My daughter, who is a senior at the University of Delaware, is studying abroad in Brazil starting in January. She will be in Salvador da Bahia, along the NE coast. How safe is it in that area of Brazil and/or Brazil?

I have a friend whose 26 yr old daughter is roaming around Brazil now, alone. Her mother is terrified, but the girl seems unfazed. She has troubles using a cell phone and finding computers when she is out of the cities. She didn’t communicate w. her parents for 10 days and they were pretty edgy, but she was fine.

OTOH, the cities are where the gangs are and the danger to American tourists is highest. Make sure that she doesn’t travel alone, particularly at night.

I would really grill the staff at the U of Del, who are responsible for the care and safety of the students. They will know; and there is a lot of info online about tourism and safety in Rio and Sao Paulo, for example. And I would try to have a regular time for a check-in from your daughter, barring contingencies.

Not very. Though my sister-in-law travels with two other blonde hair Americans to Argentina this summer and was continue harassed by men, who follow them around cat-calling and nothing horrible happens. She was uncomfortable, and might not do it ever again, alone, but in the end, was safe. I am under the impression, most of South America is similar to Argentina in this manor. A little discretion will go a long way.