Domestic Flights within Brazil

[+ Axiom2001]

A month of so ago, I encountered a site which discussed airline passes within the country. One could travel to five places with this pass for a sum then onward to six plus for a sum... Does anyone know what site I contacted? I should have bookmarked it, but excited I did not!

 

My plans are to fly to Rio and spend five days then onward to Sao Paulo for almost this time then on to Bahia Salvador. If there is one or two other places which you would recommend for a first time visitor, I am all for the suggestions.

 

I plan to be in SA Brazil from October 2 to 20, but since I have yet to make reservations, I can definitely expand the time.

 

P.S. For a first timer-- what's the average time to spend in the country? I know this is two hits in one?

[Guest Tomcal_]

RE:how much time to spend in Rio on first visit.

 

I am sure this is very individual, but i can tell you that when myself and friends went for the first time last October, we went for eight days(go in on a Wed-arrive thurs.)that way you get the full weekend and you don't want to miss Friday nights at the suanas. All of us were close to 40 years old, so we are holding up pretty well sexually, but after 3 days we needed a break!! You tend to become a sex pig Fast!! No matter how well you preform back here in the states, get a prescription for Viagra!! We all took one every day at 4:00 except for the first day when we didn't know better. The reason is, after you come back downstairs from your first guy, you are going to see another one you want to do more!! and then after that one , it happens again!! Viagra was great, we were each doing between 4 to 7 guys a night between 4:00 and 11:00 with breaks for drinks or food.

At the end of 8 days we were sorry to go but yet ready to go. }>

[trilingual]

RE:how much time to spend in Rio on first visit.

 

How much time to spend is really dependent on how much time you have. Brazil is larger than the continental U.S., so there's a lot of territory to cover. On my first trip to Brazil I spent two months there, but in subsequent trips I've gone for three or four weeks. Besides the baths there actually is a lot to see, and there's no point in rushing yourself if you don't have to.

 

Each of the major Brazilian airlines offers a version of the airpass, and you can get more information just by calling their reservations offices. The more expensive version is good all year for something like five stops, but there are also some other versions (at least on Varig) that cover fewer stops within specific regions and/or are valid during low season. However, before buying a pass keep in mind that they're somewhat expensive, so they're only good value if you're traveling long distances, using itineraries that aren't in a relatively straight line. If you're going to do Rio, São Paulo, Iguassu Falls, Salvador, Recife and return to Rio (as an example) that's an all-around-the-map kind of itinerary and the airpass would be a good buy. On the other hand, if you're going Rio, São Paulo, Florianopolis, Porto Alegre, Curitiba and back to Rio, it may be cheaper just to buy an unrestricted round trip ticket from Rio to Porto Alegre, because all of those stops are along that route and you're entitled to free en-route stopovers with non-restricted tickets. You can check such fares on Travelocity, or on the web sites of Varig or TAM. Another thing to check, if you're heading South, is an unrestricted round trip from Rio to Buenos Aires. Sometimes those are cheaper than an internal Brazilian round trip ticket, so not only can you get a two-nation vacation you can also make all of the aforementioned stops in Southern Brazil, including Iguassu Falls, as long as they're on the published routing (the airline can tell you if it is). This takes some patience to do, but you can end up getting a lot of stops for not very much money. A final thing to ask about (with Varig only, I think) if you're thinking of Buenos Aires, too, is something called the Mercosul Pass. I've used that in the past and it was very reasonable.

 

If you're going to Salvador and also want to go somewhere else in the Northeast, there are numerous choices. Recife (with adjoining Olinda) is the other great major metropolis of the Northeast, with beaches, historical sites, etc. Fortaleza is also a large city, with fine beaches, but less in the way of historical attractions. Of the smaller capitals in the Northeast, Natal is very popular, and has the advantage of the well-reviewed Sauna Eunapius for making friends with rentable locals! If you want to go on to Amazonia, there's always Manaus and Belem, both very interesting cities and both with gay resources, including saunas. Frankly, no matter where you go, it'll be difficult to go wrong, so just pick what sounds appealing to you from the guidebooks.

 

Hope this helps. . .