The Ultimate 6 Week Brazil Itinerary

Many of you probably don’t know that I’m half Brazilian. My mother was born and raised in Belo Horizonte. I speak fluent Portuguese and Brasilian culture has played a big role in my upbringing. Before our 6 weeks in Brazil, I had never spent more than a couple of weeks visiting family. When we started planning our South America itinerary I knew I wanted to spend a large portion of our time there. There is no denying it’s a huge country, and coming up with an itinerary was challenging and time-consuming.

Brazil is an incredible country, the people are friendly, the landscapes are diverse and the food is fantastic. We spend countless hours reading and coming up with the perfect itinerary for those visiting Brazil for the very first time. 

WHERE WE WENT

Manaus → Sao Luis → Parque Nacional Dos Lençóis Maranhenses → Recife (Porto de Galinhas) → Chapada Diamtina → Salvador → Rio De Janerio → Florianopolis → Curitiba → Iguazu Falls

Our itinerary starts in the north of Brazil and ends in the very south. It’s the perfect segway into neighboring Uruguay or Argentina for those traveling long term.  

HOW WE SELECTED THIS ITINERARY

The question we usually get the most is how we selected these 10 locations. The first element in our decision making process was the fact that we wanted to experience a bit of each region of the country. The north and south of Brazil are vastly different. The people, the culture, the food, the architecture, everything about the north and south vary greatly and that difference is something we wanted to experience. Brazil has hundreds of natural wonders and we wanted to include a few of those. We narrowed it down based on where they were located and how easy it was to reach.

IS BRAZIL SAFE?

You may have heard that Brazil can be dangerous for travelers. The truth, yes, Brazil can be very dangerous, but with some extra precautions it’s just as dangerous as any other destination. Stay tuned for our in depth guide to staying safe in Brazil as a traveler.

BUDGETING FOR YOUR TRIP

Honestly Brazil kind of sits in the middle, when it comes to how budget friendly it is. The main reason for this is transport. Given how large the country is moving around overland becomes nearly impossible unless you have absolutely no timeline. Most of our budget was allocated to buying flights. Flights are expensive, with only a handful of airlines operating in Brazil, flight prices are high. There are two main ways to keep your costs down, either move slowly stretching your cost over a longer period of time or stick to a smaller region of Brazil, deceasing the number of flights.

6-Week Brazil Itinerary

Manaus

//3 Days//

We began our trip in Manaus, where we got acquainted with Brazil. We spent our first day roaming around the city and enjoying some food at the Sunday market that takes place in the city center. One of our favorite spots in Manaus is local fruit juice and lunch shop, Skina Dos Sucos. The city center itself is quite small and doesn’t offer much in terms of sightsee locations. The most popular attraction is the beautiful Amazon Theater.  

The 2nd and 3rd days were spent exploring the Amazon. Most people we met opted for a multi-day trek through the Amazon. Since we’re not huge fans of sleeping in the jungle, we chose a couple of day trips from the city.

Local Hostel Manaus

We stayed in a private room with an ensuite bathroom for a total of $30USD a night. All-in-all it was a great option and only a few dollars more than booking a dorm room. The staff was friendly, the atmosphere was nice and they offer 24-7 security. They organize tours, outings and nightly events at the hostel. The best part was the location, it was only a 5 minute walk to the Amazon Theater and the main square. 

Sao Luis

//1 Day//

Hopping on a cheap flight from Manaus to Sao Luis we landed just in time to experience Serenata Sao Luis. The Serenata is a festival that takes place in the evening throughout the historical center. It’s an hour long experience that displays the culture, and music of the Maranhao. In our opinion 1 full day in Sao Luis is plenty of time to experience the city and all it has to offer.

Pousada Maramazon

This B&B was located about 15 minutes outside of the city center. We used local transport to get us downtown and an Uber later in the evening to get back. It was clean, colorful and included a wonderful breakfast. We paid $21USD for a private room with an ensuite bathroom. 

Santo Amaro / Lençóis Maranhenses:

//4 Days //

My favorite stop in Brazil was Santo Amaro the gateway to the National Park of Lençóis Maranhenses. Most people visiting Lençóis end up staying in Barreirinhas. The main difference between Santo Amaro and Barreirinhas is the infrastructure. It has far more hotels, restaurants, nightlife and tour operators. But that’s everything we didn’t want out of this experience. We wanted to have a glimpse into village life in Brazil. We decided to venture deeper into the National park and stay in Santo Amaro. It was the best decision we ever made!

Getting here wasn’t easy, we got picked up from our hotel in Sao Luis around 6am and drove on a minibus with 2 other locals for about 3 hours before getting dropped off in the middle of nowhere. We waited about an hour before we got picked up with a 4×4 and proceeded to drive another hour. This hour consisted of driving through dirt roads and lagoons as we entered the national park.

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Santo Amaro is a truly special place, with only a handful of houses, hotels and restaurants, you get to experience a completely different side of Brazil. There isn’t much to do except, drink fresh coconut water, walk around the town (in about 30 mins you’ll have seen the entire town) and enjoy the national park, but that’s the beauty of it. 

When planning what you’d like to experience in the national park, keep in mind the time of year you’re visiting. The summer months are met with a lot of rain and extremely hot weather. Our initial plan was to embark on a 3 day trek through the desert, stopping at small villages for accommodation and food. Unfortunately, the night we arrived I got a really bad case of food poisoning, which left me out for the count. On our 4th and last day, which also happened to be my 24th birthday, I managed to rack up enough energy to go on a 1 day tour through the national park. It wasn’t a crazy adventure but, given the circumstances it was a lot of fun and a great way to spend my birthday.

Pousada Paraiso

A great homestay to spend our days. It was simple, but clean and offered the most wonderful elaborate breakfast. The staff was so friendly and helpful. Everyone went above and beyond to help us. We paid $34USD for a private room with an ensuite bathroom and breakfast included. 

Porto De Galinhas:

//3-4 Days//

From Santo Amaro we drove back to Sao Luis where we spent one night before catching an extremely early flight the next morning. We stayed in a hotel right outside of the airport that isn’t even worth mentioning besides the fact that it looked like it was straight out of a horror movie.

We arrived to the Recife airport where we hopped on a local bus that drove us 2.5 hours south to Porto De Galinhas. The bus was relatively easy to find, with multiple departures each day. The bus stop is located just out the main doors. We got a tons of taxi drives trying to persuade us not to take the bus. Some of the tactics they used definitely left us feeling a bit uneasy. They yelled at us saying that  if we opted to take the bus it was going to get mugged and assaulted at gunpoint. Overall our experience with the local bus was fine. It was cheap and we had a pleasant journey. 

We arrived in the afternoon and enjoyed the evening settling in and getting to know the charming but rather small tourist center. The center comprises 2-3 beachfront streets with plenty of food, drink and shopping options. Porto De Galinhas is busy, filled with Brazilians and tourists alike, it’s the epitome of a busy and bustling Brazilian beach. Most beaches in Brazil will be busy, you’ll mostly likely have to go out of your way or visit during the off season to find a beach all to yourself. If you set expectations right, Porto De Galinhas can be a lot of fun! Bottomline, it’s worth the visit. We found the beach front restaurants to be pricy and mediocre at best. We opted to have bigger breakfasts and one meal about 2-3pm.

Patua Pousada Centro

The highlight of this B&B is the location. You are in the heart of downtown Porto De Galinhas. Less than a 5 minute was to the beach. It was safe to walk around at night. There were plenty of restaurants, bars and shops located right downstairs. We paid $38USD per night with a ensuite bathroom and a great breakfast.

The Longest Travel Day

//20-21 hours//

To see as much of Brazil as we saw given our timeline, long travel days were inevitable. Our journey began in Porto de Galinhas and ended in Chapada Diamantina National Park just west of Salvador. The day starts with the same 2 hour bus ride back to the Receife airport. Here we boarded a morning plane to Salvador, the ride lasted about 3 hours. Once at the airport, we took an Uber directly to the Salvador bus station. We bought tickets, had a late lunch and began our 9 hour bus journey west to Chapada Diamantina. The bus makes one stop about half way for dinner and a bathroom break. The food was delicious and fresh, so definitely no need to stock up on food before hand.  

Chapada Diamantina

//3-4 Days//

We took it slow adding an extra day at the beginning to rest after the long journey the day before. Chapada Diamantina is the perfect place for travelers looking to enjoy hiking, searching for hidden waterfalls and being outside in nature. You’ll be based in Lencois, an old mining town that has retained its colonial charm. Besides hiking and unwinding during the day, in the evenings there isn’t a huge amount to do, but in our opinion that’s exactly where the charm lies. It’s as if you’ve stepped back in time and get to experience a few days where time stood still. 

Most of the longer more exciting hikes require a guide. Our first guided hike, quite frankly, sucked. Our guide was boring and unenthusiastic. After this rather underwhelming introduction, we decided to find another guide named Marcelo and boy did we luck out! He ended up being our guide for all the remaining hikes and he was incredible. He speaks minimal English, but rest assured it won’t matter. He knows the Chapada inside and out, he still spends days, sleeping in the jungle in search of diamonds. He took us on two separate hikes both lasting about 5-6 hours. He is worth every penny and we can’t recommend him enough. You can message him directly on Whatsapp +(75)998369364 and arrange tours.

Salvador

//3-4 Days//

After the bus ride back from Chapada Diamantina you’ll begin your time in Salvador. It’s a city that’s vibrant, colorful, full of history and culture. You can really see and experience the Afro-Brazilian heritage. There is a thriving food and music scene that is truly unique. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Salvador is one of few places in our entire 2 years of full time travel where we felt uncomfortable and a bit uneasy. There is no secret that Brazil has a severe class inequality, and for us it was very prevalent during our time in Salvador. The city offers a ton to do, how much time you choose to spend here is all dependent on what you’re looking to get out of your time in Salvador. For us 4 days was more than enough. Looking back I would have spent a max of 2 days and allotted those extra 2 days elsewhere.

Laranjeiras Hostel

Located in the heart of Pelourinho, it’s a perfectly located hostel at a super budget price. We opted for the private room with an ensuite bathroom and hammock which costed us $15USD. It included mediocre breakfast that ran out of food every single day before 8am and 24-7 security. When I say security we mean police with M16 rifles after 6pm. We definitely felt safe staying here. Overall besides the breakfast it was a pretty decent hostel, clean and comfortable.

Rio De Janiero

//4 Days//

Rio is the city of dreams, simply put. It’s everything I ever imagined it would be and then some. My only regret is not having more time in this magnificent city. The number one question we get is how safe is Rio, and honestly we felt safer in Rio than we did in Salvador. A general rule of thumb in Brazil is to avoid walking around after dark and you’ll definitely steer clear of unwanted situations and it was no different in Rio. The streets tend to be quite dead after dark so always used Uber instead of walking.  

There is so much to do and see in Rio that even trying to sum it up would be impossible. However, one of our favorite travel memories of all time was watching the sunset on the Arpoador. It’s not a secret location by any means, but the experience is just magical. Hundreds of Brazilians and tourists alike flock to the Arpoador every evening to hear music playing, enjoy street food, and watch as Rio comes to life! Plan enough time to be able to take in all the must see tourist attractions but also be lazy around on the beach and enjoy the “Carioca” way of life. We rented an airbnb with a rather nice location but it was just down right gross and beat up. 

Florianopolis

//4 Days//

From Rio we jumped on our last plane ride to Florianopolis. Floripa was our first taste of the real south. Admittedly, we saw very little of Brazil’s south, but from our  experience the south boosts more of a European vibe. 

Floripa is a rather large island located in the state of Santa Catarina, notorious for its beaches. It’s beautiful, laid back and just has an all around fun vibe. Getting around the island is definitely something you’ll want to think about ahead of time. We used the rather extensive bus system to get pretty much everywhere, however like any island, things move on island time. Plan extra time and don’t be over ambitious about how much you can fit into your day. If your budget allows, you can rent a car or motorbike. The days we happened to visit Floripa was rainy and a bit chilly but nevertheless it was still charming and offered plenty to see and do. 

Sunset Strip Eco Apartments

This eco hotel was beautiful and we throughly enjoyed our stay here. There was a beautiful private beach located just down the hill from the hotel. One of my favorite parts was view from the room and the roof tops breakfasts. We stayed in their private room with a shared bathroom for $22USD.

Curitiba

The second stop in the south was Curitiba. As you may notice I didn’t add a suggested time frame. The reason is, we would probably wouldn’t add it to any first time Brazil itinerary. We spent 3 days in Curitiba, because we were visiting my childhood best friend. It’s an affluent city, that has its charm, but other than a handful of tourist sites there isn’t much to do or see.

Iguazu Falls

//2 Days// 

The final and last stop in our 6 weeks Brazil itinerary was the famous Iguazu Falls, we took an overnight bus from Curitiba to Iguazu and spent two days exploring the vast network of waterfalls and eating amazing grilled meat on the Argentinian side of the falls.  

Hospedaje Los Vencejos

We ended up staying on the Argentinian side of falls. This guesthouse was clean, good location but really nothing special. Everything in Iguazu is rather over priced and mediocre.