Now that Brazil has reopened its borders to tourists, we ponder the question – should you travel to Brazil right now? Is it currently a good time to travel to Brazil? And if so, what do you need to keep in mind before arriving?

What is the current situation with coronavirus (covid-19) in Brazil?

To me, Brazil has always felt like two countries in one, and the Brazil you see depends on your place in the world. It depends on money, privilege, access and opportunity. To me, an international traveller, the Brazil I saw when I arrived back in the country today was one of order. Airports, hotels and shops all have hand sanitiser, and people are wearing masks and social distancing. Of course, my partner is from Brazil’s northeast, so I am well aware of the reality of many average Brazilians, people who have to work hard for what they have, who have very few safety nets. It’s obvious by the numbers of new cases each week in Brazil that not everyone’s daily existence is without risk.

As of today, 8 August 2020, we are in week 32 of the pandemic. Over the last two weeks, Brazil has seen the highest number of new cases reported so far. In terms of spread, the virus is not slowing down here.

Today, I popped out to a nearby supermarket and it gave me an insight into why the virus is spreading so wildly in Brazil, despite people’s best efforts. I walked to an outdoor mall in Guarulhos and it was absolutely heaving with people, as were the bus stops. While people were all wearing masks, it was still just too many people milling about close together. Masks are helpful, but without social distancing, they just aren’t enough.

Interestingly, over the last couple of months, the number of deaths appears to have plateaued around the 7,000 per week ballpark. So as the new cases go up, the deaths appear to be remaining stable. Of course, they are still alarmingly high, and when you stop to ponder the tragedy attached to each of those numbers, it’s beyond comprehension. The virus is still very much here and it is taking some 1,000 lives per day.

So if you are intending to come to Brazil, you should be considering a few questions, like:

• When and why are you coming to Brazil? Can your trip wait until things settle down a bit more?
• Whereabouts in Brazil are you going? Will you be going to a major city where it’s hard to be socially distant? Or will you be out in nature where you can keep to yourself? Can you stay put in one place?
• What measures will you be putting in place to minimise the likelihood that you will get ill? And if you did get ill, how can you be sure you won’t be a burden on the already struggling Brazilian healthcare system?

My advice – if you do come to Brazil during this time, make sure you come with face coverings, with hand sanitiser, with a plan to be as socially isolated as you can and with adequate health insurance which will cover you should the worst happen.

What are the rules for foreigners who travel to Brazil right now?

At the moment, Brazil is allowing foreign tourists to enter Brazil for up to 90 days as a tourist, as long as they can demonstrate that they have adequate health insurance to protect them during their stay.

Don’t be under the misapprehension that this is the same as travel insurance. It isn’t. At the moment, many governments are advising against non-essential travel for their citizens, and as such, if you travel against the advice of your government, any travel insurance you buy will not cover you.

You will need to get health insurance that is designed to cover you in a foreign country during a pandemic. It won’t be cheap (mine is about £149 per month!). But if you don’t get the right policy, you may be refused boarding or denied entry on arrival in Brazil. On my flight I saw a passenger being denied boarding at the gate, as he had only purchased travel insurance. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Make sure you keep up to date with the entry restrictions, as they have been changing quite a bit. For now, no covid-19 test is required to enter the country, but who knows what the rules will be in a month’s time. Here is the current Brazil travel advice for British citizens. Here is travel advice for American citizens. And here’s the info for Canadians.

Personally, I found the experience of entering Brazil today to be just like any other day. They asked me how long I was staying, they asked to see my health insurance and then I was on my way. Couldn’t have been easier.

Should we feel guilty for travelling right now?

This is a tough one to answer and honestly, I think your answer to this depends on a few things, namely whether your income relies on the travel and tourism industry or not.

In my experience of flying from London to São Paulo this week, I found everyone to be socially distant, wearing masks and doing the right things. As the airlines have been telling us, the air inside a plane is totally refreshed every three minutes and is filtered with HEPA filters which are of the same standard used in hospital operating theatres. Surfaces have been sanitised, food and drink service onboard has been reduced to minimise contact between passengers and crew. Our plane was boarded from back to front, to reduce passenger interaction, and when we left the plane, we did so in small groups. To be honest, I feel more at risk on a London bus or tube than I did on the plane last night.

I have a lot of friends who work in travel and tourism, and I’ve seen what has happened to their careers and industries of late. Personally, I came back to Brazil to buy a house in Pipa, and to see my pet dogs and loved ones here. I intend to spend the majority of my time indoors, and if I do go out, it’ll be to deserted beaches and nature spots. I’ll be driving in my own car instead of taking public transport. I’ve thought these things through, and I think there is a responsible way to travel right now, and the money you spend is going to be making its way to people who really need it, in one way or another.

Do I regret leaving Brazil earlier this year when coronavirus hit?

Back in March of this year, I wrote about leaving Brazil when covid-19 arrived. I wrote of the experience of rushing from one end of Brazil to the other, just so I could jump on one of the last flights leaving the country heading back towards the UK. It was a decision that was made mainly out of fear of the unknown and lack of good quality information. The government said that all British people should return home, so I did.

At the time I had to make a call based on questions that I couldn’t answer. Would my remote job be safe or would I need to find another one? If I got sick in Brazil, would I have access to healthcare? Would I be able to renew my tourist visa so that I wouldn’t overstay? Would I need to be back home in order to apply for government financial subsidies, should I need them?

Well as it turned out, I would have been better off if I had just stayed put in Brazil.

My job continued, and everyone in my team was – and still is – working remotely, so there’s no change there. And if my job had fallen through, being physically in the UK wouldn’t have made any difference. There seemed to be very few job opportunities floating around, and anyone who was being recruited was working from home anyway. I could have been anywhere in the world, as long as the timezones overlapped.

In terms of healthcare, fortunately I didn’t catch covid-19, but in terms of healthcare in the UK in general, pretty much everything that wasn’t covid-19 related was just put on hold. Dentists were closed. I heard stories of people in agony having to pull their own teeth out at home with pliers. Doctors were not seeing patients in person. Even getting prescription medication was a tedious process. Despite being a UK taxpayer, I didn’t feel like I had any access to healthcare in the form that we’re used to. Even getting a covid-19 test felt out of reach, and all these months later, not much has changed. Testing is still only available for essential workers or for anyone with symptoms.

My worries about overstaying as a tourist in Brazil would not have been an issue either, as Brazil stopped the clock as soon as the country shut down. This is something I wish I’d known about before flying out. And as for government subsidies, I wasn’t eligible for any of them anyway. Even if I had been, I probably could have applied for some while being outside of the country.

Don’t forget the cost of flights right now…

Just an aside, given all the uncertainty in the airline industry, there are some incredibly cheap deals to be snapped up. For instance, you can fly from London to São Paulo and back with British Airways in business class for around £1,800. Social distancing on a plane is much easier down the pointy end. Search online and you’ll be surprised by what you find (but read the fine print)!

In conclusion…

I’m not sure what the lesson is to all of this. I guess in all this chaos, it feels like someone has taken the world and given it a good shake. Some things broke, some things fell over and some things are still standing. We don’t know what the future will hold just yet, but covid-19 has helped me to see things more clearly. Life is short. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Job security is an illusion. If you want to travel to be close to those you love, you should. Because you never know how much time you’ll have left.

Take what’s yours and grab it. But be kind and responsible in the process. Covid-19 doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon. We need to find a way to live with this virus, one way or another.

Planning a trip to Brazil, but not sure where to go? Find some inspiration. And explore Brazil’s best boutique hotels.