My own personal idea of what’s worth seeing in north-east Brasil.
I didn’t go everywhere so you shouldn’t take my word for it. But from my researching and also firsthand experience of places I’ve already been…this is how I felt:
General info about Northeast Brasil:
Different culture, great food, music, very vibrant, cheap a favorite travel destination for Brasilians. Usually non-Brasilian tourists don’t come out this way. Only the hardcore backpackers go here. The bad parts, are that it can also be very dangerous.
Cities in Northeast Brasil:
- Belem (no) – maybe
- Fortaleza (no) – nothing special
- Jericoacoara (yes) – beautiful and many Brasilians recommend it.
- Parque Nacional dois Lencois Marenhenses (yes) – beautiful and people like it.
- Morro Branco Beach (yes) – people like it.
- Natal (no) – nothing special. Just a city.
- Recife (no) – nothing special. Has restaurants and shopping. Much better to spend your time in Olinda. More unique and charmy.
- Olinda (yes) – cute, colorful, has unique charmy character, feels “safe” as long as you don’t venture out of the historic areas. Also cheap.
- Salvador (yes) – has a cute charmy historical area. And some nice beaches. But widely considered dangerous and ugly (poverty/destitute) in many places. I wouldn’t spend many days here but do agree it’s worth seeing for 2-3 days.
- Morro de Sao Paulo (yes) – beautiful but more pricey and on the posh fancy touristy side.
- Itacare (yes) – beautiful but more “roots” (as Brasilians like to say) and less infrastructure. Feels more adventure and free. Both are Morro de SP and Itacare are worth seeing for all types of people. They just fit you in different ways.
- Caraiva (yes) – another highly recommended place that some people prefer over Morro de Sao Paulo.