Brazil
Useful apps for Brazil: transport, maps, translation
Install five apps before you fly: Uber or 99 for rides, Google Maps with Brazil offline, Google Translate with Portuguese offline, WhatsApp for hotels and guides, and Moovit for city buses and metro. Add iFood if you want delivery. Everything else is optional; a local SIM or eSIM makes all of them work better.
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- A source and a date are on record: we read it from an official or published page. Not yet confirmed on the ground.
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- Someone checked it on the ground, with the date shown.
- Plan calculated
- Worked out by Voykit from its own data (times, distances, budgets). A calculation, not a measurement.
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Key facts
- Core five
- Uber or 99, Google Maps, Google Translate (Portuguese offline), WhatsApp, Moovit
- Ride-hailingcheck
- Uber and 99 both operate in major cities; 99 is the local alternative
- Used by hotels, guides, restaurants and drivers for bookings and updates
- Offline maps
- Download your city and region in Google Maps before arrival
- Translation
- Portuguese offline pack; English is limited outside hotels and tourist areas
- Food deliverycheck
- iFood dominates; app in Portuguese, card or Pix payment
- Transitcheck
- Moovit covers metro, bus and BRT in big cities; coverage varies in small towns
- Data
- Local SIM or eSIM recommended; prepaid SIM needs a passport and sometimes a CPF
Details
Set the apps up at home, on Wi-Fi, before you fly. Download the Portuguese offline pack in Google Translate and the maps for every city and region on your route in Google Maps. Both work without data, which matters on Amazon rivers, in the Pantanal and on long intercity drives where signal drops.
Uber and 99 are the two ride-hailing options in most large cities. Uber is familiar to most visitors; 99 is the Brazilian competitor and often has more cars in smaller cities. Fares are charged to a card saved in the app, so you avoid cash and the language barrier. In Rio and São Paulo, use the app rather than hailing a street taxi at night.
WhatsApp is the default channel for almost everything informal: pousadas confirming a booking, a guide sending a meeting point, a restaurant taking a reservation. Save your hotel and any guide as contacts on day one. Many businesses answer WhatsApp faster than email.
For city transit, Moovit gives bus, metro and BRT routes and timetables in the big metros. Coverage is thinner in small towns, where asking at your hotel is faster. iFood is the main delivery app if you want a meal at your accommodation; the interface is in Portuguese, so keep Translate open.
Payments inside apps usually need a foreign card that works abroad. If your card is declined, that is a card issue, not an app issue; see the cards and ATMs page.
| App | What it does | Works offline? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uber | Ride-hailing | No | Card in app; widely available in cities |
| 99 | Ride-hailing | No | Brazilian alternative; good in smaller cities (check) |
| Google Maps | Navigation, transit, places | Yes, if downloaded | Download each city and region |
| Google Translate | Portuguese translation | Yes, offline pack | Camera mode reads menus and signs |
| Messages with hotels, guides, drivers | No | Treat it as your main contact channel | |
| Moovit | Bus, metro, BRT routes | Partly | Best in large metros (check) |
| iFood | Food delivery | No | Portuguese interface (check) |
Tips
Buy data before you rely on any of these. An eSIM activated before departure avoids the queue and the CPF question at a Brazilian phone shop; a prepaid SIM bought locally needs a passport and sometimes a CPF.
Keep a screenshot of your hotel address in Portuguese, plus the name and phone number. Drivers and taxi apps match on the written address, not on how you pronounce it.
In Rio and São Paulo, order the ride inside the airport or mall and wait at the designated pickup point rather than on the kerb.
If you are travelling with a partner or group, one person can order the ride and share the trip status in the app.
Charge a power bank: maps, translation and ride apps drain a phone fast on a full day out.
FAQ
Questions people ask
Which apps do I need in Brazil?
Five cover most trips: Uber or 99 for rides, Google Maps with offline maps, Google Translate with Portuguese offline, WhatsApp for hotels and guides, and Moovit for city transit. Add iFood for delivery. Set them all up before you fly.
Does Uber or a local taxi app work in Brazil?
Uber operates in major cities and 99 is the main Brazilian alternative, often with better coverage in smaller cities. Both charge a card saved in the app. In Rio and São Paulo, use the app rather than hailing a street taxi at night.
Does Google Maps work well in Brazil?
Yes for driving, walking and major transit in cities. Download the maps for each city and region before you travel, because signal drops on Amazon rivers, in the Pantanal and on long intercity roads. Coverage of small-town bus routes is uneven.
Deep dive
Every source; changeable facts are marked check
Sources
- officialVisit Brasil (Embratur)
- secondaryWikivoyage – Brazil