RIO de JANEIRO

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Ipenema Beach

RIO de JANEIRO FACTS and TRAVEL TIPS

FACTS

Official Language: Portuguese
Currency: Real
Time Zone: UTC-3 (1 hour ahead of EST)
Population: 6 Million

TRAVEL TIPS

Rio de Janeiro is a wonderful city to visit anytime of the year.  The tropical climate has an average temperature of 80 degrees.  Humidity and thunderstorms are common during the summer.

Currency is the Real with major credit cards accepted by most establishments. Portuguese is the official language and some English is spoken by locals. Bring a Portuguese phrase book with you.  Hotels have the most expensive rates on phone calls, so purchase a phone card for your international calls.

Banks are open from 10am-4pm (Monday-Friday). ATMs are plentiful and the most convenient way to get Reals. Some ATMs may only accept PIN numbers with 4 digits. Passports and visas are necessary for U.S. citizens. Most malls are open 10am-10pm (Monday-Saturday).  Most non-mall stores are open 9am-6:30pm (Monday-Friday) and 9am-1pm (Saturday).

Electricity is different than the U.S., so bring an adapter.  If you use a film camera, bring plenty of film, since film is more expensive in Rio de Janeiro.  It's convenient and you can discard unwanted photos immediately.  If you use a digital camera, you should bring an extra battery or battery charger.

The major holidays in Rio de Janeiro are New Year’s Eve, Carnaval, Good Friday, Easter, Tiradentes, Labor Day, Corpus Christi, and Independence Day, Holy Mary’s Day, All Soul’s Day, Proclamation of the Republic Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve. Rio de Janeiro is the official host for the 2007 Pan American Games.  For specific dates, go to the Brazil Tourism Office.

Rio de Janeiro is a major tourist destination, so visitors should use common sense when out and about. For more travel tips, go to Advice and Observations.