I spent the last two weeks traveling around Brazil, and I thought it would be fun to roll up my journey as well as some travel hacks I observed while there. You might have already seen my blog on flying to Rio on the Dreamliner, but did you check out what happened next?

Here’s the road-map of my least epic adventure traveling around Brazil:

1. Oct 15-16: Exploring Santa Teresa – Day 1 – read it here
2. Oct 16-17: Rio in 2 Days – Ipanema, Corcovado, and Sugar Loaf – read it here
3. Oct 17-20: Iguazu Falls – 3 Days in Paradise – read it here
4. Oct 18: Paraguay from Brazil via Iguaçu – read it here
5. Oct 19: Iguaçu National Park in Brazil – read it here
6. Oct 20-21: Sao Paulo in a Day – #layovertips – read it here
7. Oct 21-22: Manaus daytripping in Brazil – read it here
8. Oct 22: Amazonian adventure – read it here
9. Oct 23: Amazon Gero Tours – Into the Jungle – read it here
10. Oct 24: Off the grid in the Amazon – read it here

Travel Hacks for Traveling Around Brazil

So now that I’ve rolled up the entire trip, and laid out my schedule and the links to learn more about my trip, I thought I would also provide a recap in the form of travel hacks. Here are the best tops I’ve compiled for traveling around Brazil – drum roll please:

As mentioned before, fly on the Dreamliner if you can. United offers non-stop service from Houston (IAH) to Rio (GIG) on the Dreamliner 787 aircraft. Read more about that experience here. #dreamlinerlove

• Useless yellow rumble strip lines are on nearly every walkway across Brazil. We spotted them at the airport. We spotted them on the subway. We spotted them in all major cities. What are they you ask?

  

  The weird yellow line we saw everyone while traveling around Brazil. Why, it’s the uncomfortable and arbitrary yellow rumble strip. Not easy for feet, impossible for suitcases (why are these at the airport!?), and causing at least 25% loss of a sidewalk. The only possible explanation I can think of is it’s for people who are vision impaired/blind. Recommendation: Avoid.

• Fast-track Bag drop a joke – do not use. You may as well spend your time waiting in the full-service airline check-in line at airports in Brazil. There are usually more agents available and the line is shorter. For some reason, airlines operating off of Brazilian airports do not properly staff the “quick” bag drop lines eliminating this as a viable time-saving option. So, lesson learned – check-in in advance online, and if you have a bag, stand in the regular pre-check-in line.

  

  CJ in front of some bag drop lines

• One other great hacks I learned on board the Dreamliner was about meal pre-ordering. Ordering a special meal gets you served first! Of course, it doesn’t always mean they give you silverware 😉
• Your camel-pack backpack gets water through airport security. Apparently nobody cares if there’s water in a weird misshapen container.
• Know your Latin American airlines so that you understand the amenities you are entitled to on-board. LAN airlines, for example, includes free beverages and meals on seemingly all flights, but GOL only offers cookies or a snack mix (and often runs out).

Do you have any a #layovertip for traveling around Brazil? Send ’em my way and I’ll keep the list growing!