FAQ about hitch-hiking in Brasil

Written by Derneval <dernev(a)yahoo.com>

Date: January 2004

HOW:
Extend the arm, put your thumb up or pointing the direction. Some places you ask the driver to stop then you'll ask for a ride (in rural areas). It's possible to ask for a ride in service stations or "postos de gasolina". There are "guaritas" or security posts that also do some help. There were some websites that did help drivers and hitchers get together and share costs.

WHERE:
It's a huge country and there's lot of things to see. North of Brazil and West i would not recommend, try to get a boat or go by plane. In the Southeast Brazil, I did some hitching in the state of Minas Gerais (i'm from there) and there's a lot to see there. Country side, churches, Ouro Preto is a must for young people. States of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo are not exactly safe nor dangerous (things change) but some places, like Ubatuba (north of Sao Paulo) deserve some attention (about 84 beaches). North East - Bahia is quite slow, hot and scarce for it, but you may have luck with short rides (i was doing 100km a day once, gave up and took a bus back, there were about 2000km to go). But there are a lot of beaches to go and know. Don't use a watch there (what for?). Might be good for hitchers far away north, but don't know really. People travel mostly by boats. South of Brazil has some dangerous roads but lots of very nice places to visit and good hospitality (Watch out Caxias do Sul, RS, not a safe spot). It's a huge country.

WEATHER:
Good question. In North, it rains every single day. NE (like Bahia and Pernambuco) it doesn't rain much (good weather is when it does rain, for them). South and SE the weather may vary. It's the oposite of the Northern Hemisphere. Winter doesn't go bellow zero at all (there are exceptions). But it's amazing how the day starts cold, gets hot and get's cold again sometimes. There are sunny days in winter and winter days in summer.

LANGUAGE:
Portuguese. People can get by with spanish or little english. No french. German people in the south, lots of them.

WEB RESOURCES:
(good or bad, i'm not sure)

http://orbita.starmedia.com/~carona1/ - this site at least has working links

http://www.uol.com.br/oviajante - good site, for all kinds of low budget travelling