I go into Salvador quite a bit, never had any trouble, been lucky because almost everyone who goes their has a story to tell, you got to be street wise and stay out of certain areas, I remember when Airtours first started to go their, the staff stayed in Salvador for the 2 weeks, Airtours couldn't of picked a worse area for the hotel for them, The captain ventured out in Salvador twice in the fortnight and got mugged twice, now that is bad luck.
Its a shame really because if you go north of Salvador, up the coconut coast its a different world, no crime at all, people very friendly and helpful and a beautiful place to be

I go to Salvador every month, sometimes twice a month, and in 2005 I spent as much time, or even more, in Salvador than I did in Aracaju, and I have never had anything bad happen....knock on wood. But I hear what you're saying Ray, the taxi drivers in Salvador are the worst I've ever had experience with anywhere......I did get into an argument with one of them once. Many will try to rob you, or at least take you for a "ride", figuratively speaking.

But one does have to be very careful, in any city anywhere in Brazil. Just because one is not in a big city doesn't make one safe. And statistically speaking the most dangerous places in brazil aren't the big cities, but in smaller towns in the interiors of states.

And you're right Nigel, going north on estrada do coco there are very nice areas extending all the way to Costa do Sauipe, and today there are condominiums being built by foreign groups all the way to the Sergipe/Bahia state line.


True Dotty, if there is one piece of advice that members of this forum take from me, please let it be this, if/when being robbed in Brazil NEVER attempt to fight back, be difficult, not hand over any possessions you may have, etc. Let them take what they want. Every single person that I know that has gotten shot in Brazil has attempted to not give the thieves what they asked for or attempted to fight back, not did exactly as they said, etc. I understand that, especially in the states, this is not an uncommon reaction, if/when one does that here in Brazil, these people shoot immediately. They have no qualms whatsoever with pulling the trigger of a gun, the consequences don't even enter their minds.

Thats scary.After the incidents in Natal with the shottings on the beach and in PN a friend went for a night sit with her boyfriend on the beach in Natal.It was early hrs 3am I believe .A gun was put to their heads and the robber threatened to kill them if they did not hand over their mobile and the small amount of money they had on them on them.
The bad thing is that in Brasil they just pull out a gun for small robberies like drinking a glass of water and they damn well use it.It is not a joke.There are many horror stories!

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Well I've go tthe tee shirts now, one robbery (car break in) and one card cloning. The only thing I have learned is never, never drop your guard and assume things are cool and relaxed. Do a number of things to cover your back, carry a spare phone with you travel and get a spare sim card from your operator, just in case. Use a tatty old phone when you are there that doesn't bother you and so you don't mind losing it or handing it over. Card cloning, I would say don't go to typical Gringo ATM's in beach areas always use ones inside Banks where cloning kit is less likely. Get a credit ard affiliated to HSBC as I reckon they are best equipped to work as an international bank.....check your credit card account online every few days..just in case it has been cloned..so you don't have all the explaining to do when yu get home...fortunately mine was done after I left the counrty so I had evidence. Get your passport fotocopied and "authenticated" it cost me £3 to do it at a Carteria/Notary..even better get the copy laminated..so if sxxx happens you've got a legal copy. If you are British get a second passport, which is perfectly permissable, if you need to carry your passport when out, carry the second one so the one you used for entry is safe back at the hotel. Then, if the other one is lost or robbed, you can get out of the country when need be. Don't lose your entry slip and make sure an elastic band keeps it in the passport. It's an awful hassle to get new docs abroad. Get an International Driving licence or just carry you national one as ID. But all these tips apply to tourist visits, residents are different I am sure..and last but not least, don't think, it sounds a bit over the top doing all that! Don't drop your guard.

Great advice Golfingworld!

Don't check your accounts online at an internet cafe....my bank account had unauthorized debits after I went to an internet cafe in south Bahia. Thank goodness my account at the time had an online daily limit of 300 reais and I discovered what happened the day after it happened. Banco do Brasil is so accustomed to this that they refund your money normally within 24 hours.

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A good few yrs ago we were in the elevator in Pelorinho.The doors closed behind us a group of around 7 people entered the lift.My partner had a rucksack on the back(cameras etc inside).They were of mixed age 6yrs old to 15 .Somebody dropped a coin on the floor and the person in front of my partner bent over and everybody veered back as my partner veered backwards they intelligently dipped the rucksack so professionally for kids so young and off the went.It took us 3 hrs to notice when we wanted to take a photo and then it all clicked in.15 yrs on the police intelligance contacted my partner to say they had the suspects who were a well organised gang and would we like to press charges!We turned the other way.

That's in any internet café

Whenever you go to an internet café you can be sure keylogging software is running - it's how most of them make their money.

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Yes, I work for a Real Estate company doing market research and analysis but I'm not involved in sales.

Have a nice day

My sister had her account drained this way whilst she was on holiday in Indonesia, her bank refunded the money, which is pretty normal these days.

If you have a bank account that gives you a special card to use when you log on then the information they get is useless. I have 2 types of them, one is a little keyring with a digital display which shows a number that changes every minute, and the other is a plastic card with a series of random numbers on it.

So to log in you need your user id, your password and a number from the keyring or the card. If all 3 are not correct you can't get access. Even when someone looks at the keylogger records and sees your password and username, they are useless without having access to the card or the keyring as the number you need to type in will not be the same as the last time.

I don't know why more banks don't do this as it would save them a fortune, I guess it is cheaper to just refund people's money.

I use this to access my accounts anywhere without problems.

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It's not surprising really I mean if you google "keylogging software" you get a million and one download options which when installed on your machine record all passwords anyone types so it's not just in Brazil

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Yes, I work for a Real Estate company doing market research and analysis but I'm not involved in sales.

Have a nice day

Why the hell is it good news to have prices for property depressed, is it that you either can,t afford to buy anywhere in a competitive market, or are you just one of those people who hate to see anyone doing something that you either can,t afford to do or are too frightened to do, I am sick of hearing negatives from you and Dotty about the northeast of Brazil, if it is so bad why are you constantly on this forum, you should be able to find other threads to spread your doom and gloom, surely there must be a thread for China, or Russia, where nobody want,s to buy, and then at least someone will agree with you.