That’s right! The north coast of Sao Paulo hides a paradise you never knew existed.

For that reason, in my trip to Brazil this year, instead of going to the Northeast, I decided to stay nearby so I can be closer to my family and friends. Last year I went to the Northeast of Brazil to a place called Arraial D’Ajuda.

After celebrating New Year’s with my family in Praia Grande in the South Coast I will again, start making my way up and my first pit stop will be in Sao Sebastiao!

The north coast of Sao Paulo is very beautiful with beaches surrounded by the Atlantic Rainforest. It’s the only place in Brazil where you can see the contrast of the blue skies, the blue of the sea and all the green around it. It’s really something extraordinary. Some of the beaches are still preserved and that’s my destination… a preserved beach that I will talk about after I give you an overview of Sao Sebastiao.

In Sao Sebastiao there are many options for you in terms of beaches, waterfalls, forests, rivers, accommodations, restaurants, bars, lots of beautiful landscaping and ecotourism!

It is the oldest city of the North Coast (Sao Paulo) with 113 km in extension. There are about thirty beaches in Sao Sebastiao and you can search them online now that you know they exist!! Here they are: Boraceia, Jureia, Barra do Una, Juquehy, Barra do Sahy, Baleia (Whale), Camburi, Boicucanga, Maresias, Pauba, Santiago, Toque Toque Pequeno, Calhetas, Toque Toque Grande, Guaeca, Barequecaba, Cabelo Gordo (Prainha), Pitangueiras, Praia Grande, Praia Preta, Porto Grande, Praia Deserta, Ponta da Cruz, Praia do Arrastao, Olaria, Sao Francisco, Cigarras e Praia da Enseada.

This time I chose to stay at Toque Toque Grande! Why? As I said, there are many well preserved beaches in Sao Sebastiao and this is one of them. It is a small fishermen’s beach and there are only few houses near it. With white and smooth sand, this beach is desert most of the year and it has calm water, great for diving and snorkeling. At this beach is where you can find the Ilha de Toque Toque Boutique Hotel which, by the way, is the only one in an extension of six kilometers. Of course that is my hotel choice as well because I love nature, tranquility, comfort, charm and beauty. And they have gorgeous ocean views! What can I say? Plus, the place is perfect for couples and I will be with my hubby! Their rooms are exquisite as you can see for yourself. There are only 12 units and all of them are equipped with either, a private ofuro, pool or Jacuzzi. All that only for yourself and your love! What else can I ask for? Seriously! Well, you might say: how about the service? Renata and Pavao are the owners and a beautiful couple that will make sure everything is perfect! You can ask them anything about the region, the beaches, waterfalls, the best places to eat nearby… although you may prefer not to leave your nest, once you get there. Plus, their restaurant is wonderful. See the menu here

It’s is also worth to see also Sao Sebastiao’s historic center which is close to the hotel. There is an Archeology Farm that you can visit. It has ruins of a huge and rich farm of slaves and you can see some of the pieces in a museum in downtown. To visit however, you need to hire a monitor from the city and the reservation is made by phone. In the same museum, you can also see one image of Saint Luzia, dated of 1652. There is a church originally constructed in the XVII century. All of these are part of the history of the city.

Note that I’m talking only about Sao Sebastiao here!  But the Sao Paulo’s North Coast has a lot more to offer and I will talk about them in another opportunity. For now, I think you will be a little busy with so many discoveries!  Staying in Sao Sebastiao, gives you flexibility to visit all the beaches nearby. The ones I mentioned above.

I wanted to give you one more piece of information about Sao Sebastiao. From there you can go to Ilha Bela (Beautiful Island), another great option for you to visit while you are in Sao Sebastiao with lots of things to do. I will talk about it in details later too, however, now you can check it out for yourself as you know about its existence.

See, now when you talk about Sao Paulo, you can visualize not only the numerous skyscrapers and business and traffic! You can visualize beautiful beaches and places! You can actually relax in Sao Paulo, after all, these great beaches are only three hours away!

I’m absolutely sure that you will love Sao Sebastiao and its beaches and all!

Hello Friends!

Every time I go to Brazil to visit my family and friends I always go someplace else for a week or two. So, in my last trip, after I visited them in Sao Paulo, I spent seven days in the northeast in a city called Arraial D’Ajuda, situated in the state of Bahia. The last time I was in Arraial before that, was about fifteen years ago and boy did it change? Have you heard of it? Yes? Great, so you know what I’m talking about. Never heard of it? Great, then keep reading and you will know more about this little paradise and very important in the history of Brazil as you will find out when you get there. If you like beautiful beaches, tranquility, a small little town with cute downtown with nice restaurants and friendly people you should be booking your flight right now. Don’t forget you will need a Visa that you can obtain in any Brazilian Consulate.

The closest airport to Arraial D’Ajuda is located in Porto Seguro, Bahia and to get there from the US your flight most likely is going to stop first in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro or Salvador. From the airport in Porto Seguro you can take a taxi and you cross a short distance in the ferryboat.

Not everybody speaks English there, so please, do your research online as much as you can and try to find an accommodation in a place where people can speak English so your life will be a bit easier. Most of the hotels or “pousadas” (B&B type accommodation), have at least one person that can communicate in English, some with very good English. There are plenty information in English about Arraial D’Ajuda on the internet too. Now that you know it exists, you will see for yourself!

You will be surprised by how many American or people from other countries you will meet there. A lot of them are owners of a Pousada or Hotel or have another type of business. They went there on vacation, fell in love with it and made that sanctuary their own home in paradise.

Don’t expect five stars hotels, although there are few of them that won’t owe anything to any five stars here in the US or any other part of the world. There are excellent hotels and pousadas that are simply beautiful, decorated with great taste, not to mention the food they prepare in these places, which also won’t owe anything to any international famous restaurant. There is a Resort there too that if you go with a family and have kids you may enjoy it a lot.

But there is this one unique place there that is truly amazing and more than deserves five stars and of course I highly recommend you to stay there. It is called Maitei Hotel.http://www.maitei.com.br/en-us/ . It is centrally located in Arraial with gorgeous ocean view! The owners and all the staff are very helpful and will make you feel home immediately! And the best of all, they speak very good English! YAY. Oh, and they can arrange pick up at the airport for you as well and you can pay directly to the company/driver they send. Talking about five stars… Just be aware that most taxi companies or drivers won’t take credit card so you will need to have some “Reais” (Brazilian money) with you. There is one very important thing about Maitei Hotel that you need to know before you book with them: the guests must be twelve years old and older, which for me is a plus.

There is a place in downtown that you can rent a car, if you feel you will need one. Maybe it will be better for you, so you can have freedom to get around and go to farther places. Or perhaps you can find a taxi driver that speaks English, at least a little, and you will be fine. The place you stay can always call and arrange a taxi for you.

You can use a local travel agency (there are a few in town in the main street) for tours and to visit historic places and farther beaches and I strongly recommend you to do that, because they will take you to places that you wouldn’t find on your own unless you know they exist or how to get to them. Trust me, you will feel safer this way and you will love what you will see with them. You can go for a city tour in Porto Seguro, which is a much bigger and the main city and it will be fun to take a tour to its beaches and historic places as well.  If you are the party type of person, you may prefer to stay in Porto Seguro and visit Arraial and surrounding areas.

I also would strongly recommend you to go visit Trancoso. In the past I would not to suggest you to stay there because the road to get there was not good and it was a bit rustic, maybe too rustic for you, or maybe not… You might like it or even love it. I know for sure that you are going to love the beaches.

You may find Trancoso a bit odd because it is a Fisherman Village where you will see it is still very rustic yet there are some very expensive hotels there now. Well, there is nothing wrong to spoil yourself in a nice hotel and then go around to see the natural beauty that this place sure has to offer.

If you still have time after seeing Porto Seguro, Arraial and Trancoso, you may want to visit Caraiva too. You won’t be disappointed!

That’s why I recommend you to use a local travel agency because you can stay in Arrail and visit one of these places I mentioned.

Staying in Arraial you really won’t need a car unless you find a hotel that is far from everything and in that case you will need to rent one or use taxi to go to the beaches and restaurants and bars. If you stay at Maitei you will be totally fine with a short walk to restaurants and beach that is right down the street.

Whether you decide to stay in a fancy resort or hotel or in a pousada, I’m certain that you will love these places, specially, Arraial D’Ajuda. But don’t expect them to have crowded beaches like Sao Paulo and Rio. They are rather almost deserted sometimes, what makes me like them even better. After all, I go there to relax, to run away from the crowded cities and beaches. And there is nothing better than sit or laydown in a warm sand and just listen and watch the waves.

Beaches in Brazil are great because there are food and drink tents or restaurant and bars right there for you. They even bring the food and drinks to your table or chair! You don’t need to go back to the hotel or city to have lunch or a snack. Love it.

I will talk about other great places to visit in Brazil next time! Until them, research more about these wonderful places I told you about and have fun planning your next trip to Brazil!





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