Brazil

[urlaub]

We are planning a Transatlantic cruise to Brazil. Has anybody information about accessible sightseeing for wheelchair in Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Buzios, Recife and Fortalezzo? Every information will be important.For example: is Sugar loaf or Christ Statue wheelchair accessible? Does anybody know a serious private guide in one of our ports?

Thank you for your assistance!

[kitty9]

For Rio, it depends on where you dock. If its the same dock we used on a Crystal cruise, unless you can walk some steps, their cruise terminal is not accessible. Believe me, it's a nasty terminal, but they may have a new one for the upcoming World Cup.

 

Certain parts of Sugar Loaf and the Christ Statue are accessible. Get there as early as possible as lines can be very long and hot and tiring. I've been to all the other cities you mention except for Buzios, and while some areas can handle wheelchairs, there are precious few cut outs on the sidewalks and their pavements are very rough and not well taken care of, so a lot of the concrete is broken into bits. And to be honest, there's really not much to see in Fortaleza or Recife. Salvador is lovely, but the best/only way to see it is via walking tours, which can be difficult in a wheelchair because of few cut outs and very rough pavement. Sorry, but I don't know of any private tour companies there because, like I said, I stuck to ship tours.

 

I only took ship tours because Brazil can be very dangerous on your own. Some from our group went off on their own and were robbed of their money, credit cards and passports (even though they were told by the ship to NOT carry off their passports) and the ship's photographer was attacked by men with broken bottles when she wandered away from the tour to take photos. Just be very, very careful in Rio and Salvador, don't wear ANY jewelry, don't carry a lot of money and keep credit cards in one of those travel pouches that you wear under your shirt.

[urlaub]

Thank you Darcie for your information. Difficult roads, pathways and so should not be a problem for us. We have been in Asia, for example , with a wheelchair in the early 70s. And believe me, that was difficult!

By zhe way we are not able to use the ships excursions because my husband cannot clim up the stairs into a bus. So I am looking for a serious guide who gives us a private tour for a reasonable price.

 

 

Gaby

[Splinter]

We booked private tours in a van (they lifted my mother in/out of the van) when we were there, but this was in 2001, so some time ago. The funicular train up to Christ the Redeemer is NOT accessible, but with a van (no buses) we were able to access the parking lot at the base of the statue. At that time it was not accessible except by a long flight of stairs, but my understanding is that now an elevator has been installed and is available to those who have mobility impairments. The same is supposed to now be true of the cable car to Sugar Loaf (which was not accessible at that time).

 

Our private tour drove us around the city and through the rain forest which was beautiful, as well as by the major beaches (Ipanema, etc.)

 

We also took a tour the next day to Petrópolis, which is in the mountains about 90 miles outside of Rio. It is a resort destination for Brazilians, with many lovely vacation homes, but more importantly is the home of the Imperial Palace museum (summer palace from the 1800s when Brazil had an Emperor). It was fully accessible, with an elevator for getting up and down the different levels of the palace, and ramped at the entrance. It was beautiful, very educational, a beautiful drive getting there (again in a van) and we also had a nice lunch and stopped for some shopping on the way home in a small town.

 

I would second not trying to go on your own (taxi, etc.) in Rio though. Use an established tour company. You should be able to find these on-line. Unfortunately the US-based Brazilian tour broker we used is no longer in business.

 

(KLD)

[Splinter]

By Googling "wheelchair accessible transportation Rio de Janeiro" I found this article that might prove helpful:

 

http://www.disabledtravelersguide.com/travel/travel_disabled_brazil.htm

[urlaub]

Thank you very much for this interesting link. I am just back from two Caribbean cruises with Oceania and now I have more time for searching.