Brazil has several gateway airports and shares a border with every country in South America except Chile and Ecuador .

Air

The busiest international airports are Aeroporto Galeao (formally known as Aeroporto Internacional Antonio Carlos Jobim) in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo 's Aeroporto Guarulhos. Con­necting flights to cities around the country leave regularly from both these airports. The other principal gateways are Manaus , Macapa and Belem , all located in the North. Varig , Brazil 's larg­est airline, flies into Brazil from 11 South American cities.

For student fares, try the Student Travel Bureau (STB; Tel:0xx21-2512-8577; www.stb.com.br ; Rua Visconde de Piraja 550, Ipanema, Rio ), which has some 30 branches around the country. Andes Sol (Tel:0xx21-2275-4370; Av NS de Copacabana 209, Rio ) is a good agency for arranging economi­cal itineraries. Discount agencies in Sao Paulo include US Tour (Tel:0xx11-3813-1308, www .ustour.com.br).

Another website to search for cheap flights is www.viajo.com.br .

ARGENTINA

Round-trip flights from Buenos Aires to Rio or Sao Paulo are available on Varig, Aerolineas Argentinas or Swissair. Other flights from Buenos Aires go to Foz do Iguacu , Porto Alegre , Curitiba , Florian­opolis , Salvador and Recife , and to Puerto Iguazn in Argentina , a short cross-border hop from Foz do Iguacu .

BOLIVIA

Varig flies from La Paz to Rio or Sao Paulo . Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB) flies to Manaus from Santa Cruz .

The Bolivian towns Cobija, Guayara­merin and Puerto Suarez, across the border from the Brazilian towns Brasileia, Guajara­Mirim and Corumba, respectively, can all be reached by domestic flights from several cities inside Bolivia .

CHILE

Varig, TAM, LanChile and Swissair fly from Santiago to Rio and Sao Paulo .

COLOMBIA

From Bogota you can fly to Leticia, and walk, taxi or take a combi across the border into Brazil . A Rio-Bogota round-trip flight on Varig or Avianca is costly.

ECUADOR

Ecuatoriana flies to Manaus from Guay­aquil and Quito .

THE GUIANAS

Surinam Airways flies between George­town ( Guyana ), Paramaribo ( Suriname ),

Cayenne ( French Guiana ), and Belem . Penta, a Brazilian regional airline, flies into Macapa and Belem from Cayenne . If you get the connections right, it's cheaper to fly with Air Guyane between Cayenne and St Georges, on the French Guiana-Brazil border and then between Oiapoque, on the Brazilian side of the same border, and Macapa with Penta.

PARAGUAY

Varig flies between Asuncion and Rio or Sao Paulo . You can also fly from Asuncion to Ciudad del Este, a short cross-border hop from Fez do Igua~u, Brazil .

PERU

Varig flies round trips from Lima to Rio or Sao Paulo . From Iquitos , Peru , there's a seaplane to Santa Rosa on the Rio Amazonas on the Brazil-Peru-Colombia triple frontier. The carrier is Tans (Tel: 0xx92-412-2045 in Tabatinga , Brazil ), most easily contacted at the riverside Restaurante Blue Moon in Tabatinga.

URUGUAY

Varig and Pluna fly from Montevideo to Rio and Sao Paulo .

VENEZUELA

The flight to Boa Vista and Manaus is no longer available. A Varig round-trip flight from Caracas to Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo is US$785.

Boat

BOLIVIA

From Trinidad in Bolivia boats take about five days to sail down the Rio Mamore to Guayaramerin ( Bolivia ), opposite Guajara­Mirim ( Brazil ).

PERU

Fast passenger boats make the 400km trip along the Rio Amazonas between Iquitos ( Peru ) and Tabatinga ( Brazil ) in eight to 10 hours for US$40 to US$50. From Tabatinga you can continue to Manaus and Belem .

Bus

ARGENTINA

The main crossing used by travelers is Puerto Iguazti-Foz do Iguacu , a 20-hour bus ride from Buenos Aires . Further south, you can cross from Paso de los Libres (Ar­gentina) to Uruguaiana (Brazil), also served by buses from Buenos Aires, and at San Javier-Porto Xavier or Santo Tome-Sao Borja on the Rio Uruguai.

Direct buses run between Buenos Aires and Porto Alegre (US$64, 20 hours) and Rio de Janeiro (US$141, 42 hours). Other destinations include Florianopolis , Curitiba and Sao Paulo .

BOLIVIA

Brazil 's longest border runs through remote wetlands and forests, and is much used by smugglers.

The busiest crossing is between Quijarro ( Bolivia ) and CorumbA ( Brazil ), which is a good access point for the Pantanal. Qui­jarro has a daily train link with Santa Cruz , Bolivia . Corumba has bus connections with Bonito, Campo Grande , Sao Paulo , Rio de Janeiro and southern Brazil .

Caceres , in Mato Grosso ( Brazil ) has a daily bus link with Santa Cruz ( Bolivia ) via the Bolivian border town of San Matias .

Guajara-Mirim ( Brazil ) is a short river crossing from Guayaramerin ( Bolivia ). Both towns have bus links into their respect­ive countries, but from late December to late February rains can make the northern Bolivian roads very difficult.

Brasileia ( Brazil ), a 41/2-hour bus ride from Rio Branco, stands opposite Cobija ( Bolivia ), which has bus connections into Bolivia . This route is less direct than the Guayaramerin-Guajara-Mirim option, and Bolivian buses confront the same wet season difficulties.

CHILE

Although there is no border with Chile, direct buses run between Santiago and Bra­zilian cities such as Porto Alegre (US$116, 36 hours), Curitiba, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (US$130, 62 hours).

COLOMBIA

Leticia, on the Rio Amazonas in far south­east Colombia , is contiguous with Tabat­inga ( Brazil ). You can cross the border on foot, combi or taxi, but river and air are the only ways out of either town.

FRENCH GUIANA

The Brazilian town of Oiapoque, a rugged 560km bus ride (or a quick flight) from

Macapa, stands across the Rio Oiapoque from St Georges ( French Guiana ). An unpaved road from St Georges to Regina , about halfway to the French Guiana capital, Cayenne , was expected to open officially in 2004. At the time of writing it was possible to get a truck along the road for around US$35. Taxi-buses between Regina and Cayenne cost US$10. St Georges-Cayenne flights cost US$40.

GUYANA

Lethem (southwest Guyana ) and Bonfim ( Roraima , Brazil ) are a short boat ride apart. You can travel between Lethem and the Guyanese capital, Georgetown , by plane or truck. The latter takes between two days and two weeks, depending on weather con­ditions. Bonfim is a two-hour bus ride from Boa Vista, Roraima.

PARAGUAY

The two major border crossings are Ciu­dad del Este-Foz do Igua~u and Pedro Juan Caballero-Ponta Pora. The latter gives ac­cess to the Pantanal. Direct buses run be­tween Asuncion and such Brazilian cities as Curitiba (US$40, 18 hours), Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (US$69, 28 hours).

PERU

The only available land route across the long Peru-Brazil border is via Inapari, a 10-hour minibus or truck ride north of Puerto Maldonado ( Peru ). You wade across the Rio Acre between Inapari and the small Brazilian town of Assis Brazil , a three- to four-hour bus or 4WD trip from Brasileia.

SURINAME

Overland travel between Suriname and Brazil involves first passing through either French Guiana or Guyana .

URUGUAY

The crossing most used by travelers is at Chuy ( Uruguay )-Chuff ( Brazil ). Other crossings are Rio Branco-Jaguarao, Isi­doro Noblia-Acegua, Rivera-Santana do Livramento, Artigas-Quarai and Bella Union-Barra do Quarai. Buses run be­tween Montevideo and Brazilian cities such as Porto Alegre (US$58, 12 hours), Florianopolis , Curitiba , Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (US$130, 39 hours).