Back to main-page General Informations: German Version

*General Infos about* *the aparments:*	The apartment-rent includes ALL costs (gas, water, taxes, security). Except is ONLY electric energy: Electric energy is very expensive in Brazil at the moment - more expensive than in europe. With air-condition can be wasted a lot of energy and that is the reason we charge energy separate at ALL apartments. The electric ounter will read at your moving-in and at your moving-out and we charge the consumption at our own costs to you. As example you can imagine about 1,50.- Euro a day for every person. If you use electric energy and air-condition in a normal, responsible way (only when you stay in the apartment and with closed windows) it will be a less. Check-in to the apartments is possible starting 12.00 h noon. Check-out has to be also up to 12.00 h noon (as usual in nearly all hotels worldwide). At moving-in all apartments are cleaned and with fresh towels and bedding-ware equipped. If you wish, the apartments can be cleaned and towels and bedding-ware can be changed weekly. Depending on your apartment this will be free of charge or at low cost (about 25.- US-Dollar).
*Infos about monthly price, long time rent:*	The "monthly price" shown at the website is only valid if you rent 60 days (2 months) or more. Most apartment rentings are during november to february and many apartments are empty during low season times, but producing costs all over the year - even when empty. Therefore apt.-owners must earn the money to pay the costs especially in high-season times. So please understand that´s the reason for monthly prices are NEVER valid in high-season times. If you want to rent 60 days for monthly prices, than the rent time must be completly or most of the time in low seasons. The only exception to this rule will be if you rent 4, 5 or 6 months (or more). Apartment owners CAN give you a discount on daily prices if you rent for 60 days in high-season. But please keep in mind that this discount depends on the owner, on the already booked capacity and will be a small discount that cannot compare with the (very cheap) monthly prices.
*Visa / Entry* *Payments / Passport:*	There are a lot of airlines which fly to Fortaleza. From Europe it is best you fly with TAP, Condor, Iberia or TAM. Im my opinion TAP is taking too much advantage of their direct-fly to Fortaleza. TAP prices are high, service and quality of meals onboard is worse and fees for rebookings or other changes are very high. So i suggest to fly with some of the other airlines. Generally you don´t need a visa to travel to Brazil. As a tourist you will get a 90 day stay if you enter Brazil. You can prolong this days one time if you go to the local "Federal Police" BEFORE your 90 days exceed. Sometimes you get only 30 days at the airport if you enter Brazil. In this case you have to go to the Federal Police soon. It is highly recommended that you take your passport with you every time you leave your apartment. If you will be controled by federal-police without your passport you can be arrested and maybe you must pay a fee of around 300.- brazilian real. As payment methods in Fortaleza we suggest you to use cash. There are a lot of electronic-cash machines in Fortaleza which accept American Express, Master-Cards and Visa-Cards and pay you the local currency (brazilian real). Also "EC-Cards" with "Maestro" sign are working at the "Banco do Brasil", "HSBC" and "Banco 24 horas" (electronic cash) and you can withdraw 1000.- Real at daytime and 200.- Real at night-time. Depending at actually exchange-rates it can be much better to take money by electronic-cash than to change traveller-cheques or cash. But i suggest you not to trust 100 % in electronic-cash, because sometimes it can happen that the machines are not working and in this case you will be lost without cash.
*Drivers license:*	In Brazil you will need an official brazil translation of your national or international driver-license. Best is, if you ask a local authority where to get this translation. The translation, the original drivers-license and ALL car-papers must be carried with you if you use a car. If you will be stopped by the police and you cannot show ALL documents you pay a fee and go back to your appartment / hotel by feet or by taxi and take the missing papers.
*Traffic / Taxis:*	Nearly the same traffic rules like in Europe or America - but a little bit more chaotic traffic. Existing many stationary radar-controls in Fortaleza. Be carefully - the fees for wrong parking, red-light crossing or speed-limits are very expensive ! Sometimes you don´t notice if the police notes your car - and the fee will be only weeks later by post. If you are in doubt about fees call the local "DETRAN" and ask for fees at your car-license-number. Attention: Driving and alcohol is in Brazil strictly forbidden - 0,00 %. If police catch you, you pay extremly high fines or get prisoned ! Gasoline costs around 1.40 Euro/Liter (in 09.2011). Gasoline prices can be different and are depending on the gasoline-stations. If you pay gasoline with a credit-card oftly you will pay a higher price. There are a lot of police-controls, especially at night. Also prohibited is to use a handy during driving and it is obrigatory to use a safty-belt every time. At the main-streets there are a lot of traffic-police - so you have a "good chance" to get a ticket. At night-time many drivers pass the "red-lights" at crossings. That is not allowed but normally tolerated at very low speed and from 9.00 pm to 05.00 am - so you must take care - also if you pass a "green" traffic-light ! Yellow side markings at the street or a sign with a red-crossed "E" means parking prohibited. Also forbidden is to drive with bathing-slippers - if you cannot avoid, take out and drive bare-feet - this is allowed. If you are parking at areas with lot of people mostly you find "parking-guards". They are not official - but if you don´t pay them, sometimes they will damage your car at your next parking-stay. Generally you give them 50 centavos up to 1.- Real before leaving with your car. Sometimes this guys want up to 5.- Real. As they really do nothing (normally the do not watch your car - only watch their money) i suggest in this case that you search for another parking place because this "parking.guards" in real are only little blackmailers. Be carefully of pot-holes and other street-damages - these things are not marked like in european countrys. Especially at night-time or when its raining, this can cost you a new tire soonly if you not pay attention. Because this is a problem of nearly all streets in north-east of Brazil you can find tire-garages nearly everywhere. This tire-garages (Borracharia) can sometimes repair tires that you normally (in Europe) never can use anymore. Also new for Brazil-Newcomers are high swellings at some streets. This swellings (to slow down the cars) are mostly shown in advance by signs or smaller (harmful) swellings - but sometimes NOT - be careful ! If you get catched by the police and you have to pay a fee you can try to negotiate with them - sometimes this can be sucessfully, sometimes not.... Taxis: Airport-Taxis are a little bit more expensive than normal taxis. All taxis have normally a taxameter with 2 price-levels: daytime (1) and night-time/weekend (2). Travellers using taxis should verify that the taxameter is switched on and showing the right price-level. It is also common to negotiate the price before using a taxi and than to drive without taxameter. Mostly at places with a lot of taxis you can get a much better price this way. Travellers which don´t negotiate the price before using a taxi and than drive with switched-off taxameter will be charged sometimes a very high price !
*Beaches / Restaurants:*	Fortaleza has a lot of different and beautyful beaches. Near to all of our apartments there is the "Beira-Mar" - city-beach of Fortaleza. Also exist in around 5 KM distance the white sand beach "Praia do Futuro". A longer way it is to "Icarai" (ca. 25 KM) or the dune-beach Combuco (ca. 40 KM) and many, many other beaches. There are existing beautyful and totally lonesome beaches and lagoons, that you can reach with a car in 30 to 60 minutes. See the Foto-Gallery ! At most beaches you can drive with your car directly to the water or make a sightseeing at the beach side (buggy or 4-wheel-driven-car recommended !). At "Combuco" you can hire a driver with a buggy to make a dune-tour. Except the weekends and some "in"-points the beaches are mostly not crowded. Very beautyful is also the ex-Hippy beach "Canoa Quebrada" (see Foto-Gallery) which is located around 180 KM away from Fortaleza. There we can support you also with small apartments or vacation-rooms. Brazilian style restaurants you will find at every corner of Fortaleza. If you like more european style cooking, we recommend the restaurant "Carne na Pedra", Avenida Beira Mar 4456 (at the final of "Beira Mar", opposite the small fishing port). The boss (Thomas) is a german and as speciality of the house he offers fine beef roasted on a hot lava stone, directly at your table. In addition you get roasting potatoes, salads and a lot more.
*Night-Life / Language:*	Fortaleza supports every wish you have at night-time. Well known is the "Pirata" which offers live-music in brazilian atmosphere every monday (located at the "Praia de Iracema"). The Pirata (see Foto-Gallery) is for every Fortaleza-Newcomer a "must see" ! But existing a lot of other night-time attractions also. At the "Praia de Iracema" are a lot of pubs, discos and restaurants with live-music concentrated. I could go on writing about this now for hours - but I suggest it´s better you come and see by yourself ! Important is that you have a car, a map or someone who knows the city. If not you will end up in the tourist-discos at the Praia de Iracema. It is cheap to get there by taxi - but not everyones is really satisfied there. Best you come, look and decide for yourself ! Language: In Brazil people are speaking a slowly different type of the portugues language. Travellers that speak italian, spanish or portugues, will have no problems. To all others we highly suggest to buy a travel-dictionary. English is only spoken at the airport or in some hotels. Who wants to "make his way" after leaving the airport has to speak some basic portugues words - for taxi, in discos, supermarket or offices.
*Criminality:*	Existing several horror-storys about Brazil. For shure is - you are NOT in europe with is more safety. But really it isn´t so dangerous in Fortaleza like some newspapers or TV will make you believe. Generally it is a good advice not to take expensive watches, video-equipment and a lot of cash with you if you not really need it. Especially expensive watches or gold-chains are not recommended - not at day time and never at night-time ! Also: Don´t pay the beggars ! Every year they are getting more and more and this is only because of stupid tourists give them money, cigarettes and so on. If nobody pays them they will disappear !! Also it can happen that you take out your money to pay a beggar while a second one is using the situation, taking your whole money running away. This and pick-pockets (often children) are a lot in the streets of the tourist-discos - but easy to avoid if you take a little bit care. If you take a unknown girl to your apartment, take care of your cash and other valuable things. Also a safe is only safety, if nobody can find the key ! Everytime control the ID-Card of the person, you want to take to your apartment ! If you take a person which is under 18 years old you can end up in prison soon. These things are strictly controlled in Fortaleza (also by civil-police) and punished by high penalty !! If you are in doubt about the age please check the id-card twice - some girls are using falsifications. Avoid also - especially if you are first time in Brazil the slums ("Favelas"). Also take care, if you use electronic-cash machines - look who waits outside ! But anyway - don´t worry too much: If you are a little bit carefully and don´t walk alone at night-time in empty streets you will be mostly in security. Also the police is very active in touristic areas. If you compare Fortaleza with i.E. Miami or New-York it is nearly harmless.