Brazil
- Rotem Haskia
- Apr 22, 2020
- 15 min read
I think the best thing about Brazil is that this country has literally everything! From Pastoral beaches to wild jungles and from unique nature to modern cities. Although I covered a lot of places in Brazil it was actually just a really small chapter from a really big book and I don't think it's a book that anyone can finish in one trip so I guess we'll have to come back for more.
Fortaleza
In the North of Brazil with more than 30 km of beaches, the city offers various options, such as museums, theaters and in addition intense nightlife. The main attraction in Fortaleza is the crazy water park that is the largest one in South America but if you're not an adrenaline seeker I don't recommend staying here much. From Fortaleza it's common to go to Natal and then Pipa or to Lencois national park.
Jerri
Here you will not find any roads only sand, Jeri or in its official name Jericoacoara consists of blue lagoons, calm seas and huge dunes.
Where to sleep?
Meu Lugar hostel: a really nice and clean hostel. The rooms were really comfortable and the breakfast was really delicious. I can also recommend booking through here your tours, they were so happy to help us even when we had questions at 3 AM.
What to do?
Jeri Caffe: hosts a crazy afternoon party filled with acrobats, dancers, musicians and more shows that guarantees a great time. The party ends around 20:30 and after it moves to the beach.
Westside Buggy: The main tourists trips in Jerri are trips that are done either with a big Hilux van for about 10-12 people and cost around 50 rial, buggies for 4 people that cost around 300 rial or quads for 2 that gives you the option to drive in around 300 rial per quad. The trips go to the east and west sides of the coast when in my opinion the Westside is more for adrenaline and the Eastside is more for views. The westside tour with a buggy started and we drove to a lake where you can pay 15 rial for a boat ride to see Cavalo Marino which is sea horses and then we continued by the ocean to see more lakes and viewpoints by the sea. We stopped at Balsa Do Gùriù and Mangue Do Gùriù where we saw a beautiful lake and took pictures on pastoral swings hanging on the many trees covered with flowers in front of the blue view. Our last stop was Tatajuba where you can pay 15 rial for 3 slides on the scary water slide or pay 15 rial for a zipline that will take you straight to the water. At the bottom of the lake you can pick yourself one of the water hammocks and relax not by but in the lake.
Eastside Hilux ride: Today for the Eastside we chose to rent an Hilix van all 10 people together. We went first to a beach where we took a beautiful walk on a rocky beach with very interesting formation to the famous Pedra Furada that is a rock that looks like a bridge and in the right months the sun sets exactly in the middle of it.
After Pedra Furada we continued to Arvore Da preguiça that is the famous fallen tree, from the tree we relaxed in Laguna Azul and finished with the beautiful Lagoa Do Paraíso that has the most perfect hammocks over the clear waters.
The town's evening market: where you can get your hair braided, tattoos, jewelry and alcoholic smoothies with real fresh fruits in one of the many stands.
Sand hill at the beach: don't miss the town's lovely beach and the breathtaking sunset over the green palm trees in the famous sand hill that attracts to it every day lots of people that welcome the sunset together- highly recommended.
Salvador
With around 3 million people it is the largest city in the Northeast Region of Brazil and the 4th largest city in the country! Salvador is a great city to enjoy the beach and a great nightlife in a Brazilian mood.
Where to sleep?
Posada Marcus: I unfortunately don't recommend; although the location is perfect right in front of the ocean the rooms were tiny the breakfast was always empty by the time we got there and the owner really didn't help us.
What to do?
Coast walk: in the night the coast is filled with live music, food, happy people and is a fun place to visit.
Old City: the beautiful old city part of Salvador is highly recommended with beautiful architecture and amazing atmosphere.
The beach of Salvador and its area: in the right side of the beach you will find a beautiful light house with a lot of green grass to sit on while enjoying the spectacular view, and in the left side of the beach you will find a tall green hill you can climb for a great view of the beach from above, especially on the sunset.
Barra shopping mall: for some shade from the sun and great shopping.
Lencois
Well-preserved colonial town that with colorful houses, stone roads and green trees makes you feel like you took a portal to Europe. Lencois is the starting point for treks into Chapada Diamantina park. Tip: If you already know when you want to leave buy in the bus station your ticket in advance since the buses fills very fast and you can't book it online.
Where to sleep?
Posada Marcus: a really nice and big hostel, close to the center in a walking distance from everything that is important.
What to do?
3 days hike: discover Chapada park on a complete experience of the nature of this area.
The 2 days trip: a tour with Zen tour agency to some of the park's famous highlights. We were picked up by the agency at 07:15 and we drove 3.5 hours to the starting point of the walk to Buracão waterfall. The walk is about 3 km and takes around one hour but the sun is burning hot so make sure to drink a lot. After the walk you will swim for like 10 minutes in a beautiful canyon where you can also jump from high rocks and find the 80 meter impressive waterfall. On the way back we stopped for seeing this tall and marvelous waterfall from above and started to hike back.
Our last stop for today was a lovely viewpoint from a tall rock over the park green valleys. On the second day we went early in the morning for a quick visit in the town's unique cemetery in the bottom of a big mountain and drove to Poço Encantado that is a natural crystal clear blue pool deep inside a cave under the ground. The water gets a strong unique blue color from the minerals inside it and in the summer you can see a breathtaking sun ray that shine the water like a spotlight.
After Poço Encantado we drove one hour more to Poço Azul that is another enchanting crystal blue lake inside a cave that is so clear that you can see rocks 18 meters deep inside it from the outside. This lake is similar to Poço Encantado but the difference is that here you can also swim, snorkel and feel like you're flying since the water are that clear.
5 sites day tour: This tour is one of the park's most famous ones because it will take you to see the highlights and the most iconic views of the parks in one day. It starts with a drive to a beautiful 30 minutes walk in the park's scenery views of two waterfalls, the main one is the devil's throat where you can also so swim.
After the swim we drove to a Stalactite cave named Gruta Da Fumaça where we learned all about the park's stalactites and saw some very impressive ones.
After the cave we tried a lot from the local fruits and candies and finished with a local food lunch. After lunch we drove to an amazing park where you can easily spend half a day between the enchanting blue caves, swimming in the crystal clear water, take unique underwater pictures, zipline to the water, horseback riding, snorkel and more.
We finished this amazing day with a magnificent viewpoint of the sunset in Parque Natural Municipal Do Morro Do Pai Inácio. To the viewpoint you will walk up the mountain for 20 minutes and on the top you will enjoy a 360° panoramic view of the park.
Around the town: around Lencios you will find many natural pools and lakes to visit if you want a calm day in the town itself.
Moro De Sao Paulo
Some destinations don't require much planning or preparations and this place is one of those destinations. Moro is a beautiful island that will take away all of your troubles with pastoral beaches, the view of the blue ocean and tall palm trees. Moro is known for a place to relax by the beach as much as you can during the day and party in the different nightlife options in the night. Tip: when you arrive to Moro you will find many people offering to take your bags to your hotel with carrier, if you have big luggage I would suggest you will accept this offer since the walk is a bit long and with steep up and downs.
What to do?
Beach hopping tour: the most common trip in Moro that will take you between the main beaches in the area and also to the disappearing island.
The island beaches: the main beach is called beach 2 and it's right in the middle of town, here you can find lovely restaurants, calm water with beautiful surrounding and a lot of people. If you look for a quieter time and privacy beach 4 is the place for, with countless palm trees and just a beautiful 4 km coastline this is the spot for enjoying yourself and a coconut peacefully.
Shopping: every day at 18:00 the shops and the street stands will pop up and it is the perfect time for an evening walk and shopping without the burning sun. You can find unique art like jewelry made 100% from coconuts, eat the famous Churros or the "Happiness Stick" and just enjoy the live music that fills the street with good energy.
Party: for the nightlife you can enjoy every day from a different party when the main ones for me are the foam party on Saturdays, color reggaeťon party on Sundays and the beach party on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Sao Paulo
The most populous city in Brazil that is for the one between you who look for art, theaters, good music and a city experience.
Where to sleep?
Village hostel pinheiros: a very nice hotel, the room was big and comfortable. The only negative part was I waited 2 hours outside for the owner to arrive and the fact it's not in a walking distance from the center.
What to do?
Liberdade neighborhood: a very interesting neighborhood that is an old Japanese neighborhood that gives a feeling like we took a portal to Asia. Here you will find authentic Japanese food, Japanese architecture, cultural shops and even grocery shops filled with Asia's delicious food. I recommend arriving here easily with the very comfortable Metro, just easily go to "Liberdads" station.
Parca La Republica: after taking a Metro to "Republica" station you will find yourself in this peaceful, beautiful green park which is the city's center.
Edificio Italia: is a 168 tall building that offers you a breathtaking viewpoint over the city from the 48 floors. This experience costs 30 rial and only available between 15:00-19:00.
Edeficio Copan: the famous S shaped building.
Parca Da Se: here you will find the beautiful city cathedral.
Parca Ramos De Azevedo: the magnificent theater that is impressive both on the out and inside.
Philharmonic orchestra hall: at the former train station at Parcz Jùlio presets.
Concerts: In Sao Paulo you can find many concerts and football games in Allianz Park so I recommend checking it in advance. I was lucky to make my dream come true and catch an Ed Sheeran concert.
Mercado Municipal food market: in Av. Paulista you will find an almost 3 km area of fancy restaurants, shops and modern buildings.
Paraty
A preserved Portuguese colonial in the Rio De Janerio district. Paraty is famous from its historic town center, the coast and mountains in the region that are a protected forest area.
Where to sleep?
Che Legarto: amazing hostel that offers every night different all you can eat dinner and amazing breakfast buffet. The hostel also has great big rooms in a quite area and a cute pool.
What to do?
Boat Tour: The tour costs in all the companies 70 Rial and will take you around all the beautiful beaches in the area. Tip: All the boat tours costs about the same price but offers different things like snorkeling/ fruits/ Caipirinhas and more so find the one you like.
Old town: the pastoral pier area with the town's church and the unique colorful old town's houses.
Toboggan waterfall: a beautiful area in the middle of a jungle that has a huge rock that is used as a natural water slide. Behind the rock you will also find a lovely water spring with a beautiful waterfall and also a restaurant. Tip: Many companies offer a jeep trip to this place but I recommend just taking a bus from the main bus station and save about 70 rial. You just need to take the 5 Rial Penha bus to Toboggen waterfall and walk for 5 minutes.
Praia De Sono: With a 30 minutes bus drive to Villa Ortorio you will arrive to the starting point of a beautiful walking trail in a wild jungle. The trail takes about an hour and it includes a lot of up and downs so wear good shoes. On the way you will see small waterfalls, mushrooms and if you're lucky jungle animals like frogs, monkeys and more. In the end of the trail you will find this magical crystal blue beach surrounded with massive rocks and the green jungle. Tip: Bring with you some snacks in order to enjoy a lunch in this beautiful spot after the long walk.
Ilha Grande
An undeveloped island located off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, the island attracts many tourists with its scenic beauty and unspoiled tropical beaches.
Where to sleep?
Beach House Hostel: a really good located hostel in the center of the town.
What to do?
Evening: In the evening in Ilha Grande you can enjoy the sunset with a lovely beach walk and the many street shops the pops at the same time.
Lopez Mendes: Today we went to Lopez Mendes beach that considered as the most beautiful one in Brazil and one of the best around the world. I would say that this title is a bit too much but it sure is a heavenly place with beautiful clean, blue water.
The trip here with a public transport is 30 rial go and back and we went with a private transport in 35 rial. The boat will take you to pastoral small beach which is also enjoyable and from it you will walk a very obvious and easy trail to Lopez Mendes.
Praia Pierta: after fifteen minuets of a beautiful trail in the forest with the breathtaking views of the island you will arrive to Praia Pierta which is the "black beach" the gets this name from its black sand.
Meia Volta Boat Tour: we booked this tour with our hostel (Beach House) agency where it costs 120 rial. The agency offers many different trips but we looked for a cheap one with high chances of seeing animals. The trip takes you to 5 stops which are the green Laguna Verde, the blue with high chances for spotting turtles Laguna Azul, a lunch break on another beach by Laguna Azul, the small and cute Praia De Amor and the quiet and lovely Feiticeira beach.
More option for recommended popular tours are Volta Ilha and Ilha Paradiso but we were completely satisfied with the great one we did.
Cabo Frio and Ariel Do Cavo
Those two towns are only 15 minutes from each other so it's easy to jump back and forth between them and they are famous for beautiful beaches with crystal clear waters and some of the best diving in Brazil.
What to do?
Rua dos biquinis Gamboa cabo frio": which is a big shopping area in Ariel De Cabo dedicated only for swimsuits and beach accessories in all sizes and types.
Ariel Do Cavo island hopping: today we went to a boat tour around the beautiful beaches of Ariel Do Cavo. The tour costs 60 rial and includes only water but you can also buy on the boat other beverages and barbecue. The boat will stop at around 5 places which between them you'll sail on the most beautiful water that I have ever seen and you can also open your eyes and spot sea turtles.
Ilha Do Japones: an island surrounded with completely calm water where you can relax on the beach or have fun with one of the many aquatic sports that are offered in it.
Praia Grande: when you imagine the beaches of Brazil you imagine this one, white sand crystal clear tourqizo waters and not a single boat in the area that might interrupt the peace.
Scuba diving: here you can also have a very cheap scuba div experience with beautiful marine life.
Buzios
A lovely resort peninsula that serves many local as a getaway from the city. In Buzios you will find many beaches, buggy rides, scuba dives and boat trips.
Where to sleep?
Bamboo hotel: I really loved this hotel, not only the room was amazing, the breakfast buffet was great, the location was exactly in the middle of the town and it also had a private exit to a small cute beach.
What to do?
Sunset at Manguinhos beach: a beautiful beach to enjoy the sunset with clean skyline view and many sea turtles.
Shopping: around the city center you will find many local shops that offers great clothing, jewelry, accessories and more.
Boat trip: a 3 hours boat trip around the main beaches of Buzios and also Ilha Feia.
Praia De Forno: also known as the "Pink Beach" since its sand is really pink. This little piece of coastline is actually a little piece of heaven, the water are really blue, the sand is really pink and the whole scene looks surreal.
Praia da Foca: a beautiful beach with clear water surrounded by massive amazing rocks.
The city's promenade: walk on the city's beach promenade that is filled with restaurants, clubs and also the famous Brigitte Bardot Statue.
Praia da Ferradura: a beach which with zero waves and green mountains around it actually looks like a lake in Switzerland.
Praia Geribá: a more crowded beach that offers more bars, restaurants and surfing lessons in the big waves.
Rio
The second-most populous municipality in Brazil that is the home for the famous samba carnival. Rio has beautiful Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea but also a very special cultural landscapes in the favelas or in the streets that are filled with the Brazilian energy and happiness.
Where to sleep?
Royal Rio Palace Hotel: this hotel's is first of all in an amazing location in the middle of Rio, the room was so big and clean, the bed was extremely comfortable and I just loved my stay here. The breakfast buffet showed so much diversity and so much delicious food! At the top of the hotel there is a roof pool and a bar with the view of Rio and the hotel also offers a great gym. I stayed here for a week and love every second.
What to do?
Shopping: Rio Sul shopping mall that is a 6 floors mall filled with countless of brands.
Rio tour with Barzilao agency: Instead of running around Rio with Uber/ Metro we found a much better way to see all the important touristic spots of Rio with a comfortable full Rio tour. The Barzilao agency picked us up from our hotel in Copacabana and took us first to a tour inside Favela Rocinha which is the biggest one in Rio. The tour was led by a local English speaker guide that grew up and lives inside the favela so he offers you the real feeling of living here. In the favela we saw a breathtaking rooftop viewpoint over the entire favela, took a part in a samba show with the local kids, tasted from the art of capoeira and the best part- got to walk in the small fascinating alleys of the favela and soak in the culture.
After the favela we went to the famous Olympic Avenue that is the home of the biggest and also the most impressive beautiful graffiti artwork in the world.
After the Avenue and a lunch break we also saw the famous colorful Saleron stairs, the beautiful Dona Marta viewpoint over the entire Rio and the world wonder- Jesus statue.
Celebration of the Carnival: The Carnival is the biggest street party in the world and I think it is an event everyone should attend at least once in their lives. The Brazilian's energy that infects you with their unbelievable dance ability, their unique music and just all the happiness and freedom vibes in the street its truly a remarkable experience. I chose to have my Carnival in Rio since I wanted to attend the famous Samba contest in the Sambadrome which was by no doubt the highlight of my Carnival experience and left me completely speechless. I recommend buying a ticket to sector 4 which is also cheap and also in front of the judge's place so the parades stops in front of you all the time for the best pictures. By no doubt this event of thousands Brazilian dancers, acrobats, costumes and culture is something that you want to see.
Copacabana beach: this beach is full of small markets and sellers and it's just a nice place to walk in. Around the beach you will also find remarkable sand-castles art that is also really impressive to see.
Sunset at Arpoador: watch the famous sunset with many other tourists that gather here for the special show.
I was in Brazil for a month and a half and somehow I feel like I didn’t see anything, this country is as big as it is beautiful and hold so much places to see. I would say to come here for at least a 3 weeks vacation in order to soak in the wonderful local vibe. I also and I can't stress it enough recommend coming here during the carnival events that color the streets with music and happiness.
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