The Paraty International Literary Festival, aka FLIP, will take place in the lovely city between 6 and 10 July 2011.

You should by all means visit Paraty during the period if:

• the literary festival is the reason for your trip.

You should avoid at all costs Paraty during the festival period if:

• you want to enjoy Paraty far from the crowds that gather during the festival.
• you are not willing to pay OTT prices for both acommodation and food.

All the information we have on Paraty at the blog is at destination: Paraty. Paraty is one of our all-time favourite destinations in Brazil.

To complete the information given at destination: Paraty we are publishing the following map prepared with the help of Google Maps. You will find on the map the location of the most important sights in Paraty, the name of the streets of the historic centre and the most important beaches on the Paraty region (including nearby Trindade).

See Paraty on a new window.

Paraty is one of our absolute favourite destinations in Brazil. We hadn’t published a map before as only recently Google made high-resolution images of the area available.

——————————
RELATED POSTS:
destination: Paraty
destination: Trindade

subscribe to the Brazil Travel Blog by Email
follow the Brazil Travel Blog on Twitter

Here’s our annual rewrite of our list of our list of favourite places in Brazil (previous editions include Top 10: favourite places in Brazil and 10 must-see places in Brazil).

Here is the 2011 ranking of my 10 must-see places in Brazil. Click on the names of the places to go to their full destination cards here at the blog, and find out more about them. Some of the destinations are really well-known. Others fall within the hidden jewel description. I have only included places I have been to (places I’ve read/heard about but I haven’t visited didn’t make it into the ranking).

———————————————
1. Fernando de Noronha (Pernambuco)

———————————————
2. Paraty (Rio de Janeiro)

———————————————
3. Lençóis Maranhenses (Maranhão)

———————————————
4. the Pantanal (Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul)

———————————————
5. Alter do Chão and the river Tapajós (Pará)

———————————————
6. Iguaçu falls (Paraná and Argentina)

———————————————
7. Ilha Grande (Rio de Janeiro)

———————————————
8. Brasilia (Distrito Federal)

———————————————
9. Boipeba (Bahia)

———————————————
10. Curitiba (Paraná)

——————————
RELATED POSTS:
10 must-see places in Brazil (2010 edition)
10 must-see places in Brazil (2009 edition)
Brazil 12 months 12 destinations
top 10 Brazilian beaches – 2009 edition
São Paulo’s top ten

subscribe to the Brazil Travel Blog by Email
follow the Brazil Travel Blog on Twitter

The website PanMAP, specialized in pano images and virtual walkthroughs, contains a series of photos covering very well known Brazilian destinations. Delight yourself from your very own desktop!

• virtual walkthrough: Jericoacoara (Ceará)
• virtual walkthrough: Morro de São Paulo (Bahía)
• virtual walkthrough: Paraty (Rio de Janeiro)
• virtual walkthrough: Porto de Galinhas (Pernambuco)
• virtual walkthrough: Río de Janeiro

The Brazil Travel Blog contains destination cards on with plenty of travel information on Jericoacoara, Morro de São Paulo, Paraty and Rio de Janeiro.

subscribe to the Brazil Travel Blog by Email
follow the Brazil Travel Blog on Twitter
follow the Brazil Travel Blog on Facebook

Here’s our anual rewrite of our list of our list of favourite places in Brazil (previous editions include Top 10: favourite places in Brazil and 10 must-see places in Brazil). Here is the 2010 ranking of my 10 must-see places in Brazil. Click on the names of the places to go to their full destination cards here at the blog, and find out more about them. Some of the destinations are really well-known. Others fall within the hidden jewel description. I have only included places I have been to (places I’ve read/heard about but I haven’t visited didn’t make it into the ranking).

———————————————
1. Fernando de Noronha (Pernambuco)

———————————————
2. Paraty (Rio de Janeiro)

———————————————
3. Lençóis Maranhenses (Maranhão)

———————————————
4. Ilha Grande (Rio de Janeiro)

———————————————
5. Iguaçu falls (Paraná and Argentina)

———————————————
6. Brasilia (Distrito Federal)

———————————————
7. Boipeba (Bahia)

———————————————
8. Bonito (Mato Grosso do Sul)

———————————————
9. Inhotim (Minas Gerais)

———————————————
10. Rio de Janeiro

——————————
RELATED POSTS:
Brazil 12 months 12 destinations
top 10 Brazilian beaches – 2009 edition
São Paulo’s top ten

subscribe to the Brazil Travel Blog by Email
follow the Brazil Travel Blog on Twitter

Nearly two years after the publication of my first list of favourite places in Brazil (Top 10: favourite places in Brazil) a revamped version of that list makes the blog’s frontpage – gaining a catchier title in the process. So here is the 2009 ranking of my 10 must-see places in Brazil. Click on the names of the places to go to their full destination cards here at the blog, and find out more about them. Some of the destinations are really well-known. Others fall within the hidden jewel description. Bear in mind I have only included places I have been to (places I’ve read/heard about but I haven’t visited didn’t make it into the ranking).

———————————————
1. Fernando de Noronha (Pernambuco)

Noronha is where you will find the most beautiful beaches in the whole of Brazil, and crystal-clear waters of unparalleled beauty. If that wasn’t enough, locals do care about the environment, no mean fate in the Brazilian context. A unique place. Not even its dear price tag will remove it from the number 1.

———————————————
2. Paraty (Rio de Janeiro)

Atlantic rainforest, desert beaches and the best preserved colonial architecture in the country come together to make of Paraty a very special destination.

———————————————
3. Lençóis Maranhenses (Maranhão)

While it’s not easy to reach the Lençóis Maranhenses, the reward more than makes up for the long journey. A unique landscape of dunes and lagoons where mass tourism hasn’t left its mark yet.

———————————————
4. Ilha Grande (Rio de Janeiro)

In spite of the numerous threats looming, Ilha Grande is a fantastic and incredibly beautiful nature destination.

———————————————
5. Boipeba (Bahia)

Wild beaches and crystal-clear waters the way you won’t find anywhere else in Brazil – bar Noronha. On top of that, a charming quiet village where civilization has yet to leave its imprint.

———————————————
6. Iguaçu falls (Paraná and Argentina)

The breathtaking beauty of the falls will captive you the moment you set your eyes on them.

———————————————
7. Bonito (Mato Grosso do Sul)

In the southernmost tip of the Pantanal lies Bonito, a mecca for ecotourism and fun in close contact with nature.

———————————————
8. Morro de São Paulo (Bahia)

A unique combination of sublime beaches with a great atmosphere at the end of the day.

———————————————
9. Arraial d’Ajuda (Bahia)

Great variety of beaches and a lovely village. Rest and relax during the day, have fun when the night begins.

———————————————
10. Jericoacoara (Ceará)

Another destination with a nearly-mythical status among travellers. Captivating sand dunes in a remote setting.

———————————————
HONOURABLE MENTION. Florianópolis (Santa Catarina)

The only reason for Florianópolis not making the top 10 is that rather than a single destination, the island of Florianópolis contains an exciting collection of villages and beaches.

Ready to make that trip and looking for accommodation in Brazil? Choose from a wide range of cheap to luxury hotels in Rio de Janeiro and many other cities from beautiful Brazil!

———————————————
subscribe to the Brazil Travel Blog by Email
follow the Brazil Travel Blog on Twitter
follow the Brazil Travel Blog on Facebook

We’ve made another update in Accommodation in Brazil, with five new blog posts with full listings of accommodation in Canoa Quebrada, Fortaleza, Guarda do Embaú, Ilhabela and Paraty.

The Brazilian Ministry of Tourism has a website devoted to Nautical Tourism in Brazil. It has an English version.

The website has a beautiful layout and tons of information on the Brazilian coastline, the weather, tide charts and other useful information for sailors.

It also contains complete information on the marinas at Baía de Todos os Santos, Fernando de Noronha, Fortaleza, Ilha Grande, Ilhabela, João Pessoa, Morro de São Paulo, Natal, Paraty, Recife, Río de Janeiro and Ubatuba.

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 Golf in Brazil is also part of that initiative.

——————————
RELATED POSTS:
Golf in Brazil

subscribe to the Brazil Travel Blog by Email
follow the Brazil Travel Blog on Twitter

We have already explained here at the Brazil Travel Blog how to get from Rio to Angra dos Reis / Paraty and from São Paulo to Paraty. But anyone spending time in the region will, at one stage or another, need to get from Paraty to Angra dos Reis (boat to Ilha Grande) or viceversa. For that purpose, there is a different bus service.

Colitour is the company operating the service. It doesn’t have a website but there are two external sites with the schedules of the service: Horário de Ônibus and Horário de Ônibus (2).

As there are no guarantees the sites will be online in months and years to come, here’s a summary of the info. One of the pages shows a different schedule from Monday to Saturday; the other site states the schedules are the same from Monday to Sunday. In any case, there are 25 daily services from Paraty to Angra dos Reis and viceversa. The first one leaves at 05:00 and the last one at 22:30 (from both ends). One of the sites states that on Sundays there are only 18 services.

I haven’t been able to find out the price of the ticket. The trip takes about 1 hour.

subscribe to the Brazil Travel Blog by Email
follow the Brazil Travel Blog on Twitter

A truly spectacular orchid we saw on a rainy day at a bromeliad centre in Paraty. Nature never failing to impress us.