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Showing posts from June, 2016

Three weeks in Brazil - A practical guide

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Introduction Where should you go if you can spend three weeks in Brazil? Not an easy question to answer. Brazil is such a big country, you need to select a few spots to make sure you have enough time to enjoy this beautiful and interesting area of the world. If you don't have enough time to read the whole blog, invest 5 minutes to see 50 great things you can do in Brazil in this video . The following practical guide shows you how we spent our three weeks in Brazil in May 2016 . Preparations Learn some important words/phrases in Portuguese , e.g. how to order food; saying hello, please, thank you; asking for directions... A good starting point is Memrise , an interactive app. Get all required vaccinations . It depends when and where you go exactly, but vaccinations for hepatitis B and yellow fewer are always a good idea. We brought malaria medication with us, but did not use it in the end. Book domestic flights in advance to get better rates. Our itinerary

Rio de Janeiro - Part 1

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Arrival We had a night flight from Frankfurt to Rio, so we arrived very early in Rio. The transfer was organized by the hotel ( Injoy Hostel in Botafogo ) and cost 85 BRL. Already at the taxi ride we experienced that knowing some phrases in Portuguese is very important. Day 1 After getting a short introduction by our receptionist, our room was ready – we did not have to pay extra for the early check in at around 06:00 am. We started our first day of sightseeing by going to the Parque Lage (free entrance) . We used the public bus, which was easy, safe and cheap (3.80 BRL for a single ride – wave your hand to stop the bus; buy the ticket on the bus). The Parque Lage itself was great. You see monkeys running around and you get a sort of rain forest feeling while being actually in a large city. If you want to take a hike up to the Christ the Redeemer, you would start here. After having a coffee at the small café, we continued walking to the lake Lagoa . On ou

Ilha Grande

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Preparation & Arrival Before going to the Ilha Grande we were told to get a lot of cash because there are no ATMs on the island. This is true, however, most restaurants bars and tour operators accept plastic. Some tours charge an extra fee though if you pay by credit card. To get to the Ilha Grande, we asked our hotel in Rio to organize a transfer – it turned out to be Easytransfer. Initially we were thinking about taking a public bus and then a boat, but the fully organized transfer was 95 BRL per person, so not too bad. It included the transfer in a minivan and the boat. Be aware that it can take some time until you leave Rio, depending on which other hotels the bus needs to go to to pick up other guests. In our case, the whole journey took from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm to get from our hotel in Rio to Abraão. Day 1 When arriving in Abraão you are suddenly in a completely different setting compared to Rio: a tiny village on a tropical island, no cars , no streets, lots

Paraty

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Arrival & day 1 To go to Paraty from the Ilha Grande we did not book an organized transfer. We used a fast boat from Abraão to Angra dos Rais (35 BRL) and then took a normal public bus . When you arrive in Angra walk towards the main street and turn right. You will see a bus stop “Intermunicipal” and from there you can take the bus to Paraty. It takes about 2.5 hours and costs 12.5 BRL . Obviously it is not as comfortable as a private minivan, but it is comfortable enough. You arrive at the bus terminal in Paraty We stayed at Leo’s Clan Beach hostel which is quite close to the center. From the bus terminal to the hostel it’s a 20 minute walk. Warning: The cobblestones in the historic center are absolutely not made for trolleys. We had problems when pulling them through the sandy “roads” on the Ilha Grande, but in Paraty it was impossible to pull them. Carrying two large and heavy trolleys through the old town was the biggest challenge when it comes to sports during the 3

Iguaçu waterfalls

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Arrival To get from Paraty to Foz do Iguaçu there are different options. If you have enough time, you could take an extremely long bus ride. We have chosen to take a flight from Rio. To get to Rio we used a very comfortable Costa Verde bus for 72.50 BRL . The ride takes about 4 hours (including a short break) and you arrive at the Novo Rio Bus Station . From the bus station we took a taxi to the domestic airport Santos Dumont for 47 BRL (20 minutes). Unfortunately it was no direct flight and we had a relatively long stop in Sao Paulo. The airport at Foz do Iguaçu is about 20 minutes away from the “center”. We stayed at the Pietro Angelo hotel , a free transfer was included. If you don’t have a free transfer, you have to pay around 50 BRL for a taxi or 3.8 BRL for a public bus ride. In the evening we went to a typical dinner place: a self service restaurant called Familiglia Maran where you pay per kilo. The food was very nice and very cheap. By this time of our trip