Salvador

Currency

Brazil runs on cards and on Pix, the instant bank transfer that everyone from taxi drivers to coconut sellers accepts — but Pix needs a Brazilian account, so as a visitor you are on cards and a little cash. Change money in the city rather than at the airport, and keep small notes for the market and the buses.

ATMs & cards

Use Banco do Brasil, Bradesco, Itaú or Santander machines inside branches, shopping centres or the airport, during the day. Avoid standalone Banco24Horas kiosks on the street at night. Withdraw modest amounts, decline conversion, and never let anyone "help" you at the machine.

Use machines inside branches, shopping centres or the airport, and in daylight. Nobody legitimate will offer to help you at one.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety

The culture is extraordinary and the crime is real, and both should be said plainly. Stick to Pelourinho, Barra, Rio Vermelho and Ondina, use app cars rather than walking between neighbourhoods, carry one card and a little cash rather than everything you own, and leave the watch and the phone out of sight on the street. At Carnival, go with people who know the city.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa

Health & emergencies

Required to enter

• Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present

Worth having

• Yellow fever — recommended for most of Brazil including the area around Rio
• Hepatitis A
• Typhoid
• Tetanus up to date

Getting treated

Public emergency care (SUS) is free to everyone including foreigners, but is crowded and slow. Private hospitals in Rio and São Paulo are excellent and expect insurance or payment up front.

Dengue, zika and chikungunya are all present and mosquito-borne — repellent matters. Yellow fever vaccination should be given at least 10 days before arrival.

Orientation, not medical advice. Entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history and where you have been — check with a travel clinic or your national health service four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Bahian food is its own cuisine: acarajé from a baiana in white lace at a street stall, moqueca cooked in dendê palm oil, vatapá, and cocada for afterwards. The stalls are safe and are where the food is best — go where the queue is. Ask for it "sem pimenta" if you cannot take heat.

Getting around

• Uber and 99 — cheap, everywhere, and the sensible default here rather than walking between neighbourhoods
• Elevador Lacerda — the art deco lift joining the lower and upper cities, a few centavos and a 30-second ride
• Metro — two clean modern lines, useful for the airport and the bus station rather than for sightseeing
• Walking — fine within Pelourinho, Barra and the seafront in daylight
• Airport: Luís Eduardo Magalhães is 30 minutes from the centre; take an app car or the metro rather than a street taxi

Internet speed

Broadband here runs at 1.9× the global median of 128 Mbps. Mobile runs at 2.4× the global median of 110 Mbps.

Source: Ookla Speedtest Global Index · measured May 2026

Must-see

Things to do

• Walk Pelourinho in the late afternoon and stay for the drumming
• Eat acarajé from a street baiana
• Tie a ribbon at the Igreja do Bonfim
• Watch capoeira properly, not the tourist version
• Take the boat to Morro de São Paulo
• See a Carnival bloco if you are here in February

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

Portuguese (Brazilian)

• HelloOi / Oláoy / o-LA
• PleasePor favorpor fa-VOR
• Thank youObrigado / Obrigadao-bree-GA-doo / -da
• Yes / NoSim / Nãoseeng / nowng
• Excuse meCom licençakong lee-SEN-sa
• How much is it?Quanto custa?KWAN-too KOOS-ta
• The bill, pleaseA conta, por favora KON-ta
• Cheers!Saúde!sa-OO-djee

Softer and more open than European Portuguese, and the de sounds like "dje".

Religion

Catholic and Evangelical

The largest Catholic population in the world, with a fast-growing Evangelical share and Afro-Brazilian traditions such as Candomblé and Umbanda practised alongside.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Greet with a kiss on each cheek between women, or a woman and a man; a handshake between men
• Expect physical closeness in conversation — standing back reads as cold
• Arrive late to social invitations; on time is genuinely early
• Learn a few words of Portuguese, and never open in Spanish

Don't

• Do not make the OK sign with finger and thumb — it is obscene here
• Do not walk with a phone visible in the street
• Do not wear obvious jewellery or watches on the beach or in the city
• Do not call Brazilians Hispanic or assume they speak Spanish