ELECTRICITY SUPPLY
This is generally 110V, but rooms at many of the better hotels have at least one socket for 220V too. Electric wall sockets generally take 2-pin round plugs, and some accommodate 2-pin flat plugs too.  So make sure you take a worldwide plug adaptor for rechargers, etc.
The latest news is that Brazil is changing over to a 3-pin system, and all new appliances sold in Brazil will come fitted with the new plug. So very soon, hotels should begin to have sockets of this new 3-pin pattern (shown in the green poster on right). But European-style 2-pin plugs (eg. those supplied in a worldwide adaptor) should fit in these sockets too. 

The national currency of Brazil is the Real (plural: Rais).
£1.00 = approximately 3 Rais.
US Dollar or EURO travellers cheques can be changed at banks and hotels.
Currency exchange counters at airports give a poor rate of exchange, and are not recommended. 
Credit cards (particular Visa) are widely accepted for payments in shops and restaurants. They are also useful for withdrawing cash from ATM machines. 
Cash machines in Brazil can be temperamental or unreliable, but when working are a very useful and convenient way of obtaining cash.

 

 

 

---

CURRENCY