A financial analyst from bank Itau (one of the largest Brazilian corporations) told me last week that the bank doesn’t expect big shifts in the current relationship between the Brazilian real and the US dollar and the euro. In other words, an overvalued real is likely to stay, at least for the next few months.

Bad news for foreign tourists as an overvalued local currency adds more pressure on your travelling budget. Good news for Brazilians planning a trip abroad.

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RELATED POSTS:
Mighty real
Money and currency

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The Brazilian Central Bank acknowledged recently what anybody who’s been to Brazil for longer than two months knows perfectly well: there is a serious shortage of small change in the country. The reasons are diverse. The bank blames piggy banks, poor things.

Whether the pigs are guilty or not, the truth is that a by-product of the lack of small change is the irritating practice of always rounding up the change – in favour of the seller, not the buyer. This is a constant practice in all commercial transactions, and 9 out of 10 times the balance is tipped against you. If you pay with a R$5 note for something worth R$4,97, you can be sure you will not get any change in return.

While one tends to accept this practice in the case of small shops or people selling stuff on the streets, one wonders what the impact of this practice is on the cash-flow of large supermarket networks.

Even more annoying is the practice of trading money for sweets or chewing gum. Your meal costs R$9,80 and you pay with a R10,00 note? You might be offered two pieces of chewing gum instead of the R$0,20 you are owed. Please note that this is a one-way practice. You will never be allowed to pay for your meal with chewing gum.

P.S.: of course this is a common practice in many other countries around the world. But in my personal experience, this practice happens in Brazil with an alarming frequency.

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A vitamin-enriched real – the Brazilian currency, reached on Friday an all-time high against the dollar. Not since 1999 had a real bought so many dollars. On Friday, 1 US dollar would buy you 1,5895 reais. 1 euro would buy 2,5194 reais (I’m mentioning here the “comercial” quotation of the dollar, for more info read also at this blog differences between “comercial”, “turismo” and “paralelo” dollars).

This is basically bad news for anyone planning a trip to Brazil. Irrespective of the evolution of prizes within Brazil, Brazil is a much more expensive country for anyone coming from Europe or the United States. To make matters worse, the current inflationary tide sweeping the world is being felt in earnest in Brazil. In a few months, food prices have gone up to 30% in some of the largest cities of Brazil. As a result, restaurants have increased their prices considerably in the last couple of months. I won’t even bother mentioning the rocketing airfare prices, another factor that will be heavily felt by visitors to the country.

More than ever, comparing prices is the name of the game.

At the money category of the blog you can read all the blog entries published on the subject.

As Florianópolis is a larguish island with scores of towns and villages, there are considerable price differences between one place and another, even when there are quite near each other.

The supermarket chain Imperatriz has a website where you can check out its weekly promotions. For as long as the page stays online, it is the most up-to-date resource to get an idea of what the prices for basic items in Florianópolis are like.

I’m leaving here a handful of prices from our trip to the island in February 2008:

Prices at the Ilha do Campeche: bottle of mineral water, R$2; Coke, R$3; beer, R$5; caipirinha, R$5; single-course meal with fish, rice, fries and a salad, R$15; fried squid, R$25.

Prices at the playa de Campeche: basic meal, R$15; Coke, R$2,50; canga (sarong) from R$10.

Prices at a bar at the playa Brava : fries, R$10; fried squid, R$20; breaded fish for two (with rice, fries and vegetables), R$33; burger, R$7; bottle of mineral water, R$2,20; Coke, R$2,90; caipirinha, R$7.

Car rental for a day (basic model): R$65 per day

Prices in Canasvieiras: meal at a popular restaurant from R$12 (not including drinks; Coke from R$2,50); large pizza, from R$15; a sandwich and a fruit juice, R$10.

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The Brazilian government’s agency responsible for fuel, the Agência Nacional do Petróleo, Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis better known as ANP, has a useful tool on its website where you can look up the average prices for fuel all throughout the Brazilian territory: Levantamento de preços.

[As usual on the websites of a government that calls itself champion of free software, the page does not work in Firefox]

It is quite simple to use. You need to indicate the period of time (Selecione o mês, usually the current month), the geographical area (Brasil, Regiões, Estados, Municipios) and the type of fuel (gasolina [petrol/gas], álcool [ethanol], diésel, LNG or LGP). Click on Processar to get your results.

The results page is simpler than it looks. The column that interests you is the one with the title Preço médio (average price).

I’m just back from lovely Búzios, and here is up-to-date information on current prices on the region (valid for November 2007):

• internet (1 hour): from R$2
• burguer, Coke and fries: from R$10
• crepe: from R$9
• bikini: from R$15 (each piece)
• souvenir t-shirt: from R$10
• flip-flops [thongs]: from R$10
• swimming trunks: from R$15
• large mozzarella pizza: from R$10
• Coca-Cola: from R$2,50
• beer: from R$2,50
• basic meal at a simple restaurant: from R$7 excluding drinks
• fish filet for one person: from R$13
• meal at an average restaurant: from R$15 excluding drinks
• car rental (no air-con): from R$80 per day (R$130 during the high season)
• buggy rental: from R$70 per day (R$120 during the high season)
• liter of petrol [gas]: R$2,75
• taxi just about everywhere in Búzios: R$15
• public transportation (in vans) throughout Búzios: R$2
• boat trip to beaches and islands: from R$30 (R$50 during the high season)
• 2 hours long inland trip on an open-air truck throughout 12 beaches: R$30 (R$50 during the high season)
• taxi boat from the center to neighbouring beaches: betweenb R$5 and R$10
• van transfer from Rio de Janeiro’s international airport to Búzios: R$50 (one way)
• air-con bus from Rio de Janeiro to Búzios: R$23,70 (one way)

Ariel, a reader of De Viaje a Brasil, suggested the idea of an entry with the draft of three different budgets for the traveller preparing a trip to Brazil. In spite of the difficulties inherent to a entry of this kind, I have accepted the challenge. I won’t bore you with lengthy explanations on why it is very difficult to make general statements on a country the size of Brazil or why those generalizations are made even more difficult by the simple fact that different travellers have different needs and tastes. What you will find here is just an approximate idea of costs. Yes, there are cheaper places than the ones quoted here. And yes, there are (much) more expensive places as well. And yes, within Brazil there are places where everything is quite cheap and places where everything is quite expensive.

Prices on this entry are in Brazilian reais. On the right sidebar of the blog, under the Categories section, you will find the current exchange rate of the dollar and the euro.

Before we start, a necessary clarification. Hyperinflation is a thing of the past. For the last few years inflation rates in Brazil have been kept on hold, well below 10%. However, Brazil is a much more expensive country for tourists of many countries due to the increased value of the real against other currencies. Someone who visited Brazil in 2002 might thing that prices have spiralled in Brazil – the truth is that they remain under control, it is the Brazilian real that is much more expensive now.

CHEAP BUDGET

- Food. In most cases breakfast is included in the room rate. Both for lunch and dinner you can survive on R$10 meals per person, including a drink.

- Accommodation. Between R$40 and R$60 will get you a private room with bathroom. For less than that, a room in a hostel dormitory. In places like Rio de Janeiro or Fernando de Noronha you will have a hard time finding accommodation for as little as that.

MID-RANGE BUDGET

- Food. An amount between R$10 and R$30 per person will land you on the territory of a reasonable meal – it might include a large pizza for two, baked fish at the beach or ethnic food in the large cities. For each caipirinha you drink during the meal, add a further R$8 to R$15.

- Accommodation. Pay between R$70 and R$175 for a room for two and you are thinking of a pousada with some comfort, air-conditioning and television for sure, as well as a certain taste in the décor of the place. A swimming pool as well. In Rio de Janeiro, that money will only get you into a basic hotel.

EXPENSIVE BUDGET

- Food. From R$40 onwards we are talking business: a decent meal at a churrascaria, a Japanese restaurant or a seafood restaurant. There are restaurants where a meal will set you back R$100 and R$200 (even more if you order wine), but in our opinion you don’t need to pay more than R$70 for an excellent and abundant meal.

- Accommodation. For an amount betwen R$180 and R$300 per room you might stay at some wonderful places. From R$400 onwards, you must demand luxury. We have never paid more R$300 in the most wonderful pousadas where we have stayed. They didn’t have plasma TVs, though. Many of the Rio hotels fall within this range of prices.

Up to here, the prices to cover the two main basic needs: food and lodging. The remaining expenses do not discriminate between cheap and expensive budgets. A água de coco (coconut water) costs the same for everyone). Then you have to add other expenses, a boat trip, a bottle of mineral water, a caipirinha here and there, souvernirs for friends and family…

To help you find out more about prices in Brazil, this blog offers several tools:

• prices contains the prices of a few basic items.
• through the links explained in Link: buses in Brazil and Link: Socicam (bus routes) you can check the fares for bus rides in Brazil.

In Brazil, some hotels and pousadas charge a taxa de serviço (generally 10%), others don’t. When finding out prices for accommodation, it is advisable to ask whether that taxa de serviço is included or not in the price.

In places that have nothing to hide, their price list will show clearly whether the tax is charged on top of the price of the room (“Taxa de serviço 10%“), whether it is already included on the price (“10% Taxa de serviço já inclusa“) or whether there is no charge at all (“Não cobramos taxa de serviço“). When that information is not present, do find out what is the final price you will end up paying.

Dishonest hoteliers – and absolute minority, to be fair to them, hide that tax only for it to make an unwelcome appearance on your final bill.

Here’s a shortish listing of prices we paid for some services during our week in Arraial d’Ajuda. This info complements this blog’s Prices page.

TRANSPORTATION

• Ferryboat Porto Seguro – Arraial d’Ajuda: R$2,5 (each way, on the way to Arraial you pay a full return fare, no fare is paid on the way back)
• Bus ferryboat – Arraial d’Ajuda: R$1,30 (ida)
• Bus Arraial d’Ajuda – Trancoso: R$4 (ida)
• Van back from the Pitinga beach to Arraial d’Ajuda: R$2
• Trip to Caraíva in 4-wheel drive: R$200 (4 people, low season price)

FOOD

• crepe: from R$8 to R$15.
• ice-cream (two scoops): from R$2,50 to R$3
• coconut at the beach: R$2,50
• pizza for two at a restaurant: from R$15 to R$25
• beer at a beach bar: from R$2,5 to R$4
• caipirinha: from R$7 to R$10
• single-course meal (in Portuguese, prato feito): around R$15
• baked fish for two (with rice and a salad): from R$40 to R$60

SEE ALSO: Round-up of entries on Arraial 2007

This blog presents today a new page: Prices. There you will find a shortish list of prices of basic items of interest to the tourist. Most of the prices refer to the city of São Paulo, where I live. In a country as large as Brazil it is absolutely impossible to make general statements.

With the help of the readers of this blog and of its counterpart blog in Spanish, I hope to expand the list to the point where I can turn it into a PDF file available for download at the blog. If you’d like to make any contributions, leave a comment either here or at the Prices page.

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