ovenbird

My cell phone won't work in Brazil, but I'd like to carry one while there for emergency calls. What would you suggest is the best way to do this? Thanks!

Dondiega

You need either a tri band or quad band cell phone to pick up roaming in Brazil, I have T-mobile and it works great.

You can also rent a cell phone in Brazil, what city will you be in?

ovenbird

Thanks Dondiega. Unfortunately we have Verizon...good coverage in the US but virtually useless ex-US.

We'll be traveling around quite a bit, with many flights. So I envision using the phone to rebook flights if there are changes/cancellations.

How would I go about renting a phone?

Our itinerary is:

Aug 25.............Arrive GIG; overnight Rio
Aug 26-28........Tres Picos State Park (Mata Atlantica)
Aug 29-30........Rio
Aug 31-Sep 6...Northern Pantanal
Sep 7-9...........Chapada dos Guimaraes
Sep 10-15........Rio Cristalino/Alta Floresta
Sep 16-18........Iguazu Falls (Argeninian side)
Sep 19.............Depart GRU for home

Dondiega

Well, for example if you were arriving in Rio and departing from Rio you could have rented a phone for example from http://www.blameitonrio4travel.com/ you could rent a phone from this American Bobby and return it when you're finished.

Or you could call Bruno here to pick you up at the airport and he would rent you a phone
http://www.gringomanagement.com/otherservices.html

I always rent an apartment when in Rio and have the apt owner/agent throw in a cell phone included in the rental price. But I have rented phones from these people before, they come in handy and always negotiate the price.

Trip2rio

Ovenbird,

I suppose by your alias that you are a bird watcher enthusiast. And thats why you are visiting tres picos and pantanal.

Have in mind that in tres picos and pantanal, you may find poor cell phone signal coverage.

One of the good things in Brazil is that it is reasonably easy to find a public phone. So, all you need is a calling card ( i suggest one international to call home and and local).

I also suggest that you check with airline if the have a 0800 number that is acessible by cell phone (some 0800 do not take calls from cell phone). Otherwise the cell phone call will get very expensive.

BTW, if you need assistance in Rio and Tres picos, we are a local tour company and we can arrange local lodging, tours and transportation. Please visit our website at www.trip2rio.com or email us at [email protected]

ovenbird

Thanks for all the information and suggestions!

mrcamp

Ovenbird, it will certainly be cheaper to just buy a cheap unlocked GSM phone with the appropriate bands, for about $30 on ebay, amazon, newegg, etc. Then just get to Brazil and get a sim card. That way, you can always use it on return trips.

Mimigirl, sounds like you bought one of those Chinese dual-sim phones. I have one as well that I bought on dealextreme. You need to go into the settings menu and verify it’s in dual-sim mode and not just SIM A or SIM B. I suspect that it’s NOT in dual sim mode.

billysuncn

Why not Buy one from internet,almost Brazil buy from this site.
http://www.hetechonline.com
just go ,you will be happy to get the item you want.

nmejicano

I travel a great deal. This is the best solution: From the US to any country (with few exceptions) I use Pennytalk. I used to use my own phone through T-mobile, which was costing me a fortune. I got an unlocked quad band from One Sim Card (onesimcard.com) it camewith two sim slots and a phone # from Estonia!, but for 4.95 I added a local US #. When in Brazil I just got a TIM sim card for local calls. It has two green "answer" buttons, when a call comes from the US, the # 1 answer button lights up, if a call is from Brazil, the #2 answer button lights up. It is cheap and very reliable.

Carlos69

You do realise that to activate a simcard in Brazil you will need a CPF, which is like a tax file number? All the retailers will sell you one but you won't be able to use it without one. You can of course obtain a CPF by going into any branch of Banco do Brasil but it will take a week or so to get your number. So unless you are here for some time, you might be better off using skype or purchasing a phone card.

Riobound

I would suggest you buy a cheap tri band or quad band on e-bay. Buy a chip in the area of Brazil you are in for 15-20 reais, so you will be sure it works in your area. Roaming charges are killers in Brazil.
Also "DO NOT" rent anything from that guy at, http://www.blameitonrio4travel.com/

ovenbird

Thanks all. We got along just fine without the use of a cell phone.

littlebag

I know this is an old thread, but I want to reiterate what Carlos69 says above, since there are a bunch of posts here stating what is useful in Europe, but not in Brazil. You can certainly take your unlocked GSM quad-band phone to Brazil, then purchase a local SIM card, but you can not activate the card without an ID number. If you are prepared for this (asking a local to use there number) no worries, but don't expect to pop the card in and send your new number to all your friends right away.

Susanna_gui

is it quadband mobile phone ?

I know all mobile phone are quad band in south America market .

Because I do . my company website : www.aonyphone.com

wechat : Susanna_gui2010