Brazil Travel Tips and Meet Up Time

IMPORTANT:

Visas
Brazil has a  "reciprocal visa policy," which means that it requires visas of citizens from countries that require visas of Brazilians. Americans, Canadians, Australians, and New Zealand citizens all need visas (UK citizens do not) which can be obtained by applying at Brazilian embassies and consulates. Visas are valid up to 90 days before your arrival, then another 90 once you have arrived. If your visa expires while you are there, you can renew it for another 90 days.

To go to Brazil , you will need a TOURIST visa, and it can take up to 3 weeks to obtain. Here is more information on the subject: http://www.brazilhouston.org/ingles/vitur.htm

You are responsible for obtaining your own visa.

Vaccines
Brazil requires all visitors to be vaccinated for yellow fever.

TRAVEL TIPS TO BRAZIL

To get to Salvador, Brazil you'll most likely 1st have to fly into either Sao Paolo (2 airports there) or Rio De Janeiro (Rio and Sao Paolo are a short fly away from each other as well) on a major American
carrier such as American, Continental or Delta.  [Varig, Brazil's national airline, flies to many major cities in the world. For international flights, the departure tax is a whopping US$36, but this is often included in the ticket cost.] Then, to get to Salvador, you may need to take a regional airline for
the 2.5 hr flight, such as:

GOL www.voegol.com.br /
Transbrasil www.transbrasil.com.br 800 872-3153
Varig www.varig.com.br 800 GO VARIG
Vasp www.vasp.com.br  800 732-VASP
Tam www.tam.com.br (TAM now offers a direct flight from the US, Miami to Salvador

, but the flights are only on Sundays.)
Rio-Sul

Click on the English tab on the site to view the site in English.

Usually the roundtrip portion to Salvador can be purchased for less than $300. Domestic departure tax is US$4.50-5, depending on the airport, and is often included in the price of your ticket.

There are lots of perks, of course, to booking online. First, you get to see the options from which to choose. Second, you usually earn more reward miles. Third, often the best fares an airline carries are only listed on the internet. From our experience, no one avenue always has the lowest fare, so you are probably best checking several of the sources below.

We think its worth checking out the major discount booking sites first, to provide an overview of what seems to be out there.

Expedia http://www.expedia.com
Orbitz http://www.orbitz.com
Travelocity http:// www.travelocity.com

Then, check on the airline websites for those major carriers which seem to offer the lowest fare. Airlines often have their best webfares listed only on their own websites.

American Airlines http://www.aa.com/ 1-800-433-7300
Continental Airlines http://www.continental.com/ 1-800-231-0856
Delta Airlines http://www.delta.com/home/index.jsp 1-800-241-4141
Northwest Airlines http://www.nwa.com/ 1-800-447-4747
United Airlines http://www.united.com/ 1-800-538-2929

Sometimes consolidators, who book directly with airlines in negotiating their own fares, have the best rates:

http://www.exitotravel.com/
http://airtravelcenter.com/atcbroker.htm
http://www.airlineticketsinfo.com/info/consolidators.htm

And sometimes even travel agents have access to special fares, or are more knowledgeable about routing a fare to where you can get a better deal. If you're already working with one, it's best to start there. Otherwise, you might try asking who your employer uses, or your friends. One we've used and been happy with is Jane Becker: beckerj@netins.net

Incidentally, websites like www.sidestep.com . claim to se arch several sites at once to find the best deal, but we have found that it frequently does not yield the best deal.

If you do not care about knowing which carrier you go on, it may be worth trying to bid on airfare (Ebay style) at: http://www.skyauction.com

If you miss your flight and are delayed more than an hour or two, the group will head on to the program site. You will then need to get in contact with the person you designated as your emergency contact, whom we will have contacted to give you instructions to get to the program site.