Susanne

We are headed to Rio next week and went to get travelers checks and reais for our trip. We were told that Brazil is changing to the US dollar and reais were not available. Can anyone confirm that this is indeed the case?

Russ

Ha! I seriously doubt that Brazil is going to the dollar. In fact, I find it quite ridiculous but, hey, you never know I suppose. Quite to the opposite, political trend in Brazil right now is to decouple their currency a bit more from the dollar.

liz

The currency here is the Real with no plans to change whatsoever. Someone has something confused with the mess in Argentina. The current exchange rate is approx. US$1 to 3.5 Brazil Reals -- a great deal for you. Whatever cash you want to change, do it at the airport or you can do it at your hotel, but don't expect anyone to accept dollars outside a hotel because they won't, they won't know what they are in many cases and they won't know the current exchange rate. Be sure to bring a Visa card and a Diner's Club, these are the two most popular cards in Brazil. Travellers cheques are a pain here and cannot just be used anywhere, related to the dollar exchange rate question, etc. better to pull more money out of an ATM as you go. Reals are generally NOT available in the US. Hard to convert back when you return. So convert dollars at the airport and then at your hotel or pull from ATMs as you go. If you have a Citibank ATM card this is very helpful. Credit cards are accepted virtually everywhere except some street fairs and the occasional restaurant that doesn't take them.

erb

I have been to Brazil three times(Rio and Sao Paolo). There is no need to change money before you go. When you arrive at the airport change a small amount of money there--just so you have some with you. Wait until you get into the main part of town and change most of your money at one of the many "cambios" you will see. Shop around for the best rate if you have time. You can also change money at your hotel but you will not get the best rate. You also do not get the best rate at the airport. My experience with us dollars in brazil is that many people do know what they are..and had no problem taking them on one or two rare occasions when I ran out of reals but wanted to buy something from a street vendor. However, this may not be the norm.

quest4fun

What about using the American Express card, and a mastercharge card. Arre these accepted?

John

You can get a good exchange rate at the airport if you go with one of the hustlers rather than to an official booth. Obviously you run a small risk of being ripped off or robbed. But, the airport is so busy it is unlikely you will get robbed, but it is likely that you will get ripped off if you dont speak Portuguese and appear to not know the current exchange rate.

liz

Do not consider changing money anywhere except at an official cambio. They are all rip-offs in that the official bank rate is upped for their commission and/or there is a transaction fee, like elsewhere in the world. If you were changing huge amounts you would do it in another way and get a better rate. The fairest rate you will get is directly from an ATM machine that will automatically give you the official bank rate of the day with no commission (or maybe a $2 charge per transaction, depending on the machine). Again, do NOT expect dollars to be accepted except in places that specifically and exclusively cater to tourists. Mastercard and AMEX are accepted but with less regularity, VISA has done a huge program to push itself as an exclusive card in much of Brazil, otherwise Diners Club is very popular.

Russ

My experience was exactly that of Liz' above. I was able to pull Reais directly out of the numerous ATM machines with my card at a very fair rate. Might not be the case with all cards, might depend on your card system.<BR><BR>I've also cashed dollars for reais at the airport, not at the best of rates, but I would hardly say that I was &quot;scammed&quot; at all, they just charge a higher premium there than they do if using, for instance, a credit card to make the same purchase.<BR><BR>I don't know where one previous poster got their info about the airport cambio scam? It was a very professional operation that gave me a receipt reconciling the money in, money out, rate used.<BR><BR>I found that Mastercard and VISA were widely accepted. Amex as well, but some smaller establishments do not accept it. I doubt that a Discover card, for instance would be. Regards Russ<BR>

wgr

How about safety issues at ATMs? I almost got mugged at one in Cape Town, and I've been a bit leery ever since when I travel. Are the ATMs generally exposed to the street, or are they enclosed, with a card required to access them?

Russ

wgr,<BR><BR>It's not like what I've heard about Capetown. Put it this way, there are some areas that are as nice as the nicest in the States... in these areas, ATMs are in similar places, look the same, and are similarly safe as those in a nice area in the States.<BR><BR>Other areas of the city are run down, struggling,... much like south-central LA in my own area. Here, the caution when using an ATM should be equal to that when you use an ATM in south-central. Basically, I wouldn't!<BR><BR>Many people try to talk about Rio in broad, stereotypical brushes. It's not like that, it is a large and diverse area and care you take in one area is different that care that you would take in another.<BR><BR>On the whole, I think some people get scared even in the nice areas because they are a bit intimidated by the different culture, and the fact that there are just more people out and about on foot than in a nice area of the States.

tom

I just got back from Rio yesterday....the exchange rate was 3.65. If you go to an American Express office you get 3.4, If you go to the Citybank ATM located next to Blockbuster video you get the 3.65. When you find an ATM that works...buy alot of cash because they seem to be down alot.