The reopening of the Christ the Redeemer sinbolizes the reopening of the tourism in Rio de Janeiro!

After 5 months closed due the Coronavirus crises the Corcovado Mountain is again receiving tourists. A few rules must be followed in order to keep people safe. Here they are:

1. All the visitors must wear masks
2. Minimum distance of 2 metres between people
3. Visitors can’t no longer lay down on the flor to take better pictures of the open-armed Christ

Same rulles will apply to the Sugarloaf, which is also reopening today.

Rio de Janeiro city council is about to let people know weather we are going to have Carnival in 2021 or not. Plans at the moment are to pospone the biggest party in Brazil’s calendar. You will have to wait a bit longer to find out more. Will keep you posted!

Are you from Canada, Japan, Australia or US?

Good news for some countries. Do you need a visa to visit Brazil?

Yes, that’s great news but only if you are coming from Japan, United States, Australia or Canada.

A difficult visa to get – Brazilian Visa

Historicaly Brazil is a country that made difficult for Americans to get a visa. Visas were both complicated and expensive. And you have to go to a consulate to get it. This was made easier with eletronic visas for US citizens. From early 2018 was costing no longer US$ 160 but US$ 40 to obtain a tourist visa to visit Brazil.

This was just an example. All t he other countries mentioned above were under the reciprocity program. If a Brazilian needs a visit to visit Japan, a Japanese would have to go through a similar process to get his visa as well.

Bolsonaro talks to Trump

Our president, Jair Bolsonaro, during a meeting with US president Trump in January promissed to eliminate visa requirements to these countries. He’s hooping t o boost the country’s  tourism sector and get closer to the US at the same time.

Therefore as of June 17, 2019, Brazil will eliminate the tourist visa requirements from the  US, Japan, Australia and Canada.

Brazil gets about 7 million tourists a year, and by 2022 we are hopping to double this amount to about 14 million tourists annualy.

And for me, as a tour operator, these news in Brazil’s foreing policy in regards to tourism couldn’t come soon enough.

Do I need a visa?

If you wish to know if you need a tourist visa to vist Brazil, please visit this site.

Elections in Brazil will be over next Sunday, 28th October.

Former army captain Jair Bolsonaro and Workers’ Party candidate Fernando Haddad advanced from the first round vote and will face off in the October 28th runoff.

Bolsonaro is well ahead on the polls and should win the elections to become Brazil’s next president. People are tired of the old politics and are choosing new faces to lead them.

Elections in Rio de Janeiro

Rio will also have 2 candidates fighting each other to become the next governor: Eduardo Paes and Wilson Witzel. The second one is leading the polls and should win.

One of the biggest problems in Bazil (and in Rio) is security for its people. Violence is growing in many areas and this is the main reason why these 2 candidates will most probably win the elections. Both have clear programs to combat violence head on in the favelas and in the poorest areas in the country. Let’s wait and see what happens…

The most iconic hotel in Rio is the Copacabana Palace!

Are you coming to Rio de Janeiro and have never heard of this fantastic hotel? It is fine. People usualy book their accommodation and tours in the city and don’t pay much attention to the hotel.

Once in Rio, doing a city tour or visiting the Christ or the Sugarloaf you will certainly come across to the ‘Copa’. That’s how we from Rio, call the neighborhood and the hotel itself.

The hotel has received in its premisses queens, kings and several movie stars like Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot and Frank Sinatra.

It is among the first buildings located in Copacabana Beach, dated from the early 1920’s.

Here you see a couple of pictures of the hotel:

Woul you like to know more about the hotel?

Sugarloaf, a place to go!

It is the second most visit attraction not only in Rio de Janeiro, but in Brazil. People take the cable cars to go up to the Urca Mountain and then to the Sugarloaf itself. But they have no idea…

The real Sugarloaf

Yes, people have no idea how deep the Ganabara Bay is at certain points. 300 meters is the depth where the Sugarloaf is located! Have a look at the picture below:

Our city tour in Rio de Janeiro

During our tour in Rio, the Sugarloaf is an important part of our itinerary. We take lot’s of people all the way to the top, but it’s a shame that we can’t show or at least give them an idea of what this picture shows.

Army takes over Rio de Janeiro

Brazilian president Temer along with his ministers have decided that the army is taking over security in Rio de Janeiro. The violent situation that the state of Rio has been going through over the past couple of years is no longer acceptable.

The army will take over command of police forces in a bit to curb violence driven by drug gangs in the favelas (slums).

Emergency Procedure

It is indeed an extreme procedure that Brasilia (Brazil’s capital) is taken. It is the first time that such measure is in place since the last democratic constitution in 1988.

The congress has to vote this presidencial decree at once. That’s because the country is put to a hold till this presidential act is aproved. Congressman have already decided the the vote will take place in Brasilia tomorrow.

Let’s hope that the violence starts decreasing in a short future.