Car Hire in Brazil

When driving rental cars in Brazil, keep your headlights on at all times, even during the day. Avoid colliding with pedestrians at all costs, of course, but don’t halt suddenly to allow them to cross the road as the drivers behind you might overtake your hire car just when the pedestrian thinks it is safe to cross. Brasilia is the exception to this informal ‘rule’. Motorcycles are allowed to weave through traffic by constantly changing lanes. They keep up a continuous beeping, so always look and listen before changing lanes and be aware that mopeds will overtake you on both inside and outside lanes. Some of the best-kept roads are toll roads, so be prepared to pay the legally approved fee. Look for octagonal red signs marked ‘PARE’ because they are stop signs and stick to the surprisingly low speed limits indicated by signs in km/h and not mph.

Brazilian car rental agencies need to see your driving licence and some photo ID, usually your passport. Always take a printout of your car rental booking confirmation because it will often show a better deal than local on-the-spot car hire rates. Without written confirmation of your car rental deal, you will have to pay local rates. Double-check the small print as some car hire companies will not let you pay for car hire using a debit card and only accept credit card payments. Also, check the details for age restrictions. Each car rental company has its own stipulations, but you must usually be between 22 and 80 years old to drive rental cars. They may allow younger drivers to rent a car as long as they pay a young driver surcharge.

The heaviest traffic is in mega-cities such as Sao Paulo and Rio da Janeiro, both appearing on lists of the top ten most congested cities. Always keep your windows closed and your hire car doors locked when stationary in traffic. The capital, Brasilia, is unique as it was planned with cars in mind and has hundreds, if not thousands, of roundabouts, zebra crossings (pedestrians do have the right of way in Brasilia), speed cameras and speed bumps designed to keep traffic flowing smoothly. However, you will want to rent a car to get out of the city. Highways are marked 'BR' followed by three digits. The BR-050 linking Brasilia to Sao Paulo and the busiest port in South America, Porto de Santos, is always full of lorries carrying goods to and from the port, as is BR-101 running through twelve provinces along the East coast of Brazil.

The most affordable car hire agency in Brazil is Avis. Travellers have found Avis rental cars for as little as £10/day at some locations, which is a cheaper deal compared to the national average price of £19/day. Keep in mind that prices tend to vary depending on your car hire needs.

According to our data, FOCO is the most popular car hire company in Brazil. In the past month, 41% of users selected FOCO for their rental car needs. 11 of our users have reviewed their experience with FOCO during their stay in Brazil, giving the agency an average review of 5.2 out of 10.

You should book a car hire in Brazil using momondo because it is quick, free and easy to use and could save you money. momondo does the hard work of finding the car hire prices and policies, all you need to do is compare and choose what works best for your trip.

Filtering is how momondo helps you find a great car hire in Brazil. Narrow your search using price and map features as well as filtering by fuel or mileage policies amongst many other filters available.