Brazil has recently undergone a minor revolution in tourism and overseas investment; as a result, more regional airports have opened up to direct flights from major European centres.
Whilst the main international airports remain Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia, it is now possible to fly directly to Fortaleza, Natal and Salvador directly from London Gatwick, as well as other major European airports such as Lisbon (Portugal) and Madrid in Spain. Miami, New York and Dallas in the United States also run regular direct flights to various regional airports along Brazil’s Atlantic coast as well as the main hubs.
There are weekly flights between Fortaleza and Cape Verde also.
British Airways and Brazilian airline, Varig, offer return flights from London to Sao Paulo from around 200 GBP.
Varig, TAM and GOL are the three largest Brazilian airlines operating routes worldwide. It is advisable to always confirm routes, timings and schedules, since these are frequently subject to change. Varig recently left the Star Alliance worldwide airline consortium.
Johannesburg, Cape Town, Tokyo and Seoul also operate direct flights to Sao Paulo. Angola Airlines also run flights from Brazil to the Angolan capital, Luanda.
Given the size of Brazil, internal flights represent the best method of travelling any significant distance. The growth of regional airports served from the main hubs at Sao Paulo, Rio and Brasilia has also made air travel more convenient and affordable.
For the more adventurous, travelling by road from neighbouring countries, there are designated border crossing points from Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru and Venezuela. There are restrictions in place on road traffic between Brazil and Colombia.
Unfortunately rail travel in Brazil is patchy to pretty much non-existent. This is primarily due to years of civil turmoil wherein much of the infrastructure was destroyed or fell into disrepair. There are routes from neighbouring countries as well as internal services, but apart from reliability, security is often an issue for foreigners, with numerous robberies reported. Train travel in Brazil is therefore only recommended for the hardier traveller.
The same seasoned traveller may also consider the Amazon river boats that run between Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.
