Currency
Brazilian currency is the Real: 100 cents = 1 Real. Bills are of 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 2 Reais. Coins are of 1 Real, 50, 25, 10 and 5 cents. All banks and currency exchange shops accept Traveller Checks and foreign currency (usually US Dollars and Euros). Credit cards from American Express, Diners Club, Mastercard and Visa are accepted in the main hotels, shops and restaurants. Banking hours are from 10:00AM to 4:00PM, Mondays through Fridays. ATM machines are available, (Banco 24 horas) in the Convention Center complex and close to the main hotels.
Time
Brazil has various time ranges, however, the standard time range is 03 hours less than GMT.
Power
Standard electric current is 127 volts, however, in some hotels you will find 127v as well as 220v.
Climate
Curitiba climate is temperate and temperature during the month of October oscillates between 18 C and 28º C
Tips
In the main bars and restaurants, a surcharge of 10% is added to the bill. More sophisticated environments may charge 15%. When the service charge is not included in the bill, there will be an indication in the upper part of the bill (Serviço não incluído). Taxi drivers do not normally receive tips, however, rounding off the amount on the meter is normal.
Brazilian food and beverages.
The main and most common dishes are meat, rice and beans. Many restaurants offer free buffets and we have many regional dishes. Some examples:
The Bahia State dishes are: Vatapá, Carurú and Sarapatel; in Rio Grande do Sul State, the typical dish is Churrasco (Barbecue); The Amazon region main dish is Tacacá. All alcoholic beverages are widely available, including excellent beers such as Skol, Brahma, Antártica, and Cerpa. The most popular beverage is Cachaça (sugar cane alcohol), served as Caipirinha (cachaça plus lemon and sugar). There are a large variety of soft drinks, like Guaraná, many varieties of fruit juices and vitaminas (vitamin drinks of fruit mixed in the blender with water or milk). Our world renowned coffee is always served strong.
Shopping
In a country the size of Brazil, same as with food, the buyer has any number of options. In the main cities, the malls stay open from 10AM to 10PM, street front stores open at 8:00 AM and close at 6:00 PM. The malls also open on Sunday afternoons.
Golf
Curitiba has a number of Golf Courses, all of them private clubs with green fees. Practically downtown, the Graciosa Country Club offers a 9 hole course; a few minutes from the city, there are the Clube Curitibano (18 holes);. For further information, ask at the event bureau.
Places to stay.
The tourism agency provides a list of hotels that were reserved for the event, to and from which we have transport service. For security’s sake, choose amongst those so as to always be in touch with the organizers. The event bureau will be open at the ExpoUnimed during office hours, from 8AM to 6PM; if you need any information, please call us.
