The BEST issues to do in Lençóis Maranhenses, Brazil

The very best time to go to Lençóis Maranheses…

Because the lagoons are made up of rainfall water, the perfect time to go to Lençóis Maranheses is when they’re at their fullest, which is correct after the rain stops, making July, August and the beginning of September the perfect time to go to Lençóis Maranheses. Regardless that it’s technically Winter within the Southern Hemisphere, you must count on scorching and dry circumstances within the North East (round 28C-34C levels!).

Tips on how to get to Lençóis Maranheses…

Attending to Lençóis Maranheses is a little bit of a mission, but it surely’s not troublesome in any respect. As tourism has developed, it’s made it extra accessible and simpler to journey to. What are a number of tough roads in relation to visiting among the best locations in Brazil, ey?

In case you are apprehensive about tips on how to get to Lençóis Maranheses, learn on, as I’ve offered a variety of element on this weblog submit!

The closest airport to Lençóis Maranheses is São Luis Airport, within the state of Maranhão. However from the airport, you’re nonetheless at the very least 3.5 hour’s drive from the cities that encompass the park. You’ll be able to both drive your self by renting a automobile or reserving a switch.

If you wish to lease a automobile, there are two corporations I’d suggest: Localiza or Movida. Each are dependable and environment friendly and provide a superb vary of automobiles to select from. Prime tip: positively put money into hiring a 4×4 automobile for this journey!

When you’re flying from Europe, there aren’t any direct flights to São Luis Airport. The closest airport you will get to is Fortaleza Airport in Ceará, and that is on a TAP flight from Lisbon. From there, you can both embark on a little bit of a highway journey driving up the coast of Fortaleza, Piaui and Maranhao to get to Lençóis Maranheses or get an inner flight to São Luis Airport. Your different possibility is to fly to both São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro and get on an inner flight.

I’ll be straight with you, flights to Brazil are costly. Earlier than the pandemic, you can discover a number of actually good offers to fly to São Paulo or Rio, however now, the common value for a direct flight is between £850-£1200 return with both BA or LATAM. One-stop flights are round £700-£900. 

Inside flights to São Luis vary from £150-£250. To get the perfect deal, e book nicely prematurely as this can be a common vacation spot for native travellers, particularly if reserving in July, because it’s the college holidays.

The place to remain in Lençóis Maranheses…

As Lençóis Maranheses is a Nationwide Park, it’s a protected space, so you may’t really keep within the sand dunes, however there are three essential cities that encompass the park the place you may base your self: Barreirinhas, Atins and Santo Amaro.

Barreirinhas is probably the most developed city and the place you’ll discover the perfect number of lodging, eating places and bars. It is likely one of the finest locations to remain in Lençois is you’re searching for comfort and accessibility. It’s additionally the place you’ll be capable of e book any excursions or excursions into the park because it’s the primary jumping-off level.

Atins is a smaller city however has a extra laid-back vibe. There’s an excellent number of pousadas (guesthouses), and it’s the perfect place to remain if you wish to discover the dunes by foot or quad bikes because it’s closest to them. It’s additionally a giant kite browsing level, so if you wish to be taught or already know how-to, this can be a good place to decide on to your keep.

*Atins is barely accessible by boat, so in the event you’ve rented a automobile, you’ll want to depart it in a carpark in Barreirinhas. Because it’s such a small city, you need to e book lodging nicely prematurely as it’s going to promote out (belief me).

Santo Amaro is on the opposite facet of the park and takes round 45 minutes to drive to from Barreirinhas.  Santo Amaro is the least developed out of all three because it’s probably the most troublesome to entry (solely accessible by 4×4 accredited excursions and transfers). Nonetheless, it’s additionally the park half that’s much less “touristy” and feels extra genuine. Properly price a go to if you wish to keep away from the crowds and entry the extra untouched components of the park.

The best choice, in my view, is to remain in all three! It’s a bit of extra effort and transferring round, however price it and doable! This can be a once-in-a-lifetime journey, so that you’ll wish to do it proper and revel in it to the max.

When you had to decide on to be primarily based someplace although, then Barrieirinhas is your only option as it’s the largest city and the place most tour corporations are primarily based. They even provide day journeys or in a single day journeys to Atins and Santo Amaro with the intention to expertise them to some extent.