Brazil souvenirs: what to buy in Rio and what to leave behind

At a glance

What to buy in Brazil

Coffee. Brazil is the obvious place to buy it, and supermarkets and specialty coffee shops in Rio carry beans and ground coffee from Minas Gerais, São Paulo and other regions. Vacuum packs travel best.

Cachaça. The sugarcane spirit behind the caipirinha. Supermarkets sell the well-known labels; specialty shops and bars carry small producers and aged cachaças. Put bottles in checked luggage.

Sweets. Goiabada (guava paste), doce de leite, paçoca (peanut sweet) and cocadas are easy to pack and sold everywhere. Check the rules of your home country for food before you buy in bulk.

Havaianas and beachwear. Brazilian flip-flops, swimwear, beach sarongs (cangas) and light clothing. Rio’s beach culture means the range is wide and the sizes run Brazilian, so try things on.

Football shirts. Brazil’s national team and the Rio clubs. Club stores and sports shops sell the official ones.

Crafts and music. Handmade jewellery, paintings, leather sandals, woodwork and Northeastern crafts at the fairs below, plus percussion instruments and records if you liked the samba.

For Brazilian food worth tasting before you buy it, see Brazilian food.

Gems: only with a receipt

Brazil is famous for gemstones such as amethyst, topaz, tourmaline and aquamarine, many from Minas Gerais. If you buy one:

• Ask for the nota fiscal, the official electronic receipt. Without it, do not buy.
• Keep the printed DANFE (the receipt printout) until you fly. The Receita Federal rules on sales of precious and semi-precious stones to non-residents say it is shown to customs at the airport if they ask.
• Ask the seller to write down the stone, its weight in carats and whether it is natural or synthetic.

If you are heading to Minas Gerais and Ouro Preto, we can plan the visit with a guide who speaks your language.

Where to shop in Rio

The Hippie Fair is a short walk from the beach; see our Ipanema guide. For the rest of the city, start with things to do in Rio.

What you cannot take out of Brazil

These rules come from the Receita Federal, IBAMA and IPHAN. The Receita Federal says its lists are examples, not a complete list, so when in doubt, ask before you buy.

Wild animals and products made from them. Brazil’s environmental crimes law (Lei 9.605/1998, article 29) makes it an offence to sell, buy, export or transport wild fauna and the products and objects made from it without authorization. Exporting wildlife parts and products needs an IBAMA licence. On the Receita Federal list, wild animals, butterflies and other insects and their products cannot leave without a permit from the Ministry of the Environment, and raw skins and hides of amphibians and reptiles are prohibited. In practice: no feather headdresses, butterfly-wing pictures, shell or tooth jewellery from wild species, or snake and caiman leather.

Plants, seeds and food. The Receita Federal lists plants and their parts (seeds included) and products of animal or plant origin, food included, as restricted: they need clearance from the agricultural inspection service Vigiagro, ideally before departure, whatever the amount.

Cultural goods. According to IPHAN, these cannot leave Brazil:

• items listed as heritage by IPHAN;
• art and crafts made in or brought into Brazil up to the end of the monarchy in 1889;
• objects of archaeological or prehistoric interest, including some old coins and medals;
• books and document collections by Brazilian authors or about Brazil, published from the 16th to the 19th century.

IPHAN runs an online service on gov.br to check whether a specific item has restrictions. Mass-produced souvenirs do not need its opinion.

Other restricted items on the Receita Federal list include medicines (Anvisa), weapons and controlled products (Army), and rough diamonds from outside the Kimberley Process.

Your home country has its own import rules and allowances. Check them on your customs authority’s website before you fly.

How we help

We can plan a shopping morning at the fairs with a guide who speaks your language, add a stop at a market to a private tour in Rio, or book a private driver so you are not carrying bags across the city.

What to tell us in your request

• Your dates in Rio (fairs run on fixed days)
• What you want to buy: crafts, gems, coffee, music, fashion
• Number of travelers
• The language you want the guide to speak
• Whether you are also visiting Minas Gerais or other regions

Terms and payment are set out in the proposal; you pay nothing before you confirm. Check entry requirements on official websites.