Topic Wiki

***Health Information as of January 25, 2018***

There is a Yellow fever outbreak in Rio and Sao Paulo and the whole population is getting vaccinated. See the CDC alert here:
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/alert/yellow-fever-brazil


Curitiba

Trip Reports
Ya'alili - forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=2164.msg946415#msg946415
CGR in Rio, Iguazu (Brazil & Argentina), and Sao Paulo: https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=128303.msg2555280#msg2555280
ad120- https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=130711.0

Kosher Food Options
Contact Chabad Parana for updated information regarding any Kosher food there. Otherwise plenty of snacks and fruits.

Hotels with Points
Four Points by Sheraton, ten minute walk to Chabad.
Radisson, fifteen minute walk to Chabad.

Airport Transfer Options
Cab - Cab to/from Chabad area and hotels should be around R$60.
Executive Bus - Excellent and comfortable executive bus, every half hour to main places in Curitiba for R$12.
Public Bus - There are buses to downtown for R$3, from there you can connect almost anywhere in the city.

Major Activities

Florianopolis

Trip Reports
ChikkyMonkey - forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=2164.msg860807#msg860807
MendyP - forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=2164.msg680690#msg680690
Ya'alili - forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=2164.msg936627#msg936627

Kosher Food Options
Contact Chabad Parana for updated information regarding any Kosher food there. Otherwise plenty of snacks and fruits.

Hotels with Points
None.

Airport Transfer Options
Cab - They are metered from FLN to where you are going. We stayed in Barra Lagoa and it was R$55.
Executive Bus - Yellow buses go between major destinations to the airport and bus terminal - R$6.
Public Bus - Not from the airport. But from the bus station it's tricky but doable - R$3.

Major Activities
Water-sports and relaxing. During peak-season (Dec-Jan) there is plenty to do, such as scuba diving, gliding, boat tours and more. We were there during winter break (Jul) and the waves were great for surfing, and the dunes at Joaquina were great for sandboarding.

There are beautiful beaches all over the island of Florianopolis. During the winter the north beaches tend to be the warmest as the wind doesn't attack it directly. Center/east beaches are really nice, the best for surfing, but can get cold. Mole and Joaquina are the most popular from those. Didn't trek down south on my trip there, but the beaches are supposedly great as well, though very calm and sleepy kind of towns next to them and people going fishing there.

A small town on the west side of the island, has a boardwalk and bicycle path along the water, nice place to go for sunset. Old historic architecture there, many buildings there hundreds of years old. It's about 10-15 minutes north of downtown FLN.

Iguacu Falls

Trip Reports
ChikkyMonkey - forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=2164.msg860807#msg860807
Dan - forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=3052.msg27332#msg27332
Jaywhy - forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=44601.msg937926#msg937926
Ya'alili - forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=38231.msg735169#msg735169
Yehoshua - forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=34693.msg641453#msg641453
ad120- https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=130711.0

Kosher Food Options
There are no kosher food options other than some snacks and fruits. Over the border some stores sell Beigel's and there are a few Freddo Helado locations.

Hotels with Points
Sheraton Iguazu in the Argentina side of the park.
Park Hyatt Iguacu Falls coming soon!

Airport Transfer Options
Cab - The airport is between downtown and the park. Taxi to either of those place shouldn't be more than R$15.
Executive Bus - There are no executive buses on the Brazilian side. Other side there are buses to any place for 40 pesos.
Public Bus - The park and hostels/hotels are connected by public bus with the airport. Not very frequent schedule, cab is better - R$3.

Major Activities

Manaus

Trip Reports
Fan of Dan - Part 1 forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=2164.msg404773#msg404773
Fan of Dan - Part 2 forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=2164.msg406102#msg406102
Fan of Dan - Part 3 forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=2164.msg488834#msg488834
Ya'alili - Coming soon!

Kosher Food Options
Chabad Manaus offers excellent take-out at great prices. More info here - www.chabadmanaus.com/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/1244281/jewish/Kosher.htm.

Hotels with Points
Holiday Inn by IHG - 1hr15m walk to Chabad.
Park Suites by Radisson. - About a 3h walk to Chabad..

Airport Transfer Options
Cab - Flat rate on leaving the airport to anywhere in Manaus - R$65.
Executive Bus - There are EB in Manaus itself (means it comes with AC here) though non to the airport.
Public Bus - One bus makes the trip once an hour between the airport and downtown, during regular operating hours - R$3.

Major Activities

Porto Alegre

Trip Reports
Ya'alili - Coming soon!

Kosher Food Options
Lechaim Delicatessen - Maybe call before to see if they are open, we went during hours and they were closed.
Rua Fernandes Vieira, 518, Porto Alegre ~ (51) 3311-2323.

Hotels with Points
Sheraton Porto Alegre Hotel - 25 minute walk to Chabad.
Radisson Porto Alegre - 25 minute walk to Chabad.
Holiday Inn Porto Alegre - 40 minute walk to Chabad.

Airport Transfer Options
Cab - Depending on where you are headed, average about R$25-45.
Metro - People mover connects the airport to the nearby metro station, cost R$3 to get to town.
Public Bus - One bus (T5) makes the trip every 20 minutes, cost R$3 to get to town.

Major Activities

Rio de Janeiro

Trip Reports
ChikkyMonkey - forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=2164.msg860807#msg860807
Jaywhy - forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=44601.msg916299#msg916299
MendyP - forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=2164.msg680690#msg680690
Ya'alili - forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=38231.msg773283#msg773283
Yehoshua - forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=34693.msg641453#msg641453

Restaurants
Barilan (Copacabana) - Sunday only meat lunch place inside a school. There is a large buffet and you pay by the weight of your plate.
Rua Pompeu Loureiro, 48, Rio de Janeiro ~ (21) 2235-3110.

Deleite (Copacabana) - Dairy pizza shop and cafe.
Rua Anita Garibaldi, 83, Rio de Janeiro ~ (21) 3507-1973.

Shelanu (Copacabana) - Meat restaurant located inside the Israeli club.
Rua Barata Ribiero, 489, Rio de Janeiro ~ (21) 3042-1483.

Pizzaria Braz (Jardim Botanico) - Excellent pizza chain in BR. This one location becomes kosher once a month by Beit Lubavitch Rio. Usually a Tuesday.
Rua Maria Angélica, 129, Rio de Janeiro ~ (21) 2535-0687.

Hotels with Points near a Shul (Walking Minutes)
Barra da Tijuca - Grand Hyatt (Opening 2015), Radisson - (30 minutes).
Copacabana - JW Marriott (15 minutes).
Leblon - Sheraton Leblon about a 20 minute walk from the excellent Chabad Leblon.

Airport Transfer Options
Cab - Depending from where you are coming SDU should be about R$40 and GIG about R$60.
Executive Bus - service from both GIG and SDU to any place in Rio for R$13.
Public Bus - To get to downtown from both airports is very easy with PB, though if you need to get further EB is a lot better and more reliable.

Major Activities

São Paulo

Trip Reports
ChikkyMonkey - forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=2164.msg860807#msg860807
Jaywhy Part 1 - forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=44601.msg902728#msg902728
Jaywhy Part 2 - forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=44601.msg916299#msg916299
MendyP - forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=2164.msg680690#msg680690
Ya'alili - forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=2164.msg937054#msg937054

Restaurants

Buffet Hebraico (Pinheiros) is located inside the JCC of São Paulo. Best bet would be to go there on a Sunday when they usually have a rodizio there.
Rua Hungria, 1000, São Paulo ~ (11) 3818-8800.

Cantina de Bero (Higienopolis)
Bero Pizza
 the first restaurant and the only one to stay open - Upscale full service dairy restaurant pizza pasta and sushi, they have rodizio of sushi every tuesday and thursday.
delivery to any hotel, great service
Rua sergipe , 220, São Paulo ~ (11) 3064-9022.

Cantina Parma (Higienopolis) - another mediocre pizza shop in SP.
Rua Rosa e Silva, 222, São Paulo ~ (11) 3825-2579.
closed

Celadon (Higienopolis) - a new dairy place that opened this year, Dan was there.
Praça Vilaboim, 73, São Paulo ~ (11) 2738-1500.

 closed

Matok (Higienopolis) - Pizza is decent and their ice cream is good. They cater for most airlines from GRU.
Alameda Barros, 921, São Paulo ~ (11) 3661-2111.

Metsuyan (Perdizes) - Chinese style take-out place with great food, inside the large kosher supermarket SuperK.
Rua Traipu, 66, São Paulo ~ (11) 3663-3030.

Nur (Higienopolis) - They are not cheap, but very good food and great service. They make a rodizio once in a while too. Top eatery in SP.
Rua Tupi, 792, São Paulo ~ (11) 3666-4992.

Pinati (Higienopolis) - Is an Israeli eatery, their food is not that good, and neither are prices. Still probably the only place to get shawarma and falafel in SP.
Alameda Barros, 782, Sao Paulo ~ (11) 3668-5424.

Sushi Papaya (Higienopolis - kosher location) - is a phonomenal sushi restaurant. Again prices are high, but the sushi is amazing, in the ranks of Yakimono.
Praça Vilaboim, 31, São Paulo ~ (11) 3824-0400.

Via Babush (Higienopolis) - Is probably the best pizza place in town. They have excellent sushi rodizios every week also, and all you can eat buffets.
Rua Barão de Tatuí, 115, São Paulo ~ (11) 3494-0000.

Pizza Braz (Higienopolis) - is a popular pizza chain in BR. About once in a month it goes completely kosher and CY. Expensive but probably the best pizza in SP.
Rua Sergipe, 406, São Paulo ~ (11) 3214-3337.

Bakeries, Groceries & Ice Cream
All Kosher (Higienopolis) - Grocery and supermarket, they are on FB.
Alameda Barros, 391, São Paulo ~ (11) 3825-1131.


Goody (Bom Retiro) - A large bakery selection. Don't miss the brigadeiros if they have them.
Rua Correia de Melo, 119, São Paulo ~ (11) 3331-1288.

Menorah (Bom Retiro) - Small supermarket in BR, not everything is Mehadrin Kosher there, be careful.
Rua Guarani, 114, São Paulo ~ (11) 3228-6105.

Pardes (Higienopolis) - They are on FB, supermarket with small bakery section too.
Rua Padre João Manuel, 732, São Paulo ~ (11) 3068-9093.

Sorveteria Sottozero (Perdizes) - Very popular ice cream store that got certified kosher recently.
Av. Sumaré, 840, São Paulo.

Super K (Perdizes) - The largest kosher supermarket in SP, has everything there, prices are high.
Rua Traipu, 66, São Paulo ~ (11) 3663-3030.

Shuls
Bayit (Higienopolis) - Really nice Chabad House, R' Michaan was the Rabbi. main jewish area
Beit Chabad Brooklin - far away from jewish comunity but nice for shabbos, but they are close to many of the main SP points hotels.
Beit Chabad Central (Jardins) - The main Chabad house serving SP, Building is a replica of 770 in NY. Lively Kiddush every Shabbos after Shachris.
Beit Chabad Itaim (Itaim - Jardins Europa) - Beautiful Chabad house in a very upscale part of SP. Best Kiddush Friday night after Maariv.
Beit Chabad Morumbi - Very residential and upscale area of SP.
Beit Chabad Perdizes - Nice Shul, right next to main jewish area, and hotels options nearby.
Beit Chabad Pinheiros - Extremely warm Shul community members, and great Kiddush every Shabbos afternoon.
Beit Yaakov Sephardi (Higienopolis) - Fancy Shul for the ones who can afford it. Will be very hard to enter if you not a member.
Makor Chaim Sephardi (Higienopolis) - On the same note as Beit Yaakov, both of them beautiful and rich Shul's.
Mishcan Menachem Chabad (Jardins Paulista) - Shul with some programs throughout the week.
Talmud Torah Chabad (Bom Retiro) - Basic Shul in a very undesirable section of SP.
Tiferes Chabad (Higienopolis) - Simple Shul, nothing major stands out, better place elsewhere.
Tzeirei Agudas Chabad (Jardins) - A Shtiebel as opposed to a Chabad House, Heimishe Minyan. zayants shul

Hotels with Points near a Shul (Walking Minutes)
Brookin - Grand Hyatt (25 minutes), Hilton (20 minutes), Park Inn by Radisson (35 minutes), Radisson Villa Olympia (20 minutes), Sheraton (15 minutes).
Itaim - Marriott EA (20 minutes), Radisson Faria Lima (5 minutes), Staybridge Suites (10 minutes).
Jardins - Intercontinental (25 minutes), Renaissance (15 minutes).
Perdizes - Holiday Inn Express (15 minutes).

Airport Transfer Options
Cab - Fixed prices from the airport to different parts of SP. To Jardins will set you back about R$120.
Executive Bus - From the airport to various areas of SP, a little more than R$40.
Public Bus - Number 257 goes from GRU to the metro station Tataupe for R$5. From there you can continue on the metro throughout SP.

Major Activities
« Last edited by mendi n on May 01, 2023, 03:39:17 PM »

Author Topic: Brazil Master Thread  (Read 269008 times)

Offline Yaalili

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #360 on: June 29, 2014, 11:53:44 PM »
Arrival in GRU can take 3 hours?

Yup. A few months ago took me over two hours, and i know who people who have had it much worse. Really depends how many flights arriving same time.

Offline Yaalili

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #361 on: June 29, 2014, 11:55:40 PM »
You sure have to go though immigration? AA rep and a few flyertalk threads seem to imply the terminals are connected and no need to

They are definitely connected landside, don't think though they are at airside. Even if it is connected, you have to find out if they have an interline agreement.

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #362 on: June 30, 2014, 07:38:37 AM »
Aa rep looked it and said they do and that if I have an hr and a half stopover then shud be fine... I really don't want any trouble on a Friday but I dunno if I have a choice as of now. Any way to hold a gol flight or anyone know what chances are of tam opening up?

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #363 on: June 30, 2014, 11:52:18 AM »
update: the delta rep also thought it was fine, and on ITA i saw what seemed to legal routings that changed airlines with the same amount of time so i had to go for it, cuz i got a perfect (for me) itinerary with delta skymiles going gru-aep-igr/igu-gig for 25k each on a combo of GOL and aerolineas argintenas. im assuming that worst case scenario if i miss the gol flight from gru, there is another one a little later they can put me on.

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #364 on: June 30, 2014, 03:07:28 PM »
how many days does it usually take between applying for brazil visa and it being ready to pick up? i live in nj, presumably will be going to ny office

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #365 on: June 30, 2014, 03:17:52 PM »
how many days does it usually take between applying for brazil visa and it being ready to pick up? i live in nj, presumably will be going to ny office
It took 5 in LA, but it was nowhere near the world cup or any other busy time.

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #366 on: June 30, 2014, 04:48:51 PM »
Thanks. I assume anyone going for World Cup got already, no?

Offline Joe4007

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #367 on: June 30, 2014, 04:51:12 PM »
how many days does it usually take between applying for brazil visa and it being ready to pick up? i live in nj, presumably will be going to ny office
IIRC, it took exactly a week at the NY office March of last year.

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #368 on: June 30, 2014, 04:55:25 PM »
Thanks. I assume anyone going for World Cup got already, no?
Maybe, unless people only want to go if their team makes it to the next round.

Offline Yaalili

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #369 on: June 30, 2014, 06:22:12 PM »
how many days does it usually take between applying for brazil visa and it being ready to pick up? i live in nj, presumably will be going to ny office

In September it took exactly a week.

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #370 on: July 01, 2014, 11:10:19 PM »
how long did it take you in the consulate in ny to go through the process (waiting in lines, etc)?

Offline Joe4007

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #371 on: July 01, 2014, 11:13:54 PM »
how long did it take you in the consulate in ny to go through the process (waiting in lines, etc)?
1 - 1-1/2 hours.

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #372 on: July 01, 2014, 11:27:08 PM »
1 - 1-1/2 hours.
Wow, it was so much quicker in LA.

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #373 on: July 01, 2014, 11:27:36 PM »
Thnx. Fill out any forms online first, as some places on website indicate (even though I don't see any English option) or just brought docs and did all paper forms there? Also if the close at 12, know if have to be there early enough to go through lines before then or anyone who arrives before 12 is ok?

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #374 on: July 01, 2014, 11:29:38 PM »
Actually found it in English- did you do all that online before?

Offline Yaalili

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #375 on: July 01, 2014, 11:49:53 PM »
Actually found it in English- did you do all that online before?

Yes I definately did fill out a form online. And you attached a passport picture to that document.

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #376 on: July 02, 2014, 12:04:34 AM »
Ok. Last question on visas I hope- I can go in alone and get it done for me and wife? Website seems to say yes but curious if anyone either had trouble or knows if I need anything extra when doing that. Thanks a lot

Offline frozy

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #377 on: July 02, 2014, 12:11:21 AM »
Ok. Last question on visas I hope- I can go in alone and get it done for me and wife? Website seems to say yes but curious if anyone either had trouble or knows if I need anything extra when doing that. Thanks a lot
Yes you can go for anyone just being her passport (of course) and a notarized letter appointing you to obtain a visa for her

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #378 on: July 02, 2014, 12:21:02 AM »
you sure need notarized letter? personal experience?
website doesnt mention that as far as i saw

Offline Yehoshua

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Re: Brazil Master Thread
« Reply #379 on: July 02, 2014, 12:21:53 AM »
Yes you can go for anyone just being her passport (of course) and a notarized letter appointing you to obtain a visa for her
I got a visa for my wife without a notarized letter but maybe NY is different. I just brought in all her documents and, as we share a last name, they didn't give me any issues.