If you have a connecting flight in other airports in Brazil, such as São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro, be aware that you will most likely have to take your luggage to clear customs at your first point of departure in Brazil, even if that is not your final destination. Your airline company should warn you about this before your departure.
Belo Horizonte has two airports: Confins and Pampulha. All participants arriving by air will arrive at Confins airport, which is the region’s main international and national hub.
Confins Airport is about 30 km from Belo Horizonte. There are a number of possibilities to get to the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) or to the hotels:
A little more information about each option:
The airport website has some information that can be useful to passengers: https://www.bh-airport.com.br/en
You may pay by many payment methods, including cash, and credit and debit cards, but payment may depend on the service, so it´s good to always check if your preferred method is available.
If you have an Uber account, paying directly from the app may be your easiest option. Some taxi drivers have a credit card machine, but you’d better ask before boarding. The company that operates the bus to and from the airport has options to buy tickets online using a credit card. However, there does not seem to have an option online or indication of which line it is, so you cannot be sure that it will go by the Pampulha Airport.
Local buses only take cash.
Visa and Mastercard credit cards are widely accepted in Brazil, either by chip-and-pin or contactless. Visa debit cards may not be as widely accepted in all places. The organization has tested a UK card with Visa Debit, and it worked on Brazilian card machines asking to pay in the credit function. Note that you might need to contact you credit/debit card company (preferably before coming) to inform or authorize the use of your card in Brazil.
If you have a multicurrency card, you may use it normally as either credit or debit cards (depending on your contract). Wise, for example, already offers the possibility of opening an account in Brazilian reais (BRL).
The great majority of places you can pay through credit card and usually don´t need to carry cash. However, if you´d like to have some cash, you may exchange some money at Global Exchange at Confins airport. At the university, the service square has two bank branches, in which you may withdraw money from an ATM using the credit function in your card (if it is available, and depending on the contract you signed with your bank). The bank branches are Banco do Brasil and Santander.
Many of the hotels are located within walking distance to the convention center of UFMG’s Engineering School. BH Jaraguá hotel, for example, is about 1.5km away from the conference center.
Uber is widely available at Belo Horizonte. It might be a handy option for people coming from overseas who would like to avoid carrying cash. You may load your Uber account and pay for journeys using your app. There are also several taxi companies that will take credit card payment.
Public transport includes local buses to most places. There is a bus stop right in front of the conference centre (https://portalsumob.pbh.gov.br/quadrodehorario?linha=5102). Bus tickets cost R$ 5.75.
The best address to give a taxi or Uber driver is “Escola de Engenharia” (Av. Pres. Antônio Carlos, 6627 – Campus UFMG”). This address will take you to a parking lot right next to the conference centre, where there will be plenty of signposting to the event. If you include other specific blocks, such as “Bloco 1”, “Bloco 3” or “Biblioteca da Escola de Engenharia da UFMG”, it will take you to places slightly farther away from the conference venue.
Belo Horizonte has a population of 2.5mi people, making it a big metropolis. Walking in groups during daytime near the university is normally safe. One should be aware of one’s surroundings at all times, and always keep an eye out for purses, wallets, backpacks and other belongings. It is best to avoid walking with your cell phone in your hand or with computers in sight. Walking on your own in the dark should be avoided. Asking the hotel concierge about if it is safe to walk to a specific destination at a specific time can be useful, as they know the region well. The website Numbeo compiles crime rates for cities around the world. You may check how Belo Horizonte fares in comparison to other world metropoles you might be more acquainted with (https://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings_current.jsp). Belo Horizonte is safer than other Brazilian big cities, such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
September marks the transition from Brazilian Winter to Spring. The average maximum temperature for September in Belo Horizonte is 29oC (just after lunchtime until mid-afternoon), and the average minimum temperature is 16oC (after nightfall and in the first hours of the day) – see more at https://weather-and-climate.com/Belo-Horizonte-September-averages. You may also check a more detailed weather forecast for the week of the event at https://www.accuweather.com/en/br/belo-horizonte/44403/september-weather/44403.
In September, it does not usually rain in Belo Horizonte, although we have had some occasional rain last week. It might get slightly dry, so do carry a water bottle around to keep yourself hydrated, and wear a sun screen to protect your skin. If you are the sort of person who feels a bit chilly, you might want to bring a thin long sleeve piece for the evening events.
Unlike many countries in Northern Europe and North America, in Brazil, lunch is the main meal of the day. Arrangements for a full Brazilian lunch for all participants inside the conference venue would require substantial efforts, and the conference venue wouldn’t be comfortable for this setting. For this reason, the conference organization opted for organizing the schedule to allow participants to have lunch outside of the conference venue. Registration costs were also reduced accordingly considering that lunch was not offered. There will be enough time in all days for participants to go for lunch at nearby restaurants and be back before the afternoon sessions.
The organization has mapped a number of restaurants on campus and off campus that participants may go to. Restaurants on campus have been contacted and will offer discounted prices for participants with an INTERACT badge. We will hand in a map with all restaurants in the surrounding area in the conference welcome pack.
Most restaurants operate at a “self-service” per-kilo buffet, one of the most popular food services in Brazil. At this service, clients take a plate and help themselves to as much food as they want off the buffet, and they head to a scale to weigh their plate with food, take a tab with the price due according to the weight and head to the table to eat. Restaurants on campus have a very reasonable price. A plate with 500g worth of food would come for between € 5 and € 10, depending on the restaurant.
Belo Horizonte and most cities in the states of the Southeastern region of Brazil have treated water. However, while the municipal water company, COPASA, assures that the water is treated and safe when it leaves the treatment plant, they can assure the condition of the pipes all the way to faucets. Thus, in Brazil, the recommendation is to not drink tap water directly and instead consume filtered water or buy bottled water. The university has many water filters around campus where you can fill up your bottle with safe drinking water.
Electricity in most of Belo Horizonte operates at 110V. Please be aware that Brazil uses a different power plug standard. Please make sure you bring a universal power adapter for your trip.
Wifi Internet will be available on campus at UFMG for all conference participants. We will make a visitor’s login available, and you may also use Eduroam to use Wifi on campus. You will probably have good quality Wifi Internet connection at your hotel.
There is no public internet available in the city.
Thus, we recommend you get some sort of Internet connection to use elsewhere to go sightseeing and using local transportation, such as Uber. You may get an eSIM or a local SIM card. Brazilian mobile networks are stricter than in other countries in terms of identifying who is using a SIM card.
The main mobile operators in Brazil are Vivo, Claro, and TIM. The main operators offer sim cards, but conditions and price depend on each company.
The registration desks will be located at ground level of the Convention Center of the Engineering School of UFMG.
The conference activities will take place in two buildings: the convention center of the Engineering School and the Institute of Exact Sciences (ICEx), which is just across the street from the main conference venue. There will be student volunteers (with a bright yellow shirt) outside of the main conference venue and inside ICEx to guide participants to other rooms at the ICEx building.
The venues for the main conference and workshops all have ramps to allow access to people who use wheelchairs. Toilets and other facilities can be accessed using accessible ramps or lifts (at ICEx).
Our welcome cocktail starts off with a choir presentation with Ars Nova on Monday 8 September 6:30pm at the main Auditorium. From their, we’ll follow to the building across the road for a garden cocktail at the Computer Science Department.
On Wednesday, there will be buses from the conference venue to the restaurant straight after the last session. After the dinner, buses will take participants back to the main hotels in the Pampulha area.
