Verizon Travel Pass in Rio and Sao Paulo Brazil

[kj312]

Does anyone have experience with the Verizon Travel Pass in Rio and Sao Paulo? Verizon rep said they offer service there but can't guarantee the quality. I've read some forums that suggest that it's hard to get good service there.

[Kioji]

It's probably similar to sprint's which seems to pick up random service if they have none and it's generally ok but I opted to used an international phone and a local sim when I was in Rio last month.
for Sprint anything past 1gb was extra and i didn't went to even get near that so i just went with a new phone and sim and brought my normal phone too. You only need to use whatsapp in Brazil though/

[kj312]

It's probably similar to sprint's which seems to pick up random service if they have none and it's generally ok but I opted to used an international phone and a local sim when I was in Rio last month.
for Sprint anything past 1gb was extra and i didn't went to even get near that so i just went with a new phone and sim and brought my normal phone too. You only need to use whatsapp in Brazil though/

Thanks for the reply. I heard Uber comes in handy. Verizon is only $10 a day for unlimited. How do you go about getting an international phone?

[Kioji]

Thanks for the reply. I heard Uber comes in handy. Verizon is only $10 a day for unlimited. How do you go about getting an international phone?

Amazon I bought one for $60, it's dual sim. Just buy a local sim in Brazil and get the store workers to set it up for you explain you are a tourist and don't have a cpf you should be able to do it with a passport number but make sure to go to one fo the stores for Claro,Vivo,Tim, or Oi.
just type international phones on amazon you can find cheaper if i recall
I used the hell out of Uber

[kj312]

Maybe I'll try the travel pass first. $10 a day seems like less hassle than getting the SIM.

[KorbinDallas]

I was in Rio in November and going back in 2 weeks. Took my iPhone 7 plus with Sprint and their free international plan. Worked great. I connected to WiFi a lot. Lots of places have WiFi, just ask for the password. Did not use over 1GB of data so I was o.k. Used WhatsApp to contact just about everyone. On my previous trip I had brought alone a friends old Blackberry and purchased a sim card there but it was a hassle and I found using my iPhone worked just fine.

[kj312]

I was in Rio in November and going back in 2 weeks. Took my iPhone 7 plus with Sprint and their free international plan. Worked great. I connected to WiFi a lot. Lots of places have WiFi, just ask for the password. Did not use over 1GB of data so I was o.k. Used WhatsApp to contact just about everyone. On my previous trip I had brought alone a friends old Blackberry and purchased a sim card there but it was a hassle and I found using my iPhone worked just fine.

Sounds good. I am hoping the international plan will work good with Verizon. I'm mostly interested in using Uber. I plan to have wifi in the hotel. I will download WhatsApp. Any other tips for Rio and Sao Paulo? Most people I talked to recommend staying near Ipanema in Rio.

[KorbinDallas]

I always stay at the Princess Copacabana. Girl friendly, decent price and good location. Has WiFi. Almost all the restaurants I went to have wifi and will gladly enter the pass word for you if you ask. Ipanema is nice, I would recommend the Visconti. If you stay in Ipanema go to Bar do Beto. great restaurant.