How to Get Around Brazil

Getting Around

Brazil's size makes domestic flights the practical way to cover real distances -- LATAM, GOL, and Azul connect every major city.

Long-distance buses are extensive and connect most cities at a much lower cost. Within the Amazon, boats remain a genuine, sometimes necessary way to reach towns with no road access at all.

Within Rio and São Paulo, metro systems cover the main tourist areas well, and rideshare apps are the standard, safer alternative to hailing a taxi.

Verified against Global Affairs Canada, September 2026.

The one thing to set up before you drive anywhere

Favelas — also called comunidades — exist throughout the major cities, and gangs strictly control access to them. Tourists have been killed after entering on foot by accident or while following GPS directions. These neighbourhoods are not safe for outsiders even accompanied by a local guide, and emergency services reach them poorly. So: ask your hotel or trusted locals which areas near you they are, and make sure your navigation app is not routing you through one. In Rio, the advice is to avoid the Complexo da Maré and Complexo da Penha entirely, for very high rates of violent crime, frequent large-scale police operations and the difficulty of getting help.

Taxis, which are identifiable if you know what to look for

Registered taxis carry red licence plates and a meter that sets the legal fare. In Brasília most are white with a green sign on the doors; in Rio most are yellow with a blue stripe and a company name near the stripe at the back. Malls and airports usually have their own registered ranks. Assaults, thefts and scams happen in unofficial taxis, including drink-spiking used to facilitate robbery and sexual assault, so arrange an airport pickup through your hotel or take an authorised cab from the rank — and the advisory's own instruction is to avoid paying by card. Ride-hailing apps work; confirm the driver and the plate before getting in.

Buses, trains and the street

Inter-city buses are generally reliable if you book a reputable company, and the country is big enough that flying the long legs is normal rather than extravagant. City transport is the weaker link: it gets very crowded at peak times, pickpocketing is common at bus and subway stations, and there are reports of theft and violence on city buses in Rio and near favelas across the country, especially at rush hour. Be particularly careful on public transport at night.

Arrastões — mass robberies where a group swarms a public place and snatches cash, jewellery and phones — happen day and night on beaches, in traffic jams, in shopping centres and in restaurants, and petty crime rises around Carnival, Christmas, street festivals and big sporting events. Robberies occur in all the tourist areas of Rio, Lapa, Santa Teresa and Copacabana included. People have been seriously injured or killed resisting, so do not.

Driving and express kidnapping

Express kidnappings occur in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region: a victim is held for a few hours and forced to withdraw cash from ATMs or make transfers by phone. Keep doors and windows closed and locked, pay attention at traffic lights, avoid poorly lit areas, do not stop at the roadside, and if you feel threatened while driving, do not stop.

A foreign licence is valid for up to 180 days and an international driving permit is worth carrying as an official Portuguese translation. Brazil has zero tolerance for drink-driving, with on-the-spot licence confiscation, and police run checkpoints day and night — slow down and cooperate. Roads are generally good in the big cities and on the federal highways between them, adequate on regional routes, and often poorly maintained on state and municipal roads in rural areas, where missing signs, potholes, unpaved surfaces, poor lighting and landslides are the hazards. Roadside assistance is not widely available. Power cuts happen regularly in major cities and frequently in the rainy season, and seasonal flooding can close roads and damage bridges.

Money, entry and health

The currency is the Brazilian real. Cards are widely accepted in cities, restaurants and shops but much less so in rural areas and informal markets, so carry cash for small transactions and anywhere remote. A visa is required for tourism, business and study, applied for in advance. There is a risk of yellow fever, so contact a designated vaccination centre well ahead, and dengue is a risk that varies by season, year, region and elevation, with the mosquitoes biting in daytime around sunrise and sunset. Public hospitals are free but overcrowded and short of medication and most doctors do not speak English; private hospitals in cities are better equipped, expensive, and may want proof of insurance and immediate payment. Some beaches are unsupervised, riptides are common, and urban beaches are often too polluted to swim.

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Sources & verification Covers the sourced claims on this page.

Checked against Companhia do Metropolitano de Sao Paulo (Metro) — Sao Paulo's metro network covers the city on seven lines (September 2026).
Checked against Global Affairs Canada — Tourists have been killed entering favelas on foot by accident or while following GPS directions, and a navigation app must be checked so it does not route through one, Registered taxis carry red licence plates and a meter, are white with a green door sign in Brasilia and yellow with a blue stripe in Rio, and card payment should be avoided, Public transport is very crowded at peak times with common pickpocketing at bus and subway stations, and there are reports of theft and violence on Rio city buses and near favelas at rush hour, A foreign licence is valid for up to 180 days, an international driving permit serves as the official Portuguese translation, and there is zero tolerance for drink-driving with police checkpoints day and night, Roads are good in big cities and on federal highways, adequate on regional routes and often poorly maintained on rural state and municipal roads, and roadside assistance is not widely available, Power outages occur regularly in major cities and frequently in the rainy season, when seasonal flooding can close roads and damage bridges, Tourists have been killed entering favelas on foot by accident or while following GPS directions, and a navigation app must be checked so it does not route through one, Registered taxis carry red licence plates and a meter, are white with a green door sign in Brasilia and yellow with a blue stripe in Rio, and card payment should be avoided, Public transport is very crowded at peak times with common pickpocketing at bus and subway stations, and there are reports of theft and violence on Rio city buses and near favelas at rush hour, A foreign licence is valid for up to 180 days, an international driving permit serves as the official Portuguese translation, and there is zero tolerance for drink-driving with police checkpoints day and night, Roads are good in big cities and on federal highways, adequate on regional routes and often poorly maintained on rural state and municipal roads, and roadside assistance is not widely available, Power outages occur regularly in major cities and frequently in the rainy season, when seasonal flooding can close roads and damage bridges (September 2026).