On-trip assistance in Brazil: when something goes wrong

At a glance

First things first

If there is a risk to anyone’s life, health or belongings right now, call the emergency services. You can write to us afterwards.

Everything else (documents, the police report, a doctor, luggage, a failed booking) can be handled step by step. For each case below you will find what you do and what we take on.

Lost or stolen passport

What you do:

1. Report the loss or theft to the police and keep the report. Your consulate, bank and insurer will ask for it.
2. If cards were kept with the passport, call your bank.
3. Contact your country’s embassy or consulate and ask for an emergency travel document. Requirements and opening hours differ by country, so check them on the consulate’s own website.

If you have to fly to another city for consular services, the UK FCDO says British travellers whose passport was stolen can take domestic flights in Brazil with another valid photo ID or a police report. Ask the airline before you buy the ticket.

What we do: arrange an interpreter and someone to go with you to the police, help you book the consulate appointment, and rebuild the days lost to paperwork. If you need to travel to Brasília or São Paulo, we book the transfers and the hotel there.

Theft

You will need a police report for the consulate, the bank and your insurer. In Portuguese it is the Boletim de Ocorrência, and in Rio de Janeiro state people usually say Registro de Ocorrência. The Prefeitura do Rio advises foreign visitors to file it at DEAT, the special police station for tourists, at Avenida Afrânio de Melo Franco, 159, Leblon. Official sources list different phone numbers for it, so we do not publish one: we call the station ourselves and, if needed, go there with you.

After the report:

• block your cards through your bank;
• if your phone is gone, block the SIM with your carrier and change your email and messenger passwords;
• keep a copy of the report for your insurer.

From our side: a trip to DEAT with an interpreter, a list of the missing items in Portuguese, and help with a new SIM or eSIM (see SIM cards and eSIM in Brazil). Tours and transfers on the lost day move under our usual change rules.

Falling ill

If it is an emergency, call 192 (SAMU) straight away.

Otherwise:

• With travel insurance, call your insurer’s 24-hour line first and follow their instructions. The FCDO advises contacting the insurer quickly if you are referred to a medical facility.
• Private hospitals will not accept you unless you can show you have enough money or insurance to cover the treatment (FCDO).
• Foreign nationals are entitled to emergency treatment in public hospitals, which the FCDO describes as overcrowded in the big cities.

We point you to private clinics near where you stay, find an interpreter for the appointment, book a car there and back, and move the next days’ plans. We do not give medical advice and we take no commission from clinics: you or your insurer pay for treatment. Vaccines and insurance before the trip: health tips for Brazil.

Luggage, bookings, interpreter, money

Your bag did not arrive

Go to the airline desk before you leave the airport and file a baggage irregularity report (Relatório de Irregularidade de Bagagem, RIB). Keep the report number and the bag tag. We write to the airline, follow the status, arrange delivery to your hotel and tell you where to buy what you need in the meantime.

A booking fell through

If you booked through us and the service fails because of the provider or us, we find a replacement. If there is none, we refund the deposit in full. If the booking was your own, we can find accommodation or a transfer and send the terms before you agree.

You need an interpreter now

Pharmacy, police, a talk with your landlord, a car rental desk: we find an interpreter who speaks Portuguese and your language and agree the format right away.

Card or money problems

Only your bank can fix these. If a card is blocked, lost or charged wrongly, call the bank or use its app at once. The FCDO advises keeping your card in sight, checking the amount on the terminal before paying and asking for a receipt. Keep the bank’s number for calls from abroad separate from the card.

Official travel advice

The U.S. Department of State rates Brazil Level 2, “Exercise increased caution” (31.08.2026). The Government of Canada advises a high degree of caution, with regional advisories (14.10.2026). The UK FCDO page was updated on 29.09.2026. Read the full pages through the links in the sources, and for practical tips see safety tips for Rio.

What to tell us in your request

• start the message with “Urgent”;
• where you are right now (city, area, hotel);
• what happened, in one or two lines;
• your booking number, if you booked with us;
• what you need first: interpreter, someone to go with you, a doctor, a new booking;
• the best way to reach you if your phone is gone (email, a travel companion’s number).

How to reach us

• A person answers from 8:00 to 20:00 Rio time, on the same working day.
• You can write at any hour. Messages sent after 20:00 are read in the morning, so at night call 190, 192 or 193 if life or health is at risk.
• Channels are on the contact page.

What we handle. We tell you where to go and arrange someone to go with you: to the police, the consulate, a clinic or the airline. We find an interpreter, rework accommodation, transfers and tours, and keep you informed. We do not replace the emergency services, your bank, your insurer or your consulate. How deposits, changes and replacements work: how we work.