Brazil's main international airports are Brasilia International, some 11km south of Brasilia; GaleÃÂGBPo, 20km north of Rio de Janeiro and Guarulhos, 25 km northeast of SÃÂGBPo Paulo. There are smaller international airports at Recife, Natal, Fortaleza, Belem and Manaus.

Brazil's national airlines Varig, TAM and Gol, operate routes to many cities throughout the world. However, Varig was recently facing bankruptcy and has cancelled the majority of its flights. Many other national airlines fly to Brazil's main cities from locations in the USA, Europe and South Africa.

Approximate flight times to Rio de Janeiro are 11 hours from London, 14 hours from Los Angeles, 10 hours from New York and 20 hours from Sydney.

There are road routes into Brazil from most neighbouring countries, with the main border crossings from Uruguay Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela, Guyana, linking to the main Brazilian cities. The crossing from Columbia, however, does not link up with other road connections with Brazil. Long distances buses operate on the main road routes, linking most South American capitals, but the travel times and distances are very long.

There are very few rail services into or within Brazil, apart from the "Trem da Morte", or "Death Train" from Bolivia.

Brazil's main port is Rio de Janeiro. While this is used by many international cruise ships, there are few scheduled passenger services from this port. An alternative way to enter Brazil by water is by boat along the Amazon River from Peru, Venezuela and Columbia, a journey which will take many days.

--

Got something to add to this section? Spotted something which should be changed? Please let us know!

Click here to return to the contents page for "Brazil - an expatriate guide."