Official governments are warning on Brazil: 2 do-not-travel source votes, 2 non-essential-travel source votes, and 5 caution source votes. For a backpacker, that points toward skipping the country for now unless the trip is essential and tightly controlled.
Different governments use different labels, but HostelPunk normalizes them into do_not, reconsider, and caution so the risk pattern is easier to compare across sources.
What the official warnings say
The batch contains 9 official sources for Brazil, with 2 do not travel warning items, 3 avoid non-essential travel warning items, and 12 use heightened caution warning items. Across the provided official items, the pattern is do not travel items from Global Affairs Canada, Ministere de l'Europe et des Affaires etrangeres, avoid non-essential travel items from Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Global Affairs Canada, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and caution items from Department of Foreign Affairs, Global Affairs Canada, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, plus 3 more.
The severe side of the file is 4 source votes and 5 warning items in do_not or reconsider.
Official warning list
Snapshot from official government travel-advisory sources checked by HostelPunk. Bands are normalized as do_not, reconsider, and caution; native government severity labels are preserved where available.
- Global Affairs Canada (
do_not; native: Avoid all travel; updated 2026-05-06; checked 2026-05-14): Brazil: Certain neighbourhoods in Rio de Janeiro - Avoid all travel. Avoid all travel to the following vulnerable neighbourhoods (favela complexes) in Rio de Janeiro due to very high rates of violent crime, frequent large-scale police operations and difficulty in obtaining emergency assistance: Complexo da Maré Complexo da Penha - Ministere de l'Europe et des Affaires etrangeres (
do_not; native: Zones formellement déconseillées (en rouge sur la carte); Zones déconseillées sauf raison impérative (en orange sur la carte); Zones de vigilance renforcée (en jaune sur la carte); updated 2026-04-16; checked 2026-05-14): Brésil - Conseils aux voyageurs: security zones. France Diplomatie currently places parts of Brésil above ordinary baseline travel advice. Native severity labels are preserved as: Zones formellement déconseillées (en rouge sur la carte); Zones déconseillées sauf raison impérative (en orange sur la carte); Zones de vigilance renforcée (en jaune sur la carte). Named areas/routes/borders include: Brasilia, Nordeste, Recife (État du Pernambuco, Région Nordeste), Salvador de Bahia (État de Bahia, Région Nordeste), Fortaleza (État du Ceará, Région Nordeste). - Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (
reconsider; native: FCDO advises against all but essential travel; updated 2026-05-11; checked 2026-05-14): Brazil: FCDO advises against all but essential travel. Areas where FCDO advises against all but essential travel Amazonas State FCDO advises against all but essential travel to the following river areas towards the west of Amazonas State: along the Amazonas (Amazon) River and its tributaries west of the town of Codajás and east of the town of Belém do Solimões in Amazonas State along any part of the Itaquaí River in Amazonas State along any part of the Japurá River or its tributa… - Global Affairs Canada (
reconsider; native: Avoid non-essential travel; updated 2026-05-06; checked 2026-05-14): Brazil: Border areas - Avoid non-essential travel. Avoid non-essential travel to the following border areas due to criminal activity related to drugs and arms smuggling by illegal armed groups and other criminal organizations: within 20 km of the border with Argentina, excluding Iguaçu National Park within 20 km of the border with Bolivia, excluding Pantanal National Park within 20 km of the border with Colombia within 20 km of the border with French Guiana within 2... - Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (
reconsider; native: none — Von touristischen und anderen nicht dringenden Reisen ins Grenzgebiet zu Venezuela wird abgeraten; updated 2025-10-29; checked 2026-05-14): FDFA travel advice for Brazil. The FDFA advises against tourist and non-urgent travel to/in border area with Venezuela. The current FDFA update note was published on 2025-10-29. - Department of Foreign Affairs (
caution; native: High Degree of Caution; updated 2026-05-07; checked 2026-05-14): Ireland DFA: High caution - Brazil. Ireland DFA currently rates Brazil as High Degree of Caution. exercise a high degree of caution at all times, and particularly during large festivals such as Carnival and New Year. - Global Affairs Canada (
caution; native: Exercise a high degree of caution; updated 2026-05-06; checked 2026-05-14): Brazil - Exercise a high degree of caution. Exercise a high degree of caution in Brazil due to high crime rates and regular incidents of gang-related and other violence in urban areas. - Ministry of Foreign Affairs (
caution; native: レベル1：十分注意してください。(継続）; updated 2026-02-20; checked 2026-05-14): Brazil: レベル1：十分注意してください。(継続）. Japan MOFA keeps Brazil in the listed area at レベル1：十分注意してください。(継続）; travelers should exercise a high degree of caution. The update notes cite ongoing security risks and advise travelers to monitor reliable information and take sufficient safety measures. - Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale (
caution; native: sicurezza - Aree di particolare cautela; updated 2026-01-29; checked 2026-05-14): Aree di particolare cautela. Official Viaggiare Sicuri marks Grandi città in Brasile for above-baseline travel caution due to security risks. Travelers are advised to use heightened caution and follow local authority instructions. - Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale (
caution; native: sanitaria - Situazione sanitaria; updated 2026-01-29; checked 2026-05-14): Situazione sanitaria. Official Viaggiare Sicuri marks Brasile for above-baseline travel caution due to health risks. Travelers are advised to use heightened caution and follow local authority instructions. - Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale (
caution; native: sanitaria - Situazione sanitaria; updated 2026-01-29; checked 2026-05-14): Situazione sanitaria. Official Viaggiare Sicuri marks Brasile for above-baseline travel caution due to dengue. Travelers are advised to use heightened caution and follow local authority instructions. - Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale (
caution; native: sanitaria - Situazione sanitaria; updated 2026-01-29; checked 2026-05-14): Situazione sanitaria. Official Viaggiare Sicuri marks Mato Grosso in Brasile for above-baseline travel caution due to dengue. Travelers are advised to use heightened caution and follow local authority instructions. - Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale (
caution; native: sicurezza - Area di particolare cautela; updated 2026-01-29; checked 2026-05-14): Area di particolare cautela. Official Viaggiare Sicuri marks Pantanal del Mato Grosso in Brasile for above-baseline travel caution due to security risks. Travelers are advised to use heightened caution and follow local authority instructions. - Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale (
caution; native: sanitaria - Situazione sanitaria; updated 2026-01-29; checked 2026-05-14): Situazione sanitaria. Official Viaggiare Sicuri marks Brasile for above-baseline travel caution due to health risks. Travelers are advised to use heightened caution and follow local authority instructions. - Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale (
caution; native: sicurezza - Sicurezza; updated 2026-01-29; checked 2026-05-14): Sicurezza. Official Viaggiare Sicuri marks Amazzonia in Brasile for above-baseline travel caution due to security risks. Travelers are advised to use heightened caution and follow local authority instructions. - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (
caution; native: Exercise a high degree of caution; updated 2026-01-07; checked 2026-05-14): Smartraveller advisory for Brazil: Exercise a high degree of caution. Australia Smartraveller lists Brazil at "Exercise a high degree of caution" on its current destinations index. The destination entry was updated on 2026-01-07. - Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (
caution; native: Exercise increased caution; updated 2024-11-28; checked 2026-05-14): Brazil: Exercise increased caution. Exercise increased caution in Brazil due to high crime rates (level 2 of 4).