A cultural travel guide to the world

Etiquette & taboos

Etiquette & taboos

Understanding local customs is where a journey begins. Find the topics that matter to you and feel at ease wherever you go.

Brazil

2 rules found

Essential restrictionsSafetyPlace-specific guidance · Brazil

Brazil: don't go to city beaches after dark

Do

  • Take only a little cash to the beach
  • If you are robbed, hand over your things and don't resist

Don’t

  • Going to city beaches after dark
  • Taking valuables to the beach or using your phone in the street

Gangs carry out mass beach robberies known as 'arrastão'; phone snatching peaks between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: GOV.UK: Brazil travel advice

Essential restrictionsEntryPlace-specific guidance · Brazil

Brazil: e-cigarettes are completely illegal

Do

  • Leave your e-cigarette at home before you travel

Don’t

  • Carrying e-cigarettes, pods or accessories

All e-cigarettes and accessories are illegal, and customs confiscate them from checked and hand luggage.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: GOV.UK: Brazil travel advice

Site-specific notes 6

Taken from the "don'ts" on each site page here. Open a site for its full etiquette and background.

Christ the Redeemer, Rio

  • Visit favelas only with licensed tours — don't go on your own
  • don't go alone to remote beaches at night
  • keep a low profile with valuables.

Iguazú Falls

  • Don't climb over railings
  • the spray is intense, so waterproof your electronics
  • don't feed wild animals (coatis will snatch food).

Amazon rainforest

  • Don't stray from the guide's route
  • don't touch plants or animals you don't recognise (they may be poisonous)
  • don't litter
  • there's a malaria risk, so take medication as your doctor advises.

Escadaria Selarón

  • Don't venture into the surrounding lanes alone at night, and don't wear conspicuous jewellery or luxury watches
  • don't climb the low tiled walls at the sides of the steps or step on the fragile edges of the tiling
  • no drone filming — the area adjoins housing and is regularly patrolled by police

Sugarloaf Mountain

  • Don't climb over the viewing-platform railings
  • don't litter on the mountain
  • in town, don't flash valuables or your phone