clocks are put forward one hour in most Brazilian States.