How Not to Travel in Brazil

You’re sitting on your couch craving your next adventure; winter is coming and you can only think about beautiful sunny beaches and colorful drinks. You research a bit and all of sudden the Carnival, the Amazon and the semi-naked bodies Brazil has to offer seem like the obvious choice.

A.RICARDO / Shutterstock.com

A.RICARDO / Shutterstock.com

It is indeed the obvious choice — as a Brazilian, I can confirm that! Still, as with many other cultures, when you travel to a new place, you should understand a little bit about the culture and try as much as you can to not be disrespectful. Unfortunately, many people don’t do their homework and although some might not be disrespectful on purpose, they can be pretty annoying!

So, take a look at these tips and learn what not to do when you decide to travel around Brazil:

We Don’t Speak Spanish (Nor Brazilian)

I mean, seriously? If there were no Internet and you were in the ‘60s, I could cut you some slack, but nowadays there’s no excuse. We speak Portuguese – different, but grammatically similar to the Portuguese spoken in Portugal.

lazyllama / Shutterstock.com

lazyllama / Shutterstock.com

I was once taking some friends to Christ The Redeemer when a tourist approached, saying, “Hola! Como estas?” (“Hello! How are you?,” in Spanish) to which I responded, “Muy bien! Pero no hablo mucho Espanõl. Inglés?” (“I’m fine! But I don’t speak much Spanish. English?”)

“But you are Brazilian, you speak Spanish,” he added.

“No, I don’t, I speak Portuguese!” I replied. I could see his face melting! The guy had been studying Spanish for four months prior to his trip only to find out we didn’t speak it! He was even carrying textbooks!

Kues / Shutterstock.com

SHARE ON

Advertisement

Keep Your Flight Boarding Pass and Get Discounts on Your Vacation

After boarding a flight, most people just stuff their boarding pass into their carry-on and forget about it. By doing this, you’re missing out on potential savings. Many airlines offer discounts and freebies for those who keep their boarding pass. Depending on where you land, you could score savings on tourist attractions, restaurants, wine, or even airport transfers.

The Most Common Scams from Around the World

There’s nothing like traversing the world and exploring new countries and cultures, but sometimes the experience is spoiled by dishonorable people preying on uninformed travelers. If you make an effort to learn about the classic scams, you’re unlikely to fall victim to them and can just enjoy the positive side of your trip. To help, here’s a list of common scams around the world for you to get acquainted with.

How to Make Friends During Your Trip

One of the biggest fears of people who want to embark on a solo trip is being alone. They think meeting new people will be a struggle, and if they can’t find a partner to travel with, they just cancel or postpone their adventure. The truth is that with a little bit of planning and initiative, it’s actually harder to be alone than you think. The travel community is extremely welcoming and one doesn’t need to try hard to be part of it.