Travel tips for Brazil??
 

I'm currently touring South America by bike (XT600), and will be hitting to Brazil in the New Year, and I'm looking for travel tips or any information.
I'm not a general worrier, I've travelled quite a bit, and have done a fair bit by bike too, but Brazil I have to say is one country that has me thinking about bike security. It's a country famous for car and bike jackings at traffic lights, and it's favellas are right on top of 'nice' parts of the city, so anyone travelling without GPS like me knows that you get lost in pretty much every city you come across, but in Brazil one wrong turn could mean you're in the middle of a favella, not where you want to be on your lovely expensive bike loaded with everything you own.:thumbdown: Obviously serious study of maps must be undertaken before entering any city there. Does anyone that has toured Brazil have any tips for me, for safety and including any routes not to be missed, would be much appreciated!
Also I'm heading north through Brazil, but I want to include a trip on the Amazon into my itinerary, from Belém up to Manaus, then north on BR174 to Venezuela (for some good cheap petrol after Brazil), has anyone done this route, any recommendations??
Cheers in advance for any help!

Perhaps you can check out LandCruising Adventure. Website from a Dutch couple travelling for over 6 years in their Landcruiser. They spend 118 days in Brazil and might be still there.

A lot of info can be found at their site as well as on Suite101.com.

Have fun! Hope to get there one day :cool4:

Jagermini,

If you just watch to the news you will get horrified with Brazil, but some bikers have been here in Brazil, have passed throuh my city (Curitiba) and had no problem like you told before.

The bikers:
Daren:
DMotoRider.com - My Journey Through The Americas - And Inward

Adam:
Short Way Round

And last week Annette:
http://www.alaska2argentina.co.uk/

In my opinion the main things you have to worry in Brazil are:
high petrol prices and our traffic in highways and streets.


Anyway you are welcome!
Have a nice ride,
Reginaldo.

have a read...
 

Brazil is great - but there are certain places that need to be treated with 'respect'...ie research!

if you have the time have a read of our diary 2ridetheworld.com : diary
we learnt a few hard lessons and we did do a lot of research.

but its a really great and diverse country to travel through.
we have some GPS ref points that you can download from the front of our website- 2ridetheworld.com go to the bottom of the index page you can find them there.

enjoy!

Hmmm :-) Funny, I read the subject of this thread and was going to respond in this manner, Don you beat me to it. I hope you are enjoying Australia?

I would like to add to this that we currently finished our 5 month stay in only Mato Grosso state and a bit in Rondania, bringing our total spend days in Brazil over 240 days. Most problems I have with Brazil is the good food...:oops2:

Adventurous greetings,
Coen

carlos pezao
 

Hey my name is carlos Im from Brazil and Im overland 2 now Im in Mexico coming dow from Alaska a spend 5 months around 4 corners in usa ,bigfooton2wheels.blogspot.com and about Brazil is no problem only the big cities like rio,sao paulo,salvador ,fortaleza, natal but all of them r nice but u need to know were 2 go always ask the guys who works in a petrol station or lorry dreivers about roads and places,they r very helpfull u mybe atract some attention but dont worry they never saw ppl like u hehhehe ,ppl are very friendly specially in countrysides ,big cites gonna b the same like anyother one ,New york,London,Mexico city etc. Exp never been robed in brazil but hv twice in Chelsea (London) .
When I get to brazil I will be around just get in touch and maybe I can help u there .
hope see on road and hv fun and dont worry just watch yourself like in anyother place.
bigfooton2wheels.blogspot.com

Loved Brazil
 

I traveled from the Falls to Sao Paulo and down without any problems. You really just have to do the same as anywhere, don't arrive at night and keep your wits about you.

Funnily I haven't been robbed on the trip but was also robbed just before I left London.

Cheers,
Annette

Cheers for the advice folks, few good websites there with a fair bit of information for me, but I know that what I really need is the usual bit of common sense and a bit of map study before any large city. Some of ye have some good websites, must get off my ass and get it done.
Anyway, cheers, this is Jagermini under the new apt name IronArse,
See ye good folks on the road someday...!
:scooter:

Brasil
 

Hi I am an ex pat Canadian and living in Brasil close to Porto Alegre for 10 years now..
I have never had a problem travelling in Brasil or Uruguay by moto, worn out 2 motos over the 10 years and working on the 3rd.

Advise is to stay away from large cities, No riding at night, find secure overnight parking, and smile a lot.

Seriously; anyone you approach with a smile and a simple greeting in a public place will bend over backwards to help. I still dont speak Portuguese beyond simple greeting and apology for not speaking the language.

The Moto Stealerships especially BMW can be a rippoff. I have been burned by them all. Best to check with the local riders for any repair needs.

If your in Rio Grande do Sul in January we do welcome Tavelers. Drop a message to me.