liablo

I am planning to visit Buzios, arriving on March 5th. And this year's Carnival is from Feb 28-Mar 4th.

As I will land in Rio on the day of arrival (March 5th), and hope to immediate catch the Viação 1001 bus to Ruzios, I am worried that I might need to book RIO-BUZIOS bus tickets in advance due to the end of Carnival.

Would anyone know if folks typically would head out to Buzios from Rio right after Carnival? Is it necessary to book bus tickets in advance, or should I take my chances? As a foreigner visiting, I don't have a CPF number which is required to book bus tickets online or via phone, therefore booking in advance would be a real challenge for me

Appreciate any insight.

Thanks.

luademochila

Yes, you need to be worried. Carnaval celebrations actually go for the entire week - expect expensive prices, crowds and loud parties until at least march 8th.

Book it in advance, if you figure out how. They do not ask for a CPF number when you're boarding. Maybe buying with some third part agency, or booking a shuttle (which actually is not bad idea, since they may catch you from the airport, I suppose).

liablo

ok, thank you for the advice. I didn't know that carnival goes on until the weekend after the major event. This is helpful.

luademochila

You're welcome. Carnaval does not really go for the entire week, but it works as if it does. Most people go back to work on wednesday evening, but there are many street parties going on nonetheless. In Rio de Janeiro (capitol of the state), on saturday the Champions Parade takes place.

http://www.timeout.com.br/rio-de-jan...ampions-parade

luademochila

wednesday noon*

bambam00

@liablo I have the same situation. I want to go to Buzios either on wednesday afternoon or thursday very early in the morning. But I will be alone so I am a bit worried. Have you booked your bus ticket? Have you done any research? It would be great if you share.

liablo

@bambam00, I am still researching. It doesn't seem that we can purchase tickets without a CPF outside the country (phone or internet), so I am not optimistic. I will let you know if I manage to book it.

bambam00

@liablo there must be a way maybe we have to buy it at the bus terminal. Have you found a place to stay? Places are packed!

liablo

@bambam00 yes I was able to make reservation for a hostal in buzios.

bambam00

@liablo you are right I tried so many times, I couldn't register for the 1001 website without the brazilian CPF. But I read that we can get a CPF number by filling out an online form and taking the form to the Brazilian Consulate in the city where you live. I also sent a request to the bus companies website to get an info about buying the ticket without CPF. Lets see what is gonna happen. I'll let you know İf ı can find a solution

bambam00

@liablo by the way, I was searching online and I came across with a website called www.brasilbybus. From that site you can choose 1001 Bus service, then click to see the prices in Brazilian Real. There is an "non brazilian" option which you can pay by using Pay Pal. When you pay with your credit card, they ask for the CPF but when you register pay pal account, they don,t seem to ask for your CPF. I am not sure if it is legit but I'll give it a try

greenyboy

Hi bambam00.

I'm curious. Can you tell me if you used brasilbybus for booking your bus in the end? and if you did, how did it go? Did it work out for you ok? I'm asking as i am thinking of using them to book a few buses i need to take during the World Cup in June when availability will be limited too. I'm a bit sceptical how it works so a bit of searching online for other peoples experiences with them brought me here to this forum. Any information would be thoroughly appreciated.

mbuddee

@greenyboy

I've just booked a bus ticket on brasilbybus.com. It all seems pretty legitimate so far, have received receipts from paypal, confirmation emails etc. Note though that the voucher you recieve after the purchase isn't an actually ticket but is actually a voucher you need to swap over at the relevant bus ticket office at the train station on the day.

Biggest issue im having is that at various stages of the ticket purchase process the dates are displayed in different shorthand formats i.e. days/months/years compared to months/days/years. Now that I've finished my purchase I'm not quite sure whether I've booked the 07/06/14 or the 06/07/14 . I've contacted them for confirmation, I'll see how helpful they are and let you know!

RobertKlein33

I had the same problem and I just found the www.bookbusbrasil.com, pretty complete website, it has bus tickets, good hostels and also some information about attractions.
I just type my wrong email so didnt receive the comfirmation email, I just sent an email and they answer at the same time, they were very helpful, so I really recommend this website.

SambaChula

Both of those sites charge a higher price than if you bought directly from the bus company, which you can think of as a kind of service fee for being able to buy online without a Brazilian ID # and Brazilian issued credit card.

Janekowalski

Hi there,

I did a bus trip in Brazil during the World Cup more then 5 times. I used 3 websites to buy my bus tikcets. One of them is the bookbusbrasil.com but that one unfortunately didn't worked out. I don't know if this website is not a spam or something, I didn't bought there. Than, I've heard about www.brazilbustravel.com at my Hotel from a tourist and It was the best website to book bus in Brazil I found, really! They call you in English or Spanish if you need a help, the price is good comparing with other websites and they do PayPal payment which is just great. I also used brazilbybus.com but they seems a very small company and thay are not that cheap.

I hope I could help you in something, is not for carnival but for sure I thought my experience should be shared with you as well. Anyway, travel by bus in Brazil, no airplanes

SambaChula

Often, flights in Brazil are almost equal to the price of a bus ticket for the same route, and faster for sure in this huge country. Check both before you make a decision to make an arduous bus journey with days/hours of uninteresting scenery.
(This may not have been true, however, during the WC when airlines, as well as hotels, raised prices sky high.)

SambaChula

Just to add....
At Carnaval and other holiday periods, the bus companies usually put on extra buses on popular routes (probably like Rio-Buzios) to meet demand.

OutComfort0

Hi Liablo, thera are some websites in Brazil that let you book your bus ticket without CPF. Only using your passport number. Buying Brazilian bus tickets online is a lot more practical and easier than buying them at the bus station. Plus, you can easily compare a lot of companies at the same time to get the best price. I ended up writing an article about this with tips on how to travel by bus in Brazil, as well as the best websites to buy your bus ticket online. If you are interested… http://outofyourcomfortzone.net/how-...cket-websites/