Do you need to make restaurant reservations in advance? I know it depends where you go, but is it more common or really unnecessary? What time do locals usually eat? Thanks!
That's actually on my list! Here are my notes; churrascharia - quality of meat, buffet and service was excellent from TA.
hi i needed a favour from anyone kind enough to help me .. i can see there are atleast 3 branches of Confidence Cambio (forex) in Salvador, 1 of which is at the airport .. i am coming in to salvador from miami next week .. could someone local please call them for me -- i tried but my lack of portuguese failed me & i havent received a reply to my email .. my question is simple .. i read somewhere that they have come out with a product whereby i can exchange my USD currency for a prepaid visa debit card in reais .. i am looking for exactly that and since i cannot find anything of the sort on their website (in portuguese) i am requesting you to help me figure this important thing for me .. would truly appreciate the help .. the airport confidence cambio no is +55 71 3354-0699 customer service no is +558004000800 regards jfk
I did this a couple times for league games. I was OK but it was not a good idea. That said, surely they will have sufficient security along this very short walk for the World Cup.
I'm still not sure why you want to go to Iguatemi, are you staying near there? The shuttles will run on game days, not every day, but there are buses that leave from the airport that go as far as Praca da Se and various other places in the city. I have shamelessly copied the following that I found by Googling, you will need to copy and paste to translate to English: O ônibus que opera esta linha é o S 002 Aeroporto X Praça da Sé. Este ônibus passa pela Praia de Itapuã, Praia de Piatã, Praia dos Artistas, Praia Jardim Alah, Praia da Pituba, Amaralina, Rio Vermelho, até chegar ao Centro. O ônibus é urbano e tem uma pintura diferente na cor vermelha. Este ônibus circula diariamente de 04:40 às 22:40. O tempo de viagem total estimado do trajeto é de 1 hora e 30 minutos em média, podendo ser ainda maior se tiver trânsito. O preço da passagem de ida é R$ 3,00. Para pegá-lo no aeroporto, logo após sair do terminal de desembarque, dirija-se ao ponto dele, que fica ao lado de uma barraca de acarajé e em frente ao ponto de entrega de carros alugados da Hertz. O ponto tem uma placa indicativa. Se você estiver portando apenas mochila, dá para pegar o ônibus sem problema. Se estiver com mala, a dificuldade é bem maior, já que o ônibus não tem bagageiro e ao longo do trajeto, o ônibus enche e fica muito difícil embarcar ou desembarcar, ainda mais com mala de viagem. O embarque acontece pela porta traseira e o desembarque pela porta dianteira apenas, já que a porta do meio só é utilizada no terminal de ônibus. PS - I think the price has gone up, but not by much. If you have the time, you will get the scenic route along the beach.
The site for Confidence explains the Visa pre-paid cards are for Brazilians who are traveling out of the country. You can get Visa pre-paid cards in any number of places in the US (I assume that's where you are). The site for Visa prepaid cards states: Use your card anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. I am guessing that could include ATMs in Brazil. More info here, and sorry I can't give you a more specific response. http://usa.visa.com/locators/prepaid-card-instore.jsp
He's talking about a supposed new product they have tho, one I have heard about but haven't seen anywhere. If I go to the mall anytime soon I'll go there and ask.
Hi all. So if you haven't joined the whatsapp group, send a message to @Victorius Secret . There will be lots of information shared on that group message. Also, I remembered a great Brazilian Steakhouse that won't break the bank. It is cheaper than Fogo de Chao and Boi Preto, and very very good. It is called "Sal e Brasa". It's overlooks the beach and ocean. Here is the information: +55 (71) 3461.1999 Rua Carimbamba, 917 - Pituaçu
have there been any WhatsApp test messages sent out yet? I signed up awhile ago but haven't received anything yet.
There are several cheap, just-OK steakhouses. This one is not as cheap, but yeah, cheap enough and very, very good.
I just figured it out...I feel stupid. My profile was set up for my Thai phone number, once I switched it to my US phone I got all the messages. Once I get to Brazil and get my SIM/number, I should be able to switch WhatsApp to my Brazil number and it'll transfer everything including the chats to that number. It's really a nice feature how it does that.
Looking for 2 tickets to Holland - Spain for 2 Brazilian friends. Any category will do. If seats are together that would be perfect, but if not, no problem. They are willing to pay a little more than face value if necessary. Also if you have just one ticket available, please let me know. Thanks in advance!
Hey @lucasc, if you're in Salvador right now, what;'s the vibe like right now? Or anyone who is there now that can add some information about the scene, atmosphere etc. I was reading the Rio thread and there have been reports of muggings already so I was also curious about that
@Dan17 I'm not in Salvador, sorry. A bunch of people from the WhatsApp groups is there already, for example @sargopt, you can ask them. But my I say upfront, Rio is by far the most dangerous of all host cities. Even if Salvador has some small crime fame, it's nothing like there. I haven't heard any bad report about it so far, and it doesn't look like anything different than usual is going on, like it is in Rio.
Ok thanks, I appreciate it. I just DM'd VictoriusSecret to get on the group, once I am, I'm sure my annoying questions will stop lol. That's sort of what I figured...I am anxiously counting the days till I leave. Salvador looks like such a cool city
Nah, I understand... we treat it like it's not big deal because we have to live with it, and so what can you do? But it's completely reasonable to be worried, and I'd be too. Hell, every time I go to Rio I enter my big-city-worried-mode (which I developed as a teenager in Salvador but lost in the far-safer city I live now), even tho I've been there quite a few times and know the dos and donts. What I realize is that the few times something happened to me in Salvador, it was avoidable. Like because I paid attention to a stranger who stopped me at a street (big no), for example. Believe me, if you're worried, we're even as worried, plus ashamed. I think I'd feel downright depressed and guilty if something serious happened to anyone here. I just hope everyone can have a good time.
Thank you - that was really good insight. And I'm not as worried as initially was, I think it will be a great time. I am really looking forward to the friendliness and welcoming of the people of Salvador. Meeting people from different cultures seeing the Brazilian way of life is something I am looking forward to. And also should state I live near NYC and am there quite a bit and I also hear the stereotypes, and of course it's never as bad as people make it seem to be. I'm sure Salvador is the same way
We watched the Anthony Bourdain CNN story about Salvador last night and got even more excited--and hungry. Also, is there a secret to Whatsapp? My husband isn't getting any messages, though my son will probably be able to figure it out. We leave tomorrow for Brazil.
I think you haven't been added yet. Only one person can do it, @Victorius Secret, and she hasn't seen it yet I think.