Trip to Brazil: everything you need to know before you leave (documents, safety, what to pack)

When we started planning our first trip to South America, and to Brazil in particular, we had so many questions. Will we need a visa? What about the yellow fever vaccine? How safe is it really? Can we pay by card or do we need to exchange a lot of cash? And for the suitcase — what do you even pack for the Amazon? 🤯
In short, even though I love organising trips down to the last detail, faced with a country this vast and this different from our own, I found myself doing a bit of extra research to make sure we arrived prepared. And now that we are back, with all the hands-on experience behind us, I decided to put together in one single article everything I wished I had found ready before leaving.

In this practical guide you will find:
✅ Documents required to enter Brazil
✅ Recommended vaccinations and preventive treatments (especially for the Amazon)
✅ International and domestic flights: which airlines we flew with and our tips for saving money
✅ Currency and payments: how we got on and how much cash you really need
✅ When to go: the best time depending on what you want to see
✅ Safety: the unfiltered truth about our experience
✅ Connectivity and eSIM: how to stay connected at all times
✅ What to pack, with a special section dedicated to the Amazon (because there you need specific things you would never expect!)

If you are looking for the actual account of our itinerary, with all the stops day by day, you can find it here 👉 [Complete Brazil Itinerary]

Documents

To enter Brazil as tourists, all you need is a passport with at least 6 months of remaining validity. For us Italians, no visa is required for stays of up to 90 days. One less thing to worry about!

Vaccinations

There are no mandatory vaccines to enter Brazil. That said, when we spoke to our doctor — who had already been to Brazil in the past — he recommended, as a precaution for the days in the Amazon, taking a light preventive treatment in tablet form. It is a very mild medication, to be taken 10 days before the trip. I can confirm that neither I nor Fabio had a single symptom or side effect — everything went smoothly. ⚠️ I am not naming any medications because it is important that you speak to your own doctor before leaving: they will be able to advise you based on your personal situation.

Travel insurance

I always say it and I will say it again: travel insurance, even if it might seem like an “extra” expense, is truly the last thing you should cut costs on. Especially when you are heading off on a long trip, to the other side of the world, to places like the Amazon where an unexpected health issue can turn into a headache — and financially, a disaster.

International flights

We flew from Milan with Air France (with a stopover in Paris), and we were very happy with them. Another airline with really competitive prices is TAP Portugal, which stops in Lisbon — we had looked at it during the booking phase and the fares were excellent.
📌 Tip: book well in advance, ideally 6-7 months ahead. It is the surest way to secure the best deals, as prices go up considerably as the departure date approaches.

Domestic flights

Brazil is enormous and to get from one area to another you need domestic flights. We took as many as 8 during this trip, always with LATAM and I have to say: they were exceptional. Never a delay, never a lost suitcase, and the website and app are very easy to use, even in Italian. One detail worth mentioning: domestic flights usually include a 23 kg checked bag, but always check the fare you are purchasing.

Currency and payments

The official currency in Brazil is the Brazilian Real (BRL). What surprised me enormously is that you can pay by credit card absolutely everywhere: from restaurants to hotels, from shops to market stalls — even beach vendors all have a card reader. I did not exchange a single euro in Rio. I only changed a small amount of cash to tip the guides during excursions.

When to go

We left at the beginning of April and I will tell you how it went, so you can get an idea. In Rio de Janeiro everything was perfect: their autumn had just begun, the temperatures were pleasant, it was not unbearably hot and it was genuinely lovely for getting around the city. In the northern part of the country — we did the Amazon and Lençóis Maranhenses — we were right in the middle of the rainy season. Let’s say it is not the ideal time, as more than a few storms rolled in, but the very positive side is that we found very few tourists anywhere. A real luxury, especially in places like the Lençóis, which in high season are absolutely packed.
To give you a complete picture, here is what the guides told us:
From June, the first tourists start to arrive. Between August and September the dry season begins and it is the busiest period (and also when the Lençóis lagoons are at their most spectacular). From December to March it is the Brazilian summer: very hot in Rio, perfect for the beaches, but frequent rain in the north. The “ideal” period on paper would be from June to September, but if like us you are not fond of crowds and are happy to accept the odd tropical downpour, April is also a very good option. 🌧️

Connectivity and eSIM

For the SIM card in Brazil, I did not even consider getting a physical SIM. I had looked into it online more out of curiosity than anything else, and it turned out to be quite a hassle — apparently you even need a Brazilian document to activate one. So, no thanks. 🙃
As on all my trips, this time too I used an eSIM Holafly (you can find it HERE), which is now my permanent travel companion on every departure. I got the eSIM with unlimited data and it was completely stress-free: zero worries, always connected, smooth browsing everywhere (even in Manaus and the Lençóis, where coverage is what it is).

Getting around Brazil

Getting around the cities is nothing particularly complicated. We always used Google Maps to navigate on foot through the various neighbourhoods (in Rio it is essential so you don’t get lost between Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon). Uber for longer distances: very convenient, efficient and genuinely cheap. We took it constantly throughout the trip and every ride cost just a few euros. It became our main way of getting around.
In Rio there is also a metro, but several locals had advised us to just use Uber instead, for safety reasons — especially in the evening. We followed the advice and honestly did not miss the metro at all: with Uber so affordable and widespread, there is really no reason to make life harder.

Safety in Brazil: our experience

I have to be honest: before we left, people scared us half to death about Brazil. “Don’t wear your Apple Watch.” “Avoid wearing rings, even your wedding band.” “Always keep 30 reais in your wallet so that if you get robbed you at least have something to hand over and they’ll leave you alone.”
Even though I travel a lot, I don’t think I have ever been subjected to so much pre-departure scaremongering about any destination. And honestly, from the start it all seemed a bit over the top to me: could a place as touristy as Rio really be an open-air war zone? It seemed unlikely. So I left with my Apple Watch on my wrist and my wedding ring on my finger. And I was right.

Here is what it is really like: in Rio there are indeed a lot of homeless people, more than I expected — I won’t lie to you about that. But there is just as much of a police presence. In the tourist areas you will find a police car parked every 300 metres, and precisely for this reason the atmosphere is super relaxed: everyone walks around with their Apple Watch on, phone in hand, without any particular anxiety.
That said, this does not mean you can be careless. There are some important precautions to take:

This is not Asia, where you can wander down hidden alleyways to discover the most authentic spots. Here you need to stick to the “route”: the safe areas are the tourist zones around the beaches — Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon and the surrounding areas. We avoided venturing into other areas unless we were with a guide. We are still in the country of the favelas, so “authentic spots” are best explored with a guide here.
If you are used to travelling around Europe, you will already know not to wave your phone around, not to keep your wallet in your back pocket, and to be very careful in crowds. Pickpockets exist here just as they do in Paris, London, Rome and Barcelona. Nothing new, really. After travelling around the major European capitals, I moved around Brazil in exactly the same way.
On the beach, if you leave your bag unattended it will get stolen. But honestly, the same would happen in a small village where everyone knows each other. So it is just plain common sense: never leave valuables without someone keeping an eye on them — it is a universal rule.

Conclusion of our experience: everything went smoothly. I never felt in danger, never had a real moment of fear, and nothing unpleasant happened at any of our stops. I came home safe and sound. So, if you are thinking about going to Brazil and people are bombarding you with apocalyptic stories like they did with me, take them with a pinch of salt. Go, enjoy yourselves, use common sense and have a great time.

What to pack (especially for the Amazon)

For Rio, Foz and the Lençóis Maranhenses, the suitcase in April is fairly standard for a tropical trip: swimwear, light clothing, comfortable walking shoes, a spare swimsuit, a light sweatshirt for the evenings (in Rio and Foz it can get cool at night). Nothing particularly complicated.

The Amazon, however, is a whole different chapter.
When we booked our stay at the lodge in the forest, they sent us a mandatory clothing list in order to take part in the jungle treks. Not a friendly suggestion: without those items they simply would not let you join the excursion.
I created a folder on Amazon with everything I bought. You can find the FULL LIST HERE.
Inside you will find things like the super strong mosquito repellent, which was absolutely the item that saved my life in the Amazon. The mosquitoes in the forest are enormous, so you need a repellent specifically designed for tropical areas — one of those “extra strong” ones formulated for environments like this. For jungle treks it is mandatory to cover your legs and arms: so long trousers and long-sleeved shirts. Keep in mind that the clothes must be lightweight (or you will die of heat) and light-coloured. Mosquitoes and other insects bite much more easily through dark clothing. In my list HERE you will find lightweight technical trousers and shirts, quick-drying and with UV 50+ protection. Another must for me was the technical cap with a long peak and rear neck cover: it protects you from the sun (which when it comes out beats down hard) and from the sudden downpours that arrive within seconds.
You will also need hiking shoes, ideally waterproof, a dry bag to protect your phone, camera and documents during canoe excursions or in the rain, a waterproof poncho, sunscreen and many other things that you can find in my list, which means you can arrive in Brazil with a ready-packed suitcase without losing your mind. ✨

And with that we have reached the end of this practical guide. I hope all this information helps you organise your trip to Brazil in the best possible way, and that you arrive there prepared, relaxed and with the right suitcase. ✨

And if you want the full account of our 18-day itinerary, with everything we saw and did in Rio, Foz do Iguaçu, the Amazon and the Lençóis Maranhenses, you can find it here 👉 Trip to Brazil: an 18-day itinerary between Rio, Foz do Iguaçu, the Amazon and the Lençóis Maranhenses

Boa viagem! ✈️🌴