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Guide to Punting in Brazil

9 bytes added, 22:22, 7 July 2022
Transport
== Transport ==
Brazil is an enormous country, roughly the size of the USA. '''Internal flights''' can sometimes be picked up quite cheaply. Brazilians think nothing of overnight (or 24h or more) bus journeys. '''Intercity buses''' are fairly comfortable on the whole and the ones running between Rio and Sao Paulo have deep recliner options. Trains are almost non-existent other than one or two scenic lines. Driving is not particularly recommended unless you are very familiar with the country... the big cities are more complex than London or L.A. to negotiate in and out of. Carjackling is not unknown. Roads vary from excellent to very poor.
'''Rio''' has two '''airports''': Santos Dumont, which is amazingly close to the city centre but with limited international flights, and Galeão (known as GIG) which is some distance away. Rio's city transport is very well integrated and you can pick up a '''travel card''', load it with an amount of money of your choosing, and then use it on buses, metros and the tram. (You can also pay electronically). '''Taxis/Ubers ''' are very reasonable, but as with anywhere, not always available when you want one. Learning to use the bus system '''local buses''' is safe and easy. The big bus stops have a list of buses stopping there, the bus number and the destinations. Tell the bus to stop with a firm, downward movement of the arm. When you get on, use your travel card to pass through the turnstile (if your card has run out, pay the driver using only small bills). If you are not familiar with the place where you want to get off, work out how to pronounce it in Portuguese beforehand and ask the driver or another passenger to advise you. Be polite. Don't be shocked if you are standing up and someone offers to hold your shopping on their lap for you.
'''Sao Paulo''' has three airports. The main one is Guarulhos (GRU) use for most international flights and the most developed. Beware that if you get a flight to Viracopos or Congonhas airport, the connections into the city are much poorer (Viracopos will take quite a while from downtown SP). Sao Paulo is the biggest city in the southern hemisphere. It has a highly developed but very complex transport system. As for Rio, get a card that covers all forms of public transport including the suburban train: it saves money (built in discounts with some multiple journeys), saves hassle and saves time. Taxis/Ubers are inexpensive but may be hard to find in rush hour (in rush hour, the metro, however crowded, is often quicker) and given the large distances crossing the city can eventually end up expensive.
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