- Travel information
- Suggested books and references
TRAVEL INFORMATION FOR THE VISITING NATURALIST
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
A valid passport is required for entry into Brazil. It must be valid for at least six months past the time of your scheduled return. US, Canadian, and Australian citizens must obtain a visa before traveling to Brazil; if you do not have a visa, you will not be allowed to board the airplane. UK and South Africa citizens do not need a visa. Other nationalities should check with the Brazilian consulate. You need to wait until 90 days prior to the beginning of your trip before applying for your visa.
For Canadian citizens, see this site:
http://www.brasembottawa.org/en/consular/index.html
For Australian citizens:
http://www.brazil.org.au/cms/public_php/visas.php
You are given an entry card on arrival; keep it with your passport for the entire trip in case the authorities ask to inspect it. By law you are required to carry your passport with you at all times. It is a good idea to make a photocopy of your passport photo pages and visa page, and to keep the copy in a different place from the passport during the tour.
HEALTH REQUIREMENTS
A current Yellow Fever vaccination is required to visit the Brazilian Amazon. The shot is good for ten years, and the clinic should give you a stamped and dated yellow card that serves as proof of vaccination. Carry your proof of vaccination with you, as health services staff may check upon your arrival in Brazil. This card will certainly be checked if you arrive from a country where yellow fever is endemic. It is always wise to keep your basic shots such as tetanus, polio, and diphtheria up to date. Some travelers choose to receive vaccinations against Hepatitis A and B, though the risk of contracting either disease is very minimal. Malaria is present in the Amazon, and though the chance of contracting the disease near Alta Floresta is very small, your doctor may recommend taking Malaria prophylaxis.
DOMESTIC AIR TRAVEL
Most birding trips in Brazil of any length will probably require a domestic flight or two. The vast majority of international flights arrive at the international airport in Guarulhos outside of São Paulo. This is the larger of two big airports in São Paulo, the other being Congonhas, a downtown airport used exclusively for domestic connections. Try, if you possibly can, to connect your international and domestic flights through Guarulhos. São Paulo is a megalopolis which is becoming infamous for its terrible traffic congestion, and very little else throws travel plans awry like a missed flight. There are a host of comfortable modern hotels with reasonable rates including breakfast and free airport shuttle in the city of Guarulhos, and it is almost always possible to arrive in São Paulo without a previous hotel reservation. Simply walk to the far end of Terminal 2 and past the taxis outside where you will see a number of hotel minibuses picking up passengers. Most of the hotels have touts here who can sign you up for a room - all done in a very civilized manner.
If you must travel through Congonhas, there is a free shuttle bus service between the two airports for passengers of the TAM airline. I have taken this bus even when I wasn't a TAM passenger, they don't check if you have boarding passes so it may be possible to hop on. Otherwise there is the reasonably-priced Airport Bus Service which has ticket counters downstairs in both Terminals 1 and 2 at Guarulhos (you need to first go outside, then look for the counters beside the rental car agencies). The price is between R$25-30 from Guarulhos to Congonhas. This company also operates buses to the Tietê and Barra Funda bus stations in São Paulo.
Domestic air travel in Brazil often means a lot of connections. If booking with a travel agent through TAM or Gol, the two major domestic airlines, be sure to ask about your connections and stopovers. Re-check this when you arrive at the airport. Ask as many staff as possible, as the explanations can vary from one employee to the next or be somewhat unclear. Flights with any of the smaller domestic airlines can almost be assured to involve connections. The major air hubs are São Paulo (especially Congonhas), Rio de Janeiro, and Brasilia. A note about the domestic terminal at the Brasilia airport: if flying out of Brasilia from about 17:00 onwards, pay very careful attention to announcements about gate changes. For a variety of reasons, early evening is peak traffic time at this airport, and all of these flights are coming from elsewhere in the country. Delayed flights and a shortage of gate space tends to lead to gate changes, and I've seen more than a few people miss flights here simply because they weren't paying attention. Often rains in the Amazon will delay a flight leaving Belem or Manaus in the wee hours of the morning; this airplane may be scheduled to finish the day in Rio or Salvador, and thus an early delay throws it all off all the way down the line.
TAM and Gol are the airlines most frequently used in Brazil. TAM is generally more expensive, but sometimes offers more direct routes. Both can be booked online, though foreign users are often stymied by TAM's insistence that the consumer include a CPF # which few foreigners (certainly no visiting birders) will have. Gol accepts credit cards online, but not VISA (or at least it has never worked for me). An airline of interest to birders who visit Mato Grosso is TRIP. The TRIP airline has run the Cuiabá-Alta Floresta route for a number of years now, and while it is expensive it is reliable and the only option aside from the overnight bus.
A couple of useful links:
TAM Airlines
Gol & Varig Airlines
TRIP Linhas Aereas
Infraero - the site of the Brazilian Airport Authority - in Portuguese. Check schedules and up-to-the-minute flight status online.
Brazil is a big country, and as such any birding trip that visits more than a couple of sites will probably involve a fair amount of driving. In Mato Grosso we actually get off easy, as the only drives a standard “Pantanal-Chapada-Amazon” trip will require are short drives between Cuiabá, Chapada dos Guimarães, and the Transpantaneira. However, if one wishes to combine any of these sites wither farther flung localities such as Emas National Park in Goiás or the Ilha do Bananal at São Felix do Araguaia, you need either a plane or a willingness to drive long distances, often through uninteresting habitat.
In Brazil used cars retain their value for many years, and the high prices combined with typical mechanical uncertainties means that buying a used car for a long birding trip isn’t a viable option like it may be in some other birding destinations, such as Australia for example.
Renting a car is the best option for the independent birder or small group of friends. Most Brazilian cars are compacts or subcompacts, but many of these small cars can be surprisingly roomy, particularly in the trunk. A group of four could easily make do in a GM Meriva, Fiat Palio Weekend or VW Parati. Two or three birders trying to keep costs low will want to opt for a more basic car, perhaps a Fiat Uno or Palio, or a VW Gol. Reliable car rental firms include Localiza, Hertz, Unidas and Avis. Localiza tends to have the best coverage throughout the country. All major airports have rental car desks, but beware a 10% fee charged on all car rentals at Brazilian airports. Most companies also have an office in the city, and the airport fee does not apply on rentals from these locations. Inspect the car carefully before accepting it; locate the spare tire and jack, and check the condition of the spare. You may need it. Some companies, particularly Avis, charge ridiculous cleaning fees if a car is returned with dusty upholstery or a mud/sand which inevitably gets tracked in during a day’s birding. I specifically don’t recommend Avis in Cuiabá if one plans to visit the Pantanal or Chapada dos Guimarães – they once tried to charge me R$160 when I returned a dirty car after 6 days of birding in September!
Larger groups will want to contact a local operator or tour company to arrange transport for longer itineraries. These operators can provide good vans with professional drivers who are reliable, punctual and safe.
Road conditions in Brazil are widely variable. In the developed south and south-east, federal and state highways can be expected to be in good condition. Toll roads are usually excellent, and are widespread in those regions. In rural parts of central, north and central-west Brazil roads can be abysmal. In the Amazon region, the few major highways tend to deteriorate rather quickly throughout the rainy season. Inquire in advance as to the state of any doubtful roads. The policia rodoviária (highway police) along the roads tend to know best and usually don’t mind if you pull over at the many checkpoints to ask about conditions. There is also a useful website on the current conditions of federal highways maintained by the Department of Transport and Infrastructure. The most important advice to any potential driver in Brazil is to remain attentive at all times. Many excellent roads throughout the country may have one or two large unmarked potholes which can easily ruin a small car if not avoided. Pedestrians, animals, motorcycles and heavy trucks are mobile hazards which must be watched for at all times.
The Quatro Rodas Guia Rodoviário is an excellent road atlas with maps of all major roads and most significant unpaved roads. This can be picked up in bookstores in the major airports throughout the country, and also at larger service stations.
Cars in Brazil run on either gasoline (petrol) or alcohol (ethanol). All new cars manufactured in the past few years have a flex mechanism, meaning that you may fill the tank with either fuel type. Both fuels are widely available; alcohol is typically less expensive per litre. Service stations (postos) and borracharias (tire repair shops) are omnipresent in most areas, though fuel can be hard to come by in rural parts of the Brazilian Amazon. Service stations on major highways usually have reasonably clean washrooms and inexpensive per-kilo restaurants.
all material on this site ©2010 Bradley Davis unless otherwise noted