2025-05-18 • By Lars • 7 min read
Is it Safe to Travel to Brazil?
Even with him on lookout, it's wise to keep an eye on your belongings.
One of the most common questions people ask when considering a trip to Brazil is whether it's safe. In this article, I'll try to break down this question and share some practical tips on staying safe during your travels. I'll mainly focus on safety regarding crime, since that's usually the primary concern.
Before we go any further, it's important to clarify what "safe" actually means, since it's a very subjective term. Safety is about minimizing the risk of physical, mental, and/or financial harm. This risk exists everywhere, no matter where you live or travel. Naturally, visiting new places increases that risk — you're stepping into the unknown. Exactly how much it increases depends on two factors: the destination and your behavior.
The Destination
Let's first talk about the destination itself. Generally speaking, Brazil obviously poses more risk compared to countries like Germany or Sweden (there probably isn't an article about if it's safe to travel to Sweden). Since Brazil is a very large and diverse country, it is hard to give a general answer about the safety of the country. But we can try to get a sense of it.
Let's Talk Numbers
The homicide rate in Brazil in 2023 was about 18.5 per 100,000 people 1 - roughly three times higher than in the United States 2. At first glance, that sounds like a lot, and it's usually the number people focus on. But most of these homicides happen far from tourist areas and are often tied to drug trafficking. If you look at the number of robberies that resulted in death in Brazil in 2023, there were only 965 reported cases or a rate of 0.48 per 100,000 people. 1 This is already a lot lower and again it's for the entire country and population. Let's focus on a tourist destination, Rio de Janeiro, often labeled as one of Brazil's more dangerous tourist cities. In the entire greater Rio de Janeiro area, there were just 26 reported cases of robberies that resulted in death in 2023 1 - and again, mostly outside tourist zones. So for tourists, the risk is even lower. It's hard to put an exact number on the risk a tourist faces, we can only give a sense of it. In 2022, there were 606 robberies and 2,077 pickpocketing cases involving tourists reported in Rio.3 (There were probably more that went unreported.) Again that might sound alarming, but over 1.3 million international visitors came to Rio that year. So, only about 0.2% of tourists experienced any kind of direct crime — and the vast majority of these incidents were non-violent, like pickpocketing or non-aggressive theft. So, the actual risk to your personal safety is pretty low according to the numbers. And this didn't even consider the fact that most destinations featured on this site are even safer than Rio de Janeiro.
Let's Talk Feelings
"Okay," you might say, "I don't care about numbers — it's about how it feels. And also I've heard horror stories about X, Y, Z." Well, I can only tell you how I — and the tourists I know who visited Brazil — felt. I've been living in Brazil for five years. My main home for most time was São Paulo, which also has a high crime rate, yet I very rarely felt unsafe. Sure, you might argue that living somewhere is different from traveling there, but I've also traveled to many places across Brazil and rarely felt unsafe. In fact, I've felt more unsafe walking around San Francisco or certain parts of Germany than in Brazil - at times. I also know many people who've visited Brazil, and I never heard anyone say they wouldn't come back because they felt unsafe. That doesn't mean crime doesn't happen to tourists — unfortunately it does. I've met people who were pickpocketed, robbed at gunpoint, or even got stab wounds (somehow even all of them would visit Brazil again!). And in this few cases I know of, the tourists ignored basic safety rules. Which brings me to the other and more important factor that influences risk: your own behavior.
Your Own Behavior
Brazil can be a safe place to travel — but that depends on you as well. It's important to use common sense and avoid reckless behavior. And that doesn't mean you need to be paranoid all the time and stay inside your hotel room. You can enjoy the culture and activities Brazil has to offer without worries, just be smart about your choices. With that in mind, here are the safety tips I consider to be the most important.
Practical Safety Tips
1. Pay Attention
Being aware of your surroundings is crucial. Criminals look for easy targets - this is true in any place. Stay alert, especially in empty,
overly crowded, or unfamiliar areas.
Take special care with your phone. One of the most common schemes in big cities is food delivery riders on bikes snatching phones out of
people's hands when they are not paying attention. You can take out your phone on the streets, just be aware of what is going on around you before.
2. Listen to locals and guides
Always check with your accommodation or guides about the safety of neighborhoods. They will know best and you won't have to wonder
if something's safe or not.
And most importantly — actually listen to them. A common pattern I often noticed is that people start feeling comfortable after a few days in Brazil,
which is great! After all, it's usually way safer than imagination lets you believe.
But some people start feeling too safe and think they know better than the locals: "Ah, it doesn't look that bad over there. They are just exaggerating."
Don't be that person — trust the advice!
3. Take care at night
If you're going out at night, especially in the big cities, take care. Prefer going by car or uber to places. Order and wait for the uber inside.
In big cities avoid going to empty streets or areas at night. For example, sitting at the beach alone at night in Rio is not a good idea.
4. Don't draw attention
As a foreigner, you'll already attract attention. You can't change that easily, but do you really need to wear an expensive watch,
designer shirt, or gold chain? I'm not saying you can never wear these in Brazil — just be mindful of when and where. Going to a nice restaurant by Uber and back?
Fine, you can wear a fancy dress and your expensive watch. But walking around streets flashing expensive stuff just makes you a target.
5. Trust your instincts
If something feels off, it probably is. Don't ignore your gut feeling.
One of my favorite ways to explore a city is by wandering around without a set plan (though still following rule #2 first).
But if you go exploring without a clear route, you might accidentally end up in a sketchy area. Usually, you'll feel it.
Even in a commonly safe area, something might feel wrong — like a strange person staring at you. Most of the time, that feeling is right.
You don't need to be paranoid, but don't ignore your instincts.
6. Don't fight back
If the worst case scenario happens and you get robbed, don't try to be a hero. Your phone, wallet, or even your wedding ring isn't worth any physical harm.
Stay calm and hand over whatever they ask for. It sucks, but you'll live to tell the story.
7. Plan according to your risk level
If you're an anxious person and still worried, but don't want to miss out on what Brazil has to offer, pick safer destinations.
There are plenty of very safe places in Brazil — Fernando de Noronha, Florianópolis, Bonito, to name a few.
You can also adjust your behavior to match your comfort level.
You can experience Rio more safely by sticking to Ubers and well-known tourist spots.
Or, if you're more adventurous, you can visit favelas, explore the nightlife in the streets — it all depends on what level of risk you're comfortable with.
Conclusion
Brazil can be a safe and rewarding destination if you take sensible precautions. Most visits are trouble-free, and by staying aware and following the advice here, you can greatly reduce your risk. If you want to check out the best destinations in Brazil and start planning your trip, see our map of Brazil. Enjoy your trip and stay safe!