Brazil Packing List

The short version

Most packing advice for Brazil is written for a beach holiday. If your trip is only that, it is a short list. If it includes the Amazon, a colonial city, the southern states or any altitude, you are packing for more than one country and the bag needs to reflect that.

Two items on this page are not preferences. Do not bring a vaping device. And bring documentation for your medication.

Leave at home: vapes, in every form

All electronic cigarettes and vaping devices are illegal in Brazil, and the prohibition covers refills, parts and accessories. Customs officers have authority to confiscate them during inspection, and that inspection covers both checked and carry-on baggage.

This is the most commonly broken rule on this list, because the device is legal where it was bought and most people never think of it as a customs question at all. Take it out of the bag before you leave home.

Medication, and the letter that goes with it

The legal status of a medicine can differ between the country that prescribed it and the country you are carrying it into. Bring a prescription or a letter from your doctor confirming that you need what you are carrying, keep medication in its original labeled packaging, and bring enough for the whole trip. Some medicines are not available locally, and counterfeit medicines are a documented problem, so replacing something on the road is not a plan you want to fall back on.

Sun and insects, which are the same bag

High UV is a named health consideration for Brazil, and it does not only apply in summer or on a beach. High factor sunscreen, a hat with a brim, sunglasses and something with sleeves for the middle of the day all earn their space.

Insect protection is not optional in much of the country. Dengue, chikungunya and oropouche are named for Brazil alongside yellow fever. Yellow fever vaccination is recommended for much of Brazil, and for the other three there is no vaccine at all, which makes the repellent the actual intervention rather than a supplement to one. Pack a repellent you will reapply, long sleeves and long trousers for dusk, and treated clothing if you are going into the Amazon or into rural areas.

Clothes, by which Brazil you are going to

• The coast and the northeast. Light, loose, quick drying. Two swimsuits, so one is always dry. Something respectable for a restaurant.
• Rio and the southeast in winter. Add a jacket and long trousers. Evenings are cooler than the photographs suggest.
• The Amazon. Long sleeves and long trousers in light fabric, closed shoes, a rain layer that packs small, and a dry bag for anything electronic. It rains in every month.
• The south. A proper coat in winter. This is temperate Brazil and it gets genuinely cold.
• Colonial towns. Ouro Preto, Salvador's historic center and Paraty are steep and cobbled. Shoes with grip matter more than shoes that look right.

What to carry, and what to leave in the room

The safety guidance shapes this more than the weather does. Leave your passport and valuables somewhere secure and carry a copy of your passport plus one other form of photo identification. Leave expensive watches and jewelry at home entirely. Take as little as possible to a beach, because beach theft including arrastoes is specifically documented.

A cheap secondary bag for daily use, a phone case that is not conspicuous, and a way to carry cards and a little cash separately from everything else are all worth more in Brazil than an expensive piece of luggage.

Documents

• Passport valid for at least six months beyond your arrival date.
• Proof of travel insurance covering treatment and evacuation. A private hospital will not admit you without evidence that you can pay.
• Your doctor's letter for medication.
• If you are traveling with a minor who is not accompanied by both parents, the authorization and the birth certificate described in our Brazil visa and entry requirements guide.

Verify before you travel

Check the current customs rules before you pack anything you are unsure about, and see our Brazil weather guide for what the specific regions on your route will actually be doing when you are there.

Sources

• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Brazil safety and security: the police number 190, favelas and favela tours, robbery on buses and the four in the afternoon to nine at night window for phone theft, arrastoes on beaches, express kidnapping, ATM card cloning and pink marked notes, methanol in spirit drinks, the illegality of vaping devices, shark attacks around Recife, carjacking, taxi and ride hailing practice, and the LGBT+ legal position. Accessed 16 September 2026.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Brazil health: the ambulance number 192, the eight week lead time before travel, the named health risks including yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya, oropouche and high UV, altitude sickness in parts of the country, and the entitlement of foreign nationals to emergency treatment in public hospitals. Accessed 16 September 2026.
• US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Travelers' Health, Brazil: the yellow fever recommendation by state and the record that the vaccine is not an entry requirement, the malaria transmission map including the absence of transmission in Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and at Iguacu Falls, and the hepatitis A, hepatitis B, measles and rabies guidance. Accessed 16 September 2026.