Practicalities

On your first visit to Palmas, you’ll be amazed at how small the city really is. The center is where most hotels, restaurants, banks and shops are located. All within easy walking distance of each other. The busstation is 10 minutes away and the airport is 20 minutes away from the center.
Most information for visitors is available at the hotels.
Whenever you get lost, you can count on the Brazilian hospitality. Many people will stop what they are doing, to give you directions, or offer you the hospitality of their homes.

TOURIST INFORMATION
Palmas has no tourist information office. General information is available at your hotel. If you want information about the region around Palmas, you could talk to CATUR (Centro de Atendimento ao Turista). They have an office at the Cesamar Park and can arrange a guide for you. Or ask for the Amatur (Agencia do Meio Ambiente e Turismo).
If you want more than that, then visit the government departments called ‘Secretarias’ in Palmas center, e.g. Turismo, Communicação, Seplan or Cultura. At these places you will receive various leaflets, dvd´s and CDroms. Try also to find IBGE, where you can buy maps. Some travel agencies in Palmas can help you with organised trips. See below.

TELEPHONE
Area code in Tocantins is 63.
Local internet providers are rare. You can contact UOL, Terra or Oi. Fixed lines are in the hands of Oi, and they are performing badly. GVT, provider of internet via radio and cable, is not covering Palmas completely.
Your mobile phone will not work everywhere in Tocantins, as some areas are very remote.
You can buy Oi, Vivo, Tim or Claro sim cards at the shopping center. You will immediately receive your new number. Also when you choose for prepaid.
Using public phone: read more. http://gosouthamerica.about.com/cs/brazpract/ht/TelephoneBrazil.htm

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
Voltage in Palmas is 220V, frequency cycle is 60Hz, with typical Brazilian two-pin sockets. Power may vary, but could be better when the Lajeado power plant is at full steam. Most hotels use ´stabilizadores´ to keep computers running smoothly.
Recommended website about electricity, plug adapters, voltage converters, etc:
http://users.pandora.be/

POST
The Brazilian word for post is correios. Visit their website about how to send post. http://www.correios.com.br/cep/cep_formas.cfm

Opening hours
Shops between 08:00 and 18:00, from Monday to Friday. Saturday until 13:00. Shopping centers are opened every day until 22:00.

BANKS
The cash machines in Palmas are modern, and it will be no problem to use your cards in the various banks. All banks are located at the avenida JK, and some also on Av. Teotonio. Cash machines can also be found on the second floor of Palmas Shopping.
Banks are open from 11am to 4pm (and 10am to 3pm during summer time) Monday to Friday. Closed on Saturday.
Most accepted credit card is VISA and MasterCard.

Time Zone
The time in those parts of Brazil that are most visited by tourists, is three hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT-3).

UTC-5
Acre, Amazonas (west)

UTC-4
Amazonas (east), Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Para (west), Rondonia, Roraima

UTC-3
Alagoas, Amapa, Bahia, Ceará, Distrito Federal, Espírito Santo, Goias, Maranhão,
Minas Gerais, Pará (east), Paraiba, Paraná, Pernambuco (west), Piauí, Rio de Janeiro,
Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, São Paulo, Sergipe, Tocantins

UTC-2
Pernambuco (east)

Summer Time
Brazil sets its daylight saving period by decree every year. http://pcdsh01.on.br/DecHV.html.
During the period of Daylight Saving Time (October – February), Brazil’s clocks go forward one hour in most of the Brazilian southeast.
Currently applies to: Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Distrito Federal.

So Tocantins time is always GMT-3.

Weather / When to go ?
Although there is no period to avoid Tocantins for climate reasons, keep in mind that Tocantins is greener, and therefore more beautiful, in the period from October to May.
The temperatures in Palmas are extremely regular all year round. Temperatures vary from 30ºC to 38ºC. At 08:00 in the morning the sun is already hot. The nights are warm as well and will not get much under 25ºC. You will need a ventilator and/or airconditioning.
The months with the highest Feels Like Temperature are Sept-Oct and Feb-March. These are the months that the sun is coming right over. Cement walls and floors and tiled roofs start to radiate when exposed to the sun beams.
There is little wind to help you cool off during the dry season, although you will notice a breeze on the lake. At 17:00 a little breeze from the east is a daily welcome guest. During July and August hot and dry winds and whirlwinds bring dust every day.
Humidity can be above 80% in the rainy season, and below 30% in the dry season. The grass fires in the dry season can pollute the air.
From November to March is the wet season: that means it is still hot, but it rains almost every day in the late afternoon. There is no reason to avoid Tocantins in this period, on the contrary, but if you like to go offroad, you should take care. The soil does not absorb heavy rain very well and unpaved roads can become less accessible for small cars. Some areas like Ilha de Bananal will not be accessible by car.
The dry season is from May to September. That means no rain. The river Araguaia will be low and many sand beaches are being turned into weekend party villages with family huts for rent. The Tocantins river is getting more and more regulated by hydro power plants and the river keeps the same level all year round. Nonetheless you will find party beaches everywhere, especially during July holidays.
Mid December to mid January and July are the Brazilian holiday months.
More about ‘When to go to Brazil’ : http://www.letsgo.com/
More about Brasilian weather systems:
http://home.wxs.nl/~bange006/weather.html
http://www.inmet.gov.br

TRAVEL AGENCIES
Some travel agencies can book you for organised trips to Jalapão or Cantão.
These trips are only organised now and then, so check the agencies well in advance. The trips can be canceled, when the agency does not find enough participants.
The agencies are in Palmas center.
Autêntica Turismo (63) 3225 6000
Bananal Ecotour (63) 3028 4200
Banser (63) 3215 5334
Batista Pereira (63) 3215 1228
Korubo Overland (11) 3582 6968
Mais Turismo Paraíso (63) 3361 3167
Max Tur (63) 3215 2457
Norte Tur (63) 3215 4957
40° no Cerrado (63) 3215 8313
Ricanato Viagem e Turismo (63) 3215 2040
Summer Time Turismo (63) 3602 3732

HANDICRAFT / ARTESANATO
Click here. http://www.palmas.org/palmasart.htm

* content missing