What to do in Porto Seguro: Roadmap for 7 to 10 days-south of Bahia

What to do in Porto Seguro? Let's check out some of the main sights of this which is the first flight of many people. It was mine.

Back in 1994, right after my first year of work, I had to figure out what my first vacation trip would be. I did a research between my coworkers and the decision was: Porto Seguro.

It was the cheapest trip and also the most complete to know a little bit of everything that is good in the northeast.

See more here about the alcohol catwalk and the historical center, some tips on what to do, where to stay, how many days stay, finally all about how it was my third time in this which is one of the most sought after destinations in Brazil.

What to do in Porto Seguro: Roadmap for 7 to 10 days-south of Bahia

Travel diary: Bahia, Porto Seguro – Day 1 – Historical center and alcohol catwalk

In the historical center of Porto Seguro, a stroll through what was the political and religious center of Porto Seguro

First trip to Porto Seguro

My first plane ride went to Porto Seguro, with my friend Luiz. We stayed in Santa Cruz de Cabrália, a town next to Porto Seguro. It was actually an excursion, which among others, took us to places like Taípe Beach, in Arraial D ´ Ajuda, and Trancoso, when there was still a nudist beach.

Some good years later, in 2005, I went again to Porto Seguro, this time with Cleber, the one who would become my most frequent travel companion. It was an unpretentious journey, without planning, but therefore delicious.

And I came back with that cool impression that Porto Seguro combines all that you might want from a beach: Sometimes the movement of the tents of axé, sometimes the tranquility of beaches absolutely deserted. You choose, in the same place, the journey you will make.

Travel planning for Safe Harbor without package

And here we are again me and Cleber, in 2013, to revisit this safe harbor which is a significant destination in my travel history.

But unfortunately, our trip didn't start well.

But before we start our diary, follow our travel itinerary. We chose to stay two days in each locality, to be able to experience how it is to stay in each of the places in the region of Porto Seguro. Our itinerary is very flexible on the transit dates, but in general it is possible to enjoy the beaches close to our lodging, or even be enjoying the hostel/hotel where you are staying.

7 to 10 days itinerary in Porto Seguro, Arraial D'ajuda and Trancoso

How many days to stay

It is recommended to stay at least 2 nights in each place. In this script, we chose 4 bases: Porto Seguro, Arraial D'ajuda, Praia do Espelho and Trancoso. For those who seek to stay only in one place and then explore the whole region, Arraial D'ajuda is the ideal location.

Day 1 – Arrival in Porto Seguro

Day 2 – Historic center and Red Crown

Day 3 – Transit to Arraial D'ajuda: Pousada Barata and Hotel Cinematográfico

Day 4 – Mucugê Beach, Parracho, Pitinga, Blue Lagoon and Taípe

Day 5 – Traffic to Espelho Beach: Pousada Enseada do Espelho

Day 6 – Mirror Beach and Curuípe

Day 7 – Transit to Trancoso: Where to stay in Trancoso

Day 8 – Trancoso: Square, Praia dos Coqueiros and natives

Day 9 – Arraial walk to Trancoso

Day 10 – Return to Porto Seguro

That is, we decided to stretch a little more our stay in Porto Seguro and know well each of the centers, such as Porto Seguro itself, Arraial D'ajuda and Trancoso. Still was lacking Caraíva, which is also a destination to be considered.

Porto Seguro – How to get there

In the empty and chartered TAM airplane, which we exchanged for miles, we arrived at 8 a.m. in Porto Seguro with the weather forecast closed, with thunderstorms in the vicinity of Porto Seguro. When he came down from the plane, he chuviscava.

Porto Seguro Airport is compact. We drive to the only treadmill and take our luggage super fast. Leaving the airport, wanted to test the way to the center through a new bus line, but a taxi driver passed and offered us the race for R $15.00. We close for R $10.00. As it was raining, it was the best option.

For those who will be staying in Arraial D'ajuda, you must cross the ferry. Making this route (by ferry) by taxi gets too much car, better cross on foot and take another taxi across the river.

Porto Seguro is one of the cheapest air destinations in the Northeast, especially for those traveling from the southeast region. The flights are direct by LATAM companies (formerly TAM), Gol and Azul. The average value of a round trip is R $600.00, but obviously the values may vary wrecked depending on the time you travel.

Porto Seguro – Where to stay: Estalagem Porto Seguro

The taxi driver left us in front of the Estalagem Porto Seguro, which we reserve via Booking.com, for about R $90.00 the daily (value of 2013). But as we arrived before the check-in time, we could not occupy the room.

Hotel Estalagem Porto Seguro, located 15 minutes from the catwalk of alcohol

Who goes to Porto Seguro, has some options to stay there. The most obvious is to stay in Porto Seguro even, an option often used by group excursions. Many people twist their noses for this option, since Porto Seguro is the most populated locality by tourists.

The options are to stay in the center, so you can go walking every night to the alcohol catwalk and even several restaurants, malls and commerce of the region. Other options are on the edge of Porto Seguro to Santa Cruz de Cabrália, on beaches such as Taperapuã.

Who wants to escape from the excursion groups and the local Agito, must flee from Porto Seguro and seek to stay in places such as Arraial D'ajuda, Trancoso, Praia do Espelho or CARAÍVA, which we will comment our experience in the upcoming posts (except Caraíva, which Unfortunately we did not visit).

Centro de Porto Seguro

The Inn is on the street of Mangue, which is an interesting region facing a mangrove and full of historic houses and bright colors. On the walk while we did not give our check-in time, we went through the fish market (which was not so pleasant), by the ferry and finally we found the famous alcohol catwalk. As it was early, it was absolutely deserted.

The rain sometimes appeared, we took shelter, and a few minutes later it stopped, which allowed us to continue the path.

What ended up entertaining us that morning were the colourful banners of the Junina feast, already assembled by the streets of Porto Seguro.

Flags decorate the alcohol catwalk in São João de Porto Seguro

As everyone knows, the festivals festivals are a very important time and celebrated in the cities of the northeast. In addition to the alcohol catwalk, the main streets of there (Getúlio Vargas and Avenida dos Navegantes) were coloured by the flags, some with messages from Viva to St. John.

Avenida do Descobrimento

After the alcohol catwalk, we arrived at the Avenida do Descobrimento, which I did not remember, has movement greater than the catwalk itself. There we find some small shopping malls, several shops and crafts tents (which unfortunately are not of the best) and several restaurants, including cafeteria nets such as Subway and Giraffa's.

Next to Shopping Avenida, we have lunch in a restaurant per kilo in front of the Plaza 22 de Abril.

After lunch, we went back to the hotel where we could finally occupy our room.

Hotel Estalagem Porto Seguro

The hotel, although simple, has charming décor, which combines historical elements with the necessary facilities.

At the entrance, for example, a lobby with objects that refer to the discovery of Brazil, and the rooms have rustic walls and décor objects, which increase the feeling that you are in a revitalized historical space.

Reception of the Estalagem Porto Seguro

The rooms have air conditioning, minibar, balconies, TV with cable channels and the bathroom, although small, is functional, thinking in detail as balconies beside the sink to put bathroom objects and that famous shelf in the box, where we can put The shampoo, soap, etc., that some hotels simply forget how important it is.

From the balcony, we visualize this beautiful portal built with rocks of reefs, dating from 1810

Hotel pool, pity it was freezing

After we rested a little, we went to the pool, which was freezing.

Passarela do Álcool

At dusk, we left the hotel in the direction of the alcohol catwalk.

At night the scenery was another, several open restaurants, the stalls of beverages or meals in full operation, but the Agito was not even from other times.

Alcohol catwalk at night, tranquil Sunday

Everything is very basic and nothing exciting. It should be considered, however, that we were on a Sunday and in low season.

We dine dry beef with rennet cheese for about R $20.00, meals in Porto Seguro are reasonably inexpensive. In an ice cream parlor per kilo, we took advantage of a Sunday promotion that the price came out at half price.

The day dawned sunny. In the morning, we had problems with the shower that did not warm up (later we came to discover that the employee forgot to turn on the heater) and we had to take a cold bath. Breakfast was good. The problem with the shower slowed us down a little and we went out at 9 a.m.

Centro Histórico de Porto Seguro

We walk towards the far left of the Beach Avenue. Shortly after Avenida dos Navegantes, we found a roundabout and then two staircases. The first led us to Fortim, a lookout with a damaged view of the sea. The second staircase, larger and more extensive, took us to the high city of Porto Seguro.

Path and staircase that give access to the Upper city, historic center of Porto Seguro

At that moment, we were already sweaty by the excessive heat, and we arrived almost soaked in the historic center, at the top of Porto Seguro. The ascent is not tirative, which is really the heat.

The colourful houses of the old Town, a pleasant stroll in Porto Seguro

As the day was wonderful, the work of taking legal photos from the historical center was much easier. The day before, in the face of that chance of bad weather, I even thought it would be a bigger challenge to get cool pictures with worse weather. But definitely, I surrender to the beauty of a beautiful day with blue skies, a picture with this scenery really is a gift.

Like Salvador, Porto Seguro has a low city and a high city. In the upper city, it was where the religious and political centers of the city were concentrated, while the lower city had greater proximity to the pier.

Marco do Descobrimento

The first point we have seen is the Church of St. Benedict, then we go through a list of colourful houses and arrive at the landmark of Discovery (dating from 1503) and in the Nossa Senhora da Penha church.

Next to it is the Paço Municipal (de 1773) transformed into museum and then the Praça da Misericordia, illustrated by the Lighthouse of the Navy. In addition to the historical constructions, the whole place is also composed of green laws, leafed trees and even flowers.

Church of St. Benedict

Moments of peace in the historic center, away from the tourist movement

Navy lighthouse, in Praça da Misericordia

The landmark of discovery is one of the highlights of the historic center

Contrary to what I imagined, the place was not too crowded with tourists and tour groups, the movement was relatively quiet and except for another time we had to wait for some tourists to leave the scenery, photographing was a quiet task.

It is a very nice ride to be made in Porto Seguro. The colourful houses, the historical constructions, the lookers and the very quiet, full of trees and lawed villages make the tour super enjoyable and a different option of the beaches.

After several photographs, we descend again the stairwells back to the lower city. Next destination: The beaches of Porto Seguro and the red Crown.

Credits: Viagens cinematograficas

	The beaches of Porto Seguro start soon, this is the view of the high city to Curuípe Beach, The closest to the center

Read More

Review: Pousada Enseada do Espelho – where to stay in Espelho Beach | Bahia

Praia do Espelho, as most of you already know, is constantly on the list of the best beaches in Brazil.

In the four Wheels guide, for example, is one of the few beaches that earns 5 stars.

This fame of Praia do Espelho made that we were there a few years ago, but in those tours of hit and return from Porto Seguro.

Know where to stay in Praia do Espelho, with a choice of hostel foot in the sand.

Where to stay in Espelho Beach – Review: Pousada Enseada do Espelho

 

Located facing the sea of Espelho Beach is the Pousada Enseada do Espelho

After having done just one tour beats and returns to Espelho beach a few years ago, this time we decided to come back and stay there, and our choice was the Pousada Enseada do Espelho, a beachfront inn. We were a little undecided if it would be a good idea, since the beach is secluded, but we wanted to ensure a complete experience there, so we decided to risk it.

Praia do Espelho is often on the list of the best beaches in Brazil

Through sand paths and lawfields

Located on the left side of Praia do Espelho/Curuípe beach, Pousada Enseada do Espelho is facing the sea. When we arrived from transfer from Arraial D'ajuda, an employee of the hostel expected us. We stop in front of Pousada Recanto do Espelho, which is of the same owners of Enseada.

The paths are of land, between lawfields and houses of the region. On some stretches, we walk by the sea. I'm glad the hostel clerk took our luggage in a wheelbarrow.

One of the sand trails to get to the hostel

When we arrived at the inn, we were very well receptioned.

At the reception, we were impressed by the whimsy of the décor and the surroundings. All very colourful, regional and harmonized. I've thought to myself, this is going to be a lot of pictures. And he did.

Decoration details and many colors in the lobby of the hostel

Besides the colors, the objects of decoration are fun and make up a super tasty environment

A room full of pampering

The hostel has only 7 rooms, 4 of them are on the ground floor, 2 on the top floor and 1 master bedroom.

The rooms of the hostel, on the ground floor and on the upper floor, all with balcony and hammocks

Our room, on the ground floor, was on a whim. There were so many details and pampering, we didn't know right where to look. At first, we were greeted with a welcome coconut water.

Welcome Coconut Water

The queen size bed was protected by a canopy and on the pillows, flowers, which incidentally we found in various places of the room. The sheets of 800 Egyptian cotton yarn and several pillows would provide great nights of sleep.

Bed with canopy

In the mute servants, in addition to the lamps, a box of paper tissues, a clock radio and a box organizer of the remotes. In closets, umbrellas and hangers also decorated with delicacy.

In the bathroom was where, with extreme delicacy, we found the floor cloth or the toilet paper adorned with flowers. Aerosol Dedetizer and Aromatizer environments have also been made available. The flowers also prayed for bath towels and face.

In the bathroom there was central heating of water, mirrors, hair dryer, repellent, amenities of Natura, at last, there was nothing we could think was necessary, and that was lacking. The hostel even thought of colourful clothes fasteners, to differentiate the towel from one guest and the other.

In addition to the details, the hotel has all the amenities in perfect operation: Split air-conditioner, ceiling fan, minibar, DVD, HD LED Television with various SKY channels and outlet repellent.

HD LED TV, SKY and DVD kept us entertained on peaceful nights at Espelho Beach

The bathroom also full of pampering and flowers

Natura Amenities and clothes preachers to separate towels from one guest and the other

Painted walls, colourful floors, details on the tiles, quality of furniture, a hammock in the outside area, was all impeccable.

When a hotel thinks of all the details in the décor and the objects in its lodging, the guest feels cherished by that hostel or hotel, and this makes him feel at ease and almost as if he were at his home. That's how I felt in the Mirror Cove.

Although the rooms are not exactly the sophistication, nor have a view of the sea (only the master suite), they have won all my charm thanks to the primor of the décor and the details.

Flowers decorate from towels to bed

Facing the Sea

The Enseada do Espelho has no swimming pool, but who needs this, when you have a few steps one of the most beautiful beaches in Brazil.

With hammocks, cushions on the floor and several wooden chairs scattered over a well-cared lawn and with some coconut trees, the hostel has a hot area to sit, relax and enjoy nature. The area is also used for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Tasty spaces to sit and enjoy the sea

The option of wood furniture seeks to the sustainability of the environment, plastic furniture is avoided in Praia do Espelho.

For those who prefer to be very close to the sea, chairs and tables are very close to the waters, always met with friendliness and efficiency by the staff of the hostel, which provides towels and drinks.

Beach chairs in front of the Mirror Sea

The delicious lawn also serves space for breakfast, lunch or dinner

The area is used not only by guests, but as other visitors

The outside area is so hot, even the animals can't get away from it. In addition to dogs and cats, even a cheerful macaw can be found there.

The beautiful macaw that coves with guests of Praia do Espelho

It is not necessary to say that we spend a good time sitting in the outside area, whether for lunch, or simply to relax in front of the sea. The best thing was to sit in those chairs at night, look at the stars and see one of the most beautiful skies of my life. 

If you want to vary, you can also use the exterior area of Recanto do Espelho, hotel of the same owners and is a few meters from the cove. The structure of the Recanto is used by most tourists who come to make a hit and turn, so in the cove you have greater tranquility, but in the Recanto the space is much wider.

For those who want a little more, the Enseada do Espelho still has a staircase that gives access to a gazebo, from where it is possible to have an unmissable view of Praia do Espelho.

Gazebo just above the hostel, unmissable view and postcard from Praia do Espelho

Breakfast full of whims

It is not necessary to say that the whimsy in the decoration of the rooms and the hotel found a mirror in the preparation of breakfast. The breakfast is thought out in every detail and made to please, but made with some old-fashioned details.

The coffee and milk are brought warm to the table, in hand-painted porcelain teapoes. Also on the guest's table are arranged the butter, jelly, sugar, besides the beautiful napkins also hand painted. 

Hand painted cloth napkins and porcelain parts

Look at that biscuit charm in the cup

Some of the delicious breakfast items

Most items are arranged on the counter, in self-service style, such as breads in various species, sweets, fruits or cold meats. Items are brought as requested, such as eggs, salted and tapiocas. Yes, tapioca are made as ordered, salted or sweet, just pick the stuffing. Delight.

I'm in love with tapioca and this was delicious

Finally, in addition to presenting variety, the options of Breakfast are Excel for quality.

In addition to the café, the hostel also offers lunch and dinner options in its restaurant, not included in the rate. Meals in the guesthouse's restaurant cost on average R $50.00 the dish, values per person.

At Espelho Beach you will not find many dining options or nightlife. There is no village, with markets or bars, and the closest is a condominium, the Outeiro das Brisas, where it is possible to find a convenience store (fairly simple).

Reception of Pousada do Espelho

The Espelho beach is so rustic and without structure that the hostel provides lanterns for guests wishing to circulate around the region.

In a day we went to dinner in the corner of the mirror, we circled around in the deepest darkness, only illuminated by the lantern and by the light of other houses. The best is to find the most star-filled sky we've ever seen.

Dusk on the Mirror beach, the starry sky is unique

And in the end...

In this way, we can summarize our experience at Pousada Enseada do Espelho as a lodging full of charms, as on the whim in every detail of the rooms or breakfast, in the delicious spaces to enjoy the beach, with chairs, mats and tables for Eat and relax, and especially in the courtesy and efficiency of the whole team.

In conjunction with the facilities, all the attention of the staff made our passage through the mirror Beach to be extremely delicious and unforgettable. 

Pousada Enseada do Espelho: recommended

FICHA TÉCNICA:

Hotel/Pousada: Enseada do Espelho

Direção: Praia do Espelho – Porto Seguro/BA

Produção: as diárias variam de R$ 310,00 a R$ 480,00 nos quartos do jardim e os preços variam até R$ 700,00 na suíte master

Fotografia: Fábio Pastorello

O melhor: todo o cuidado e atenção nos detalhes, seja na decoração dos quartos e áreas comuns, na forma de servir o café da manhã ou na qualidade do atendimento, toda a experiência de hospedagem é repleta de simpatia, cordialidade e eficiência de toda a equipe.

O pior: a Praia do Espelho não é um lugar com muita infraestrutura, então no local não há opções de restaurantes ou vida noturna, portanto é preciso embarcar no conceito de isolamento e tranquilidade que o local apresenta, o que convenhamos não é lá um ponto muito negativo, para quem deseja relaxar e aproveitar a viagem.

Ano: 2013

País: Brasil

Avaliação: ★★★★★

Credits: Viagens cinematograficas

Read More