The backbone of modern Rondônia, the BR-364 highway links the state more or less from north to south, connecting Porto Velho with Cuiabá, Brasília and the wealthy south coast markets. The state’s main towns are strung out along the BR-364, almost all of them – including Porto Velho itself, Ji-Paraná and Vilhena at the […]

It’s now relatively straightforward to go from Boa Vista to Santa Elena in Venezuela, and beyond to Ciudad Guyana and Ciudad Bolívar – even right on to Puerto La Cruz on the north coast if you’re that anxious to escape the interior – a daily União Cascavel bus leaves Boa Vista at 7am. Santa […]

Situated as it is on the northern edge of the Amazon forest, where it meets the savanna of Roraima, the region around Boa Vista boasts three different forms of ecosystem: tropical rainforest, grassland savanna plains and the “Lost World”- style tepius mountain, flat plateau-like rock rising out of the savanna. Still fairly undeveloped in […]

Airlines Varig have an office at Av. Getúlio Vargas 242 (T95/224-4143). To and from Manaus, planes can be solidly booked for days if not weeks ahead, especially at holiday times, though you might get lucky with the waiting list.
Air taxis Meta (T95/224-7677) is based at the airport.
Banks and exchange The best place to change […]

Lanchonetes are everywhere in Boa Vista, though more substantial restaurants are surprisingly scarce as well as expensive. In the centre, the Restaurante La Gondola, on the corner of Avenida Benjamin Constant and the Praça do Centro Cívico, is fine for comida por kilo and very popular. At night, the Hotel Euzébio’s restaurant serves good […]

As capital city of one of Brazil’s newest states, Boa Vista makes great efforts to establish its identity. Opposite the biggest landmark in town, the huge cylindrical concrete tube pointing towards the skies from the roof of the Embratel telephone offices on the Avenida Cap. Ene Garcez, there’s a semicircular amphitheatre with three statues […]

Budget accommodation in Boa Vista, mainly along Avenida Benjamin Constant, is pretty dire, as most hotels were originally designed to meet the needs of the now ailing garimpeiro market, and few of them are accustomed to tourists. There are a couple of good places close to the rodoviária, though, while in the centre of […]