We’ve learned through several unofficial sources that Búzios has just opened the doors of a new tourist attraction, the Centro de Visitantes do Parque Natural dos Corais (the Visitor’s Center for the Coral Natural Park). It seems like a very interesting place, with a central location at Rua das Pedras, 141. It opens from Tuesday to Sunday. From December to March its opening times are 11am till midnight. From April to November it will open from 5pm till 11pm. Tickets cost R$10 and all the income goes to a local environmental project (Projeto Coral Vivo).

I am not surprised to see no mention of the new attraction at the two official tourism websites for Búzios (Destino Búzios and Visite Buzios). It is a pity that a new attraction should be launched right at the beginning of the high season and it should get no proper coverage.

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destination: Búzios

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Over the last few years, the popularity of cruise ships has increased considerably. It is the choice for the holidays of many Brazilians and a substantial number of foreigners too.

The cruise ship on the photo was shot in Búzios, a very popular port of call for all routes navegating that part of the Brazilian coastline. We have travel info on Búzios at our blog post destination: Búzios. You can see more photos of Búzios at our Flickr album.

In a short period of time, Búzios, one of the most popular seaside resorts in the state of Rio de Janeiro, has won two official websites: Visite Buzios and Destino Buzios.

It is a bit of a bizarre story. An extremely popular resort which until 2011 had no official web presence suddenly wins two official sites, both with the backing of the local authorities. The outstanding feature of both sites for you reading this text is that they have no foreign-language version. Which means after accesing both sites will be none the wiser. It is a feature hard to stomach, given that more than 70% of the tourists arriving in Búzios come from abroad. But that is the sorry state of tourist information in Brazil, where the existence of the foreign independent traveler is often unrecognized.

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destination: Búzios

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According to O Globo newspaper (Parque: decreto preserva praias mais cobiçadas de Búzios), the governor of Rio de Janeiro has just passed a decree preventing developers from exploring whatever’s left (and it’s not much) of Búzios original vegetation. A new natural park, the Parque Estadual da Costa do Sol (Pecs), will be created encompassing bits and pieces of 27 different cities.

The beaches that should fall under the protection of the law include:

• Azeda, Azedinha, Brava, Olho de Boi, Forno, Tartaruga, Caravelas and José Gonçalves in Búzios.
• Peró (left corner), Conchas, Brava and Ilha do Japonês in Cabo Frio.
• Grande, Massambaba e Prainhas (pontal do Atalaia) in Arraial do Cabo.

This is certainly good news although only time will tell how effective the park will be in preventing the destruction of the environment at the hands of developers.

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destination: Arraial do Cabo
destination: Búzios

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The Rio de Janeiro’s governmental body Fundação Estadual de Engenharia do Meio Ambiente mantains a webpage where Internet users can check out the water conditions for a number of beaches on the state of Rio: Balneabilidade de Praias. there is data for Rio city, Magé, São Gonçalo, Niterói, Saquarema, Araruama, Iguaba Grande, Arraial do Cabo, Cabo Frio, Búzios, Casemiro de Abreu, Rio das Ostras, Macaé, Campos and São João da Barra.

Once you enter the Balneabilidade de Praias section, you need to select your beach of interest to view the data available for it.

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Beaches of Santa Catarina: quality index

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Golf in Brazil is the subject of a site run by the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism. A site that includes a version in English: Golf – Brazilian Tourism Portal.

The site is beautifully designed, and it contains quite a lot of detailed information on the main golf courses in Brazil:

- in the state of Bahía: Comandatuba Ocean Course and Costa do Sauípe Golf Links
- in the state of Paraná: Aguativa Golf Resort and Bourbon Iguassu Golf Club Resort
- in the state of Rio de Janeiro: Búzios Golf Club Resort and Hotel do Frade Golf Resort
- in the state of Santa Catarina: Plaza Itapema Resort Spa
- in the state of São Paulo: Blue Tree Park Paradise Golf Lake Resort

The initiative is part of the declared policy of the Brazilian Authorities to promote tourism in Brazil abroad almost exclusively among the upper-class markets. Foreign currency, rather than number of visitors, is the force behind the promotion of Brazil as a tourist destination. The website Nautical Tourism in Brazil is also part of that initiative.

Two good examples of golfing resources on the web are the website devoted to Hawaii golf and the one on golf courses in Scottsdale.

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Nautical Tourism in Brazil

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This is a summary of the entries posted along the last couple of months on the Região dos Lagos, an area that includes the tourist destinations of Arraial do Cabo, Búzios and Cabo Frío, in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

I published two destination cards, Destination: Arraial do Cabo and Destination: Búzios. Along with the destination cards, two entries with photo albums: Brazil in pictures: Arraial do Cabo and Brazil in pictures: Búzios, as well as a third entry decidated to the praia do Forno, in Arraial do Cabo: The most beautiful beach in Brazil?.

We paid a quick visit to Cabo Frio and its Rua dos biquinis.

To understand the region better I prepared three Maps of the beaches of Arraial do Cabo, Búzios and Cabo Frio.

Some help on how to travel from one town to another in Transportation between Arraial do Cabo, Cabo Frio and Búzios.

Finally, an entry on Prices in Búzios.

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The three towns mentioned on the title of this entry are quite close to each other, and everyone should make sure that on their trip to the Região dos Lagos they get to visit them all.

Ampliar mapa

On a private car, and outside the high season, it’s simple and quick to get from one town to the other. Ten minutes from Arraial do Cabo to Cabo Frio, and 20 minutes from Cabo Frio to the entrance of the Búzios peninsula.

There is reasonable public transportation as well. The buses linking the three towns belong to the company Salineira .

From Arraial do Cabo to Cabo Frio (and viceversa) there is a bus every 10 minutes during the day.

From Arraial do Cabo to Búzios (and viceversa) there are 6 direct buses per day (a las 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21). If the schedule doesn’t suit you, you can always take the bus to Cabo Frio and from there another bus to Búzios.

From Cabo Frio to Búzios (and viceversa) there is a bus every 20 minutes during the day.

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I’ve just finished three new maps on the GoogleMaps platform. They contain the location of the beaches of Arraial do Cabo, Búzios and Cabo Frio. Click on the symbols to see the names of the beaches.

BEACHES ARRAIAL DO CABO:

Ampliar mapa

BEACHES OF BÚZIOS:

Ampliar mapa

BEACHES OF CABO FRÍO:

Ampliar mapa

On my Búzios photo album I have just uploaded at my Flickr page you will find a series of images that portrait what one of the most coveted destinations in the whole of Brazil is like.

Beaches like Geribá, where the surfer rules.

Or beaches like tiny and cozy Azedinha.

The impressive liners anchored at the bay.

And how about statues, found everywhere, even at the beach? Would be nice if the authorities, who have made a substantial effort to plant art on the entire Búzios peninsula took a similar interest on mantaining the roads and cleaning the beaches.

In Buzios you will also find examples of why Brazilians have turned the beach into a real art.

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Hotels and pousadas in Búzios.

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