Brazil - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 224

Brazil from French Guiana involves
taking a dugout taxi-boat across the
Oiapoque River from Saint Georges to
Oiapoque , a small dirt-road settlement.
It's smarter to arrive in gritty Oiapoque
by daylight and plan on a quick exit;
buses depart for the twelve-hour journey
to Macapá on the Amazon, twice daily.
You can also fly from Cayenne to Macapá
and Belém.

either a return or onward ticket or
evidence of funds to purchase one, to
enter Brazil. You fill in an entry form on
arrival and get a ninety-day tourist visa.
Try not to lose the receipt of this entry
form; you'll need it if you plan to extend.
Citizens from Australia , USA and Canada
need visas in advance, available from
Brazilian consulates abroad; you'll usually
need a return or onward ticket, a passport
photo, completed visa application form,
and processing fee (Aus$55, US$180 or
Can$107 respectively).
In Brazil, entry permits and visas are
dealt with by the Polícia Federal . Every
state capital has a federal police station
with a visa section: ask for the delagacia
federal . You can extend tourist permits for
another ninety days if you apply at least
fifteen days before expiry; official rules
state that you cannot spend more than six
months in Brazil in any twelve-month
period. A R$76 charge is made on tourist
permit and visa extensions. If you stay
past the visa date without having
extended it you will be charged R$12 per
day before you leave the country.

FROM PARAGUAY
Paraguay's busiest border crossing is from
Ciudad del Este over the Puente de la
Amistad (Friendship Bridge) to Foz do
Iguaçu . There are daily flights from
Asunción to São Paulo, Rio and other
major destinations in Brazil.

3

FROM URUGUAY
The most travelled overland route to
Brazil is via Chuí (Chuy on the
Uruguayan side), 527km south of Porto
Alegre. A less-used but more atmospheric
crossing is from Rivera to Santana Do
Livramento , 497km west of Porto Alegre
in the heart of gaucho country. Between
the two, there are also more complicated
crossings from Melo to Aceguá, from
where you can easily reach the more
interesting town of Bagé , or to Jaguarão .
Finally, in the west, there are
international bridges (and buses) linking
Bella Unión and Artigas with the
Brazilian towns of Barra do Quarai and
Quarai respectively. There are daily flights
from Montevideo to Rio and São Paulo.

GETTING AROUND
Travel in Brazil is usually straightforward:
it's generally by bus or plane, though
there are a few passenger trains, too,
and given the long distances involved
it's usually good value. Hitchhiking over
any distance is not recommended. In the
Amazon , travel is by boat (see p.314),
a slow yet fascinating river experience.

FROM VENEZUELA
From Santa Elena de Uairén in Bolívar
(Venezuela's southeastern state) two
daily buses make the four-hour trip to
Boa Vista in Brazil, where you'll find
a twelve-hour connection to Manaus.
Daily flights connect Caracas to Brazil's
major cities.

BY AIR
Brazil relies heavily on air travel. TAM
( W tam.com.br), GOL ( W voegol.com.br)
and Azul ( W voeazul.com.br) serve most
domestic destinations, while Webjet
( W webjet.com.br) and Avianca
( W avianca.com.br) also offer competitive
fares to popular cities. A useful flight
comparison site is W submarinoviagens
.com.br, though you'll almost always get
a better deal purchasing on the relevant
airline's site (some don't allow foreign
card transactions, however, so you may
have to use a travel agent). If you plan on
flying within Brazil at least four times in

VISAS
Generally, Brazil requires visas based on
the principle of reciprocity of treatment
given to its citizens. Visitors from most
European nations, including Britain and
Ireland, need only a valid passport and