Brazil travel resources

Before you go

• Citizens of Australia, Canada and the United States need a visitor visa. The Foreign Ministry’s New York consulate says the requirement began on 10 April 2025, that you apply for the e-Visa online, that it allows a stay of up to 90 days per year, and that you must contact the Federal Police to stay longer. Its Los Angeles consulate says to get the e-Visa before buying airline tickets or making any travel arrangements. GOV.UK says British citizens can visit for up to 90 days without a visa for tourism. Other nationalities should check with the nearest Brazilian embassy or consulate.
• The Federal Police’s service page for extending a stay (in Portuguese) says tourists can extend their stay only if the Foreign Ministry’s visa table (QGRV) allows it for their nationality, and that after the tourist period ends you are fined and told to regularise your status or leave within 60 days.
• Brazil has no vaccination requirement to enter, according to the Ministry of Health (in Portuguese). It recommends that foreign tourists update their vaccines, especially against yellow fever, polio, measles and rubella, diphtheria and tetanus. It says the yellow fever vaccine is for travellers going to the areas with a vaccination recommendation, at least 10 days before the trip.
• When you enter or leave Brazil you must declare more than US$10,000 in cash, or the equivalent. On entry you must also declare goods above the duty-free quota. The federal e-DBV service page (in Portuguese) says you can fill in the declaration online before the trip, that the tax authority, the Receita Federal, may ask for proof of where the money came from when you leave, and that failing to declare can cost you the amount above US$10,000 (“perda do valor excedente”).
• Iguaçu National Park’s visitor services are run under a 30-year concession contract (in Portuguese) with the concessionaire Urbia Cataratas. Its ticket page (in Portuguese) says tickets are limited and sold only online for a chosen day and time, and each visitor must show a photo ID. Its park rules (in Portuguese) say to stay on the marked trails, not to feed animals and to watch your food around coatis.

Top destinations in Brazil

• Rio de Janeiro: official site · Wikivoyage
• Amazonas: state tourism agency (in Portuguese) · Wikivoyage
• Iguaçu Falls: park concessionaire’s visitor site (in Portuguese) · Wikivoyage
• Salvador: official site (in Portuguese) · Wikivoyage
• São Paulo: Wikivoyage

Travel resources

• Visit Brazil
• Brazilian Ministry of Tourism
• GOL Airlines
• Brazil’s protected areas (ICMBio, in Portuguese)

Travel tips

1. In an emergency call 190 for the police, 192 for an ambulance or 193 for the fire brigade. The Ministry of Communications, linked in the quick facts, lists 190 as the Military Police, 192 as SAMU, the emergency medical service, and 193 as the fire brigade, and 199 as Civil Defence for floods, landslides and other disasters.
2. Amazon river trips need extra research. GOV.UK advises against all but essential travel to river areas in the west of Amazonas State: the Amazon River and its tributaries west of Codajás and east of Belém do Solimões, any part of the Itaquaí River, any part of the Japurá River or its tributaries, and the Rio Negro and its tributaries north or west of Barcelos. It warns that travel against FCDO advice could invalidate your travel insurance.
3. Be careful with alcohol. GOV.UK’s safety advice says drinks containing methanol have caused deaths and serious illness in Brazil, especially spirit-based drinks, and that methanol cannot be identified by taste or smell. It also says to buy your own drinks and keep them in sight.
4. Keep valuables out of sight, especially on buses and beaches. GOV.UK says robberies are common in many cities, thieves target mobile phones, especially between 16:00 and 21:00, and groups of thieves run through beaches grabbing possessions. It advises avoiding all favelas, including favela tours marketed to tourists, and checking that your GPS route does not enter one.
5. Watch your card. GOV.UK says card cloning at ATMs and in shops is common and that payment-machine overcharging has been reported in busy tourist areas. Keep sight of your card and check the amount on the terminal before you pay.
6. Take travel insurance that covers private treatment. GOV.UK’s health advice says foreign nationals can get emergency treatment in public hospitals, which are often overcrowded, and that private hospitals will not accept you without evidence of enough money or insurance.