bosboy73

I have never driven in Brazil (although I do so every few years in countries with relatively "saner" traffic like Chile and Argentina), so I am a little concerned doing this for the first time. Though I have been going to Brazil often, I still can't say I am conversant in Portuguese and I will be driving alone.

I am probably never going to drive anywhere near Rio or Sao Paulo, having heard frequent instances of travelers taking a wrong turn and ending up with a slug in their skull. But what I am planning is a 1-1/2 hour drive out of Brasilia north to Alto Paraiso de Goais and the National Park there. It was recommended by the hotel that I bring a car as I was told that most visitors do, since a car is the only real way to explore the numerous and spaced out attractions in the Park.

I will be driving only in the morning or afternoon and never after 3 PM or before 7 AM. So should I be unduly concerned?

bosboy73

Typo ... 3-1/2 hours, not 1-1/2!!

SambaChula

"...having heard frequent instances of travelers taking a wrong turn and ending up with a slug in their skull."

Really?!?! FREQUENT instances?????? DEAD tourists????
Please cite source(s).

I can sadly cite 59 dead tourists in Las Vegas in one night.

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Chapada dos Veadeiros? It's only about 120 miles on the 010. nbd

SambaChula

To be more detailed, take the Exxo that runs through the "wings" of the Plano Piloto, north. That becomes the 479, which runs into the 450/DF-003, which runs into the 010 north.

bosboy73

"Really?!?! FREQUENT instances?????? DEAD tourists????
Please cite source(s)."

Thanks for the info. Please follow the links below for numerous reports of such happenings over the last few years. A google search should return more instances.

https://g1.globo.com/rj/sul-do-rio-c...de-no-rj.ghtml

http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel...0f52b2852a89e7

SambaChula

NUMEROUS?? That's ONE incident, in RIO, a year ago.

And Rio is a case unto itself, where the richest neighborhoods are right next to the very poorest, a situation not found in other cities in Brazil.

The other (first link), also in Rio recently, was not a case of "ending up with a slug in their skull."

Neither were taking proper precautions for their own safety, of the type most every travel forum and guidebook speak of.

bosboy73

Update. Did the drive. Beautiful. Gliding on perfect roads all the way up and back. The only problems were getting out of and back into Brasilia, though even that was not horrible. I would say Brasilia with all its concrete butterfly interchanges and overpasses is like an LA without exit signs. So it makes it a bit confusing because I can't remember the last time I drove in a city where not every exit was clearly marked. And I didn't have GPS but it wouldn't have mattered much. I got lost coming back into Brasilia so I just stopped at a gas station and some random lady who spoke English made me follow her until I got on the road to the airport and once I was on it the exits were perfectly marked.

MmePerdu

Bobgrik - my husband lives in Alto Paraiso and I got an email from him recently that said criminals had blown up his bank in town, leveled it, apparently miscalculating the amount of explosives needed to get in to steal the money. I'm glad the cities are being policed so well but since the OP was planning to be near AP, and reports I get say things are worse, not better, your information isn't much good. I'm glad the trip went well.