 | Rio de Janeiro General Tips | Tips 1 - 10 of 332 |  |
Popular General Tips | Miscellaneous General Tips Tips | All Tips (332) Here some examples of pronunciation in Portuguese. Vowels a: babaca (jerk) ba-BA-ca ã: anã (midget) a-NUN ão: razão (reason) ra-Zoun e, é: meta (goal) ME-tu ê: nenê (baby) nay-NAy i: alpina (alpine) au-PEE-na o,ó: pó (powder) PO ô: avô (grandpa) a-VOU u: abutre (vulture) a-BOO-tree Consonants b: bala (candy) BA-la c: canto (corner) CUN-too ç: maçã (apple) MA-sun ce,ci: cicerone (host) see-say-ROU-nee ch: chamada (call) sha-MA-da d: dado (dice) DA-doo di: dia (day) DJEE-ya f: facil (easy) FA-seeoo g: gato (cat) GA-too g: gengiva (gums) jayn-JEE-va h: hálito (breath) A-lee-too (mute) j: jovem (young) JO-vayn l: lata (can) LA-tu lh: alho (garlic) A-lyoo m: mato (woods) MA-too n: nada (nothing) NA-du nh: ninho (nest) NEE-nyoo p: pato (duck) PA-too qu: aquilo (that) a-KEE-loo qü: cinqüenta (fifty) seen-COOay-tu r: rato (rat) HA-too r: parada (parade) pa-RA-da s: sábado (Saturday) SA-ba-doo s: casa (house) CA-za s: pasta (paste) PASH-ta t: tatú (armadillo) ta-TOO v: velho (old) VE-lyoo x: xícara (cup) SHEE-ca-ra z: zona (zone) ZOU-na Practice makes perfect!
Above table found at ipanema.com For more basic Portuguese help, check out: http://www.sonia-portuguese.com/ Leave a Comment
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Traveler's Checks Yes, it's the safest way, couldn't agree more, but... you will get a worse rate than you would for cash. It may be a good idea to bring some checks for an emergency, though. Cash Cash is always convenient to bring as spending money and you may use a money belt inside your pants until you get to your hotel, and any decent hotel will offer a safety box in the bedroom closet. Credit Cards & Debit Cards Plastic is very popular in Rio, and it will avoid carrying too much cash around. Visa, AmEx, MasterCard and Diner's are the most widely accepted, probably in this order. Cards are great to pay your hotel bill, most restaurants, and shopping sprees. If your bank or credit card uses the Cirrus system, you may also withdraw cash at many ATM's. Visa card holders may withdraw cash from the Banco do Brasil and Banco Itaú and Bradesco. Card holders with a PIN number may obtain cash from the 24-hour machines; those without will have to await verification, available from 10 am to 4 pm - banks working hours from monday to friday ( mind public holydays! ) MasterCard holders with a PIN number may obtain cash from any 24-hour machine which lists CIRRUS among its participating banks. Cash withdrawals on American Express card: Call 0800-785050. Remember... ATM machines here will "speak" portuguese. Maybe it's better to ask some help from BANK STAFF ... never from "helpful" strangers....
In a Nutshell... Whenever you exchange money, you lose money, so try not to exchange too much more than you think you will need. ATM's with Cirrus system are your best bet. They use the same exchange rate that your credit card company will use back home, when your expenses in Brazil are due. Before departure from home, visitors are encouraged to check the acceptability of their credit and/or cash cards with their local bank. ATMs can be found almost everywhere; some machines provide 24-hour cash withdrawal (R$) facilities for major credit cards. Travel agencies with currency exchange desks offer attractive rates, followed closely by major banks like Banco do Brasil or Citibank. Luxury hotels have an exchange desk, most times offering offensively low rates. On weekends or after banking hours they are your only choice, though. Of course, do not never, ever, exchange cash with strangers in the street For reasons of the laws of supply and demand, any currency other than US$ or Euros could not be the best choice to bring to Rio... ( There is a strong demand for US$, so this is the currency that gets the best rates ). Leave a Comment
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Brazilian currency is the Real. There are R$100, R$50, R$20, R$10, R$5, R$2 and R$1 bills ( as a matter of fact there are two types of R$ 10 bills ) In the 80's we had a plague of a galloping inflation, as in 50% a month. The currency changed names frequently, and trying to keep up to date was quite hard even for us. Brazilians finally started to enjoy some economic stability in the 90's, with the creation of the real and we had a time when the real was originally quoted US$1. In 1999 the government stopped interfering in the exchange rate, and the real underwent a major devaluation. This devaluation couldn't be better news for travelers visiting Brazil. The current exchange rate is around US$1=R$3 Leave a Comment
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Please, do not ask me why.... but there are two types of each coin - except for the R$ 1 coin The real is divided into 100 centavos. Coins are handy for a bus ride, gum, and the coffe ( cafezinho ), of course. The value of the real against the US dollar varies according to the daily rate. Banks and exchange bureaux charge a commission on exchange transactions, which the visitor should check beforehand. As elsewhere, the rates of exchange for cash and travellers' cheques are marginally different, and coins are not exchangeable. Money changers are obliged by law to display net rates of exchange. Receipt notes must be issued by law; it is advisable to keep these until after departure Leave a Comment
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| | | | Exchanging money | Tip Rating: | | | | |
The currency used in Brazil is the Real (R$) and it is made up of one hundred centavos. Notes come in denominations of R$1, R$5, R$10, R$50 and R$100 and the coins in use are 1c, 5c, 10c, 25c, and 50c and R$1. When changing cash or travellers cheques you will usually find the best exchange rates in a ‘Casa de Cambio’. The other option is to use any of the major banks but in the larger cities only the head offices offer an exchange facility. It is also worth noting that the foreign exchange departments often close at 1pm, although some do remain open until 2pm or 3pm. Certain branches will only change a minimum of US$100 while others impose a fee of $20 no matter how large or small the amount being changed. Therefore, it is worth looking around before exchanging any foreign cash. US dollars are the most convenient currency to change. Credit cards and bank cards can be used at ATMs to withdraw cash, once they show the Cirrus symbol and credit card logos. I personally used only my ATM card with the visa symbol. While I couldn't use it at every location, it worked well enough. (Before going to smaller cities, make sure you have enough cash to get around and a little cushion) Leave a Comment
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Rio de Janeiro
on November 28, 2004
on July 15, 2004
