Brazil🇧🇷 | regionsCosta VerdeColonial Paraty, car-free islands, forest trails, fishing hamlets | things to do and best time to go

Paraty is best done on foot in the cooler morning, then with a long break under shade when the sun is highest.Day 1: Paraty: Start in the historic center, because the stones are quiet before the day-trippers arrive. Walk to the waterfront for the fishing boats, then spend the afternoon at a café or on a boat trip. This keeps you off crowded buses on arrival day.Day 2: Trindade: A local bus climbs and drops along the coast road to Trindade. Swim in the rock pools and sleep close to the sand, so you can see the beach in the best light without rushing back.Day 3: Ilha Grande: Return to the mainland and take the ferry to Vila do Abraão. Ferries run on a schedule, which sets your timing, so book the earlier crossing and use the afternoon for Lagoa Azul by boat.Day 4: Lopes Mendes: Walk over the … read more 👉

Paraty is best done on foot in the cooler morning, then with a long break under shade when the sun is highest.Day 1: Paraty: Start in the historic center, because the stones are quiet before the day-trippers arrive. Walk to the waterfront for the fishing boats, then spend the afternoon at a café or on a boat trip. This keeps you off crowded buses on arrival day.Day 2: Trindade: A local bus climbs and drops along the coast road to Trindade. Swim in the rock pools and sleep close to the sand, so you can see the beach in the best light without rushing back.Day 3: Ilha Grande: Return to the mainland and take the ferry to Vila do Abraão. Ferries run on a schedule, which sets your timing, so book the earlier crossing and use the afternoon for Lagoa Azul by boat.Day 4: Lopes Mendes: Walk over the island forest to the long surf beach. The trail takes a few hours, so it fills the day and leaves you tired in a good way.Day 5: Detour to Saco do Mamanguá: For a detour, join a kayak or boat trip into the inlet from Paraty. It adds calm water and mangrove quiet without changing your onward bus.If you only get one day, make it Day 4. The trail through Ilha Grande’s forest ending at an empty beach is the best day on this coast.

Start with peixe com banana-da-terra, fish stewed with plantain, a Costa Verde classic with a soft, sweet edge against the salty broth. Fresh moqueca and camarão (shrimp) turn up at beach kiosks, often for US$10 to 18 a plate. Look for azul-marinho, a Paraty fish stew cooked with green banana in an iron pot, which turns the broth bluish, and sweet pastel de banana when you want something cheap and fried.The local drink is cachaça, distilled in the hills around Paraty, and the caipirinha comes with lime sharp enough to wake you up. Try Gabriela, a Paraty cachaça flavored with honey, clove and cinnamon. Distillery tastings cost US$3 to 8, and sugarcane juice from street stalls costs about US$1.50.Backpackers eat well at por quilo buffets, where you pay by weight, usually US$8 to 14 for a full … read more 👉

Start with peixe com banana-da-terra, fish stewed with plantain, a Costa Verde classic with a soft, sweet edge against the salty broth. Fresh moqueca and camarão (shrimp) turn up at beach kiosks, often for US$10 to 18 a plate. Look for azul-marinho, a Paraty fish stew cooked with green banana in an iron pot, which turns the broth bluish, and sweet pastel de banana when you want something cheap and fried.The local drink is cachaça, distilled in the hills around Paraty, and the caipirinha comes with lime sharp enough to wake you up. Try Gabriela, a Paraty cachaça flavored with honey, clove and cinnamon. Distillery tastings cost US$3 to 8, and sugarcane juice from street stalls costs about US$1.50.Backpackers eat well at por quilo buffets, where you pay by weight, usually US$8 to 14 for a full plate. Bakeries serve coffee with pão de queijo in the morning, and evening street stalls grill skewers near the old town squares.Tipping of 10 percent is usually added to the bill, and lunch is the main meal, often lingering past 2 pm. Say com gelo if you want ice in your juice, and expect sand on your feet at beach restaurants.