Flights to Brazil

Brazil travel tips

Brazil: multifaceted travel destination

Brazil is the biggest country in South America with 212 million inhabitants (in 2020) and covers about 47% of the total area of the South American continent. It shares borders with all south American countries apart from Chile and Ecuador.

The name of the country is derived from a red rosewood, which was in former times an export product of Brazil, and was called Brazil by the native inhabitants of the country.

 

Brazil: geography and weather

The countryside in Brazil is dominated by the largest rainforest in the world in Amazonia, lowlands in the north and hills and mountains in the south. The majority of the population lives on the Atlantic, where all the large cities and towns of the country are also to be found.

The climate is tropical to subtropical with minimal temperature fluctuations during the year. With temperatures over 20°C, the visitor has the opportunity of exploring the whole of the country and the 8,400 km coastline all year-round.

The country’s highest mountains are to be found in the National Park Pico de Neblina. These are the Pico de Neblina (3,010 m; 9,875 ft) which also gave the national park its name and the Pico 31 de Marco (2,990m; 9,809 ft). The biggest river on earth, also the life source of the north, is the Rio Amazonas with a total length of 6,450 km (4007 miles). It is accessible by boat from the Atlantic to Manaus and important for the transport of goods in the entire region. On the border between Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina in the Iguacu-National park, there are over 200 waterfalls falling from a height of up to 70 m.

Brazil: traveling around 

Due to the large distances to cover, air traffic is gaining in importance in Brazil. The costs are too high for the majority of Brazilians, so they tend to undertake even the longest journeys by bus. More and more airlines are being established and provide cheap domestic flights following the model of the European discount airlines. The largest airport in the country is the Aeroporto Internacional de São Paulo/Guarulhos in Guarulhos near Sao Paulo. In order to relieve the two overused airports in Sao Paulo, the in Campinas, 80 km from Sao Paulo, was extended.

Tourist Attractions in Brazil 

Brazil’s tourist highlight is in the north, in the deepest Amazon and over 1000 km from the Atlantic - the city of Manaus, which was built by the Portuguese in the 17th Century. Attractions include the Opera House, the meeting of the waters, where the Negro and Solimões rivers merge and the tollhouse. Also in the north is Salvador de Bahia, with numerous houses dating back to the Renaissance. The city is on the UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites.

In the south is the country’s capital, Brasilia. It is located on a plateau with an altitude of 1,150 m and was inaugurated by the former president Kubitschek in 1960, when it replaced Rio de Janeiro as capital. Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city is famous for its statue of Jesus on the Corcovado, the best known attraction in Brazil. The beach of Ipanema, the Pão de Açúcar - the Sugar Loaf mountains, and the annual carnival are other tourist attractions.

Other large cities are Rio BrancoFortalezaNatal, Recife, São Paulo, Campo GrandeBelo HorizontePorto Alegre.