Brazil??? who knows where to go?

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Fletchman04

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so my friends and i are going to Brazil for Spring Break of our senior college year. i've been doing most of the not-so-done planning so far. i was thinking about something in the eastern most part of Brazil like Recife or even Salvador. we kind of want to stay away from the huge tourist areas like Rio and Sao Paulo.

does anyone know about this area first hand? thanks!
 
For diving or drinking? For diving Abrolhas and Fernando de Noronha are two of the best spots from what I hear. Haven't been there myself.
 
DrBill is right. The following is what I wrote for another forum regarding the area you are interested in:

I’ve listed below (from North to South) the best places where you could dive in Brazil with links to local dive shops. Dive sites have been (subjectively) rated from 1 (best) to 6 (see the number before the city name):

1- National Marine Park of Fernando de Noronha, also known as “Noronha” (pelagics, reef fish, some coral, world class technical dives, from June to November visibility reaches 50 meters; 340 km off the Northeastern tip of South America; 70-minute flight from Natal daily at 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. R$383 one way, or 90-minute flight from Recife daily at 12:00 and 14:30 R$441 one way, it can be included in Varig’s Brazil Airpass; only about 15% of the visitors to Noronha are foreigners); http://www.atlantisnoronha.com.br/english/default.asp, which is perhaps the best dive outfit in Brazil and the most expensive one, http://www.aguasclaras-fn.com.br/en_index_corpo.htm and http://www.noronhadivers.com.br

5- Recife (many old wrecks); http://www.projetomar.com.br/operacao.html, http://www.aquaticos.com.br and http://www.seagaterecife.com.br/novosite/index.php

6 - Maragogi (the town is a good base to dive one of the biggest coral reefs in Brazil, which goes from Maceió up to the town of Rio Formoso; Maragogi is located 130 km north of Macei&#243:wink:; http://www.maragogionline.com.br/cactusdiving

4- Salvador (many old wrecks, coral reef, visibility = 3-15 meters inside the bay, 6-30 meters outside the bay, where lies the 170-meter-long Cavo Artemidi, which is the biggest ship wreck in Brazil); http://www.divebahia.com.br, http://www.bahiascuba.com.br and http://www.uwbahia.com.br

3- Morro de São Paulo (coral reef; 2 hours by boat south of Salvador, visibility = 5-20 meters); http://www.ciadomergulho.com.br Gustavo and Sandra are both instructors who have been diving for almost two decades and speak several languages; they always made our dives a very enjoyable experience

2- National Marine Park of Abrolhos, also known as “Abrolhos” (coral reef, humpback whales from late July to early November, wrecks, also very good for snorkeling, visibility = 10-40 meters; it was the first Marine Park created in Brazil in 1983 and is 1.5 to 3 hours away by boat from the town of Caravelas, which is half way between Rio and Salvador. There is a direct bus from Salvador to Caravelas on Fridays at 7 p.m. and back on Sundays at 4:50 p.m., also several daily buses from Salvador to Teixeira de Freitas, where you change to another bus to Caravelas. Leaving from Porto Seguro, there is a daily bus to Caravelas at 2 p.m. and several daily buses to Teixeira de Freitas). Daytrips and liveaboards: http://www.abrolhosembarcacoes.com.br/ingles/index.htm and http://www.paradiseabrolhos.com.br. Liveaboards only: http://www.horizonteaberto.com.br, http://www.titanliveaboard.com.br, http://geocities.yahoo.com.br/catamarasanuk/catamara.htm and http://www.abrolhosdive.com.br/maritimo.htm
 
well i think i just went into information overload... thanks though. thats exactly what i needed. i noticed you didn't mention Rio at all. is it not really a good area for diving?

also about how expensive are most of the dives in these areas? ...just a round number
 
I was born and raised in Rio so if you want to PM me I can give you some tips about the city. Where diving is concerned... Angra dos Reis which is south of Rio has ok diving, the water is always very, very green which makes for weird photos. I heard Paraty has great diving and it is a cute historical town, haven't been there yet. Angra is about 3 hours from Rio. Arraial do Cabo has by far the best diving in Rio. If you go during the week, the DMs show you all kinds of stuff and they are very patient with photographers. Buzios is nice but it is more of a "cattle dive" everybody follow your DM quick, no time for pics. Buzios is a nicer city to stay in. They are both North of Rio.
Abrolhos is very nice, it is an island off the coast of Bahia. Live aboard ony, very cheap.
PM me for contacts and anything else. Live in Monterey now but going back to visit in March!

Andrea
 
Off of RIo you have a couple of Islands and a wreck, the Buenos Aires that is shallow. I don't know what the vis is there. THings in Rio are cheap, think 2.50 reais to each dollar. A weekend of diving in Angra with food and two boat dives cost me $180 reais.
 
Angra is fine, and half as far to the norht you have Arraial do Cabo, Cabo Frio and Buzios... just as fine
Some pictures of Cabo Frio you can see in my Photographer of the Week gallery at ScubaDiving Magazine site.
Fernando de Noronha, a hop flight from Recife is the best place to go... Abrolhos (long 24h drive from Rio) maybe second best.
 
Arraial do Cabo is the only diving I have done so far in Brasil. Visibility wasnt that great the day I went but sealife was excellent I counted 5 turtles on one dive. Heard great things about all the places they have mentioned. If you go to Buzios, Cabo Frio, or Arraial you can save some money and take a bus as the drive is only like 2 hours from Rio by car. Also, these towns are loaded with dive shops many in which have english speaking crew. Buzious is the place if you want to do some partying when down there but you can get a cab from one to the other for less than you might think.
I have spent many days in Arraial if you go there don't forget to go snorkeling at Pria do Forno, its a beautiful secluded beach that you have to hike to or catch a boat to. Exchange rate is around 2.14 right now so not as good as it used to be.
Good luck and message me if you come down I might be here.
 
Hi all,

Sorry to ressuscitate this "old" thread, but I have a follow up question. Is there a spot in Brazil you would recommend with interesting things to do off the water? I'm likely to be on my own, and I like to walk around, do some people watching, maybe visit a few things / monuments. I am not looking specifically for a party place, but I'm not allergic to it either. I don't speak Portugese, but I speak good Spanish & French and I can understand what people say 1/3 of the time generally - and I'm not above learning the basics.
 
Fernando de Noronha Island is also great for upside tour... 4 days you can cover all the beaches.
Other than that... definitely Rio, for Corcovado, Sugar Loaf...
Dont forget to go to Niterói on the other side of the bay!!!
 
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