Saquarema: having fun in Itauna and Vila beaches

According to Lonely Planet website, "Saquarema is a laid-back little town." It is located at 100 kilometers at east of Rio de Janeiro city.

This town is very rustic town. The peace is there. It is typical seaside town in the coast of Rio de Janeiro state. It has a unique beauty because is surrounded by ocean, lagoons, lakes, mountains and wild natural vegetation. According to Portal Saquarema website, is “considered the ‘National Capital of the Surf,’ where rolling national and international championships, with long and perfect waves.”
It is an open ocean beach, the waves are huge, around three meters high and the water is extremely cold.

Saquarema has many beaches and lagoons where you can practice a lot different activities such as, fishing, jet-skiing, diving, sailing sports, water skiing and surfing.
The best beaches for surfing are:

• Praia de Itauna
• Praia da Vila

Praia de Itauna:
It is very famous by tourists and mainly by surfers. It is s known worldwide as Itauna, and as an excellent place for surfing.
It is considered the best waves of Brazil. Practitioners of radical surf can have a lot of fun on this beach. Itauna is part of the official circuit of national and international tournaments.
It has been the site of the most important national and international surf competitions.  Due to its perfect waves.
Itauna also is popular for fishing and diving and one of the best places in Saquarema for luau.

Praia da Vila:
It is located in the middle of the town. It has clear green waters,that varies according to the brightness of the day. Its sands are bright white and fine.
 This beach is frequented by tourists and locals. Also, attract extreme athletes because of its good waves.
At Praia da Vila you can find in its seaside sidewalk fun kiosks serving fresh and delicious seafood.

Arraial do Cabo: a pleasure underwater world

Arraial do Cabo is one of the three cities most visited for diving in Brazi.It is known as a Capital of Diving in Rio de Janeiro State.

This village with  blue degrade  water has a treasure under the water:

·         Amazing  marine life

·       Colorful coral reefs 

·         Exotic  caves

Arraial do Cabo attracts tourists who enjoy scuba diving and snorkeling because of its clear waters and its diversity marine life.

Accoding to  Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro - FAPERJ, "Coral reefs are so important to the marine ecosystem richest and most productive in the world, forests are environments for life on earth."

Arraial do Cabo is a daylight city- for morning people who are calm and healthy.
 Here you can find many Places to dive.

The day starts early going for scuba diving, snorkeling or visiting the Gruta Azul(Blue Cave). But be prepared, the water is cold.

Gruta Azul

On the way back from diving, a stop by at Praia do Pontal it is the same as to find a hidden treasure. The access to Praia do Pontal is only by boat. This beach is the quietest beach because it is  far from the road and far from the crowded.
 Couples love to be there.

Praia do Pontal
Arraial do Cabo

If you prefer a crowded place, Praia Grande and Prainha beach are the best options. These are the places for partying at the beach. You are going to find young, fun people and families.

 At Praia Grande, the water is cold with  nice white sand. This beach is beautiful, but the waves are big.

Prainha beach is one of the most crowded beaches in Arraial do Cabo. It is famous for warm water  and a good place for a picnic with family. 

It is much more fun to go to Arraial do Cabo on the weekends

Arraial do Cabo

    

Great news!!!

According to “O Globo,” the most famous newspaper in Brazil, Azul Brazilian Airlines, started on Sep. 23 to flight from Rio de Janeiro to Arraial do Cabo area.

 Azul, the way it is called in Rio, is making the impossible to become possible. It is resolving what Cariocas complain the most: traffic for short trips on the weekend.

 Cariocas are experts on facing hours of traffic every day. They now have the choice to go by bus, by car and by airplane to Arraial do Cabo.



Arraial do Cabo is located at 140 kilometers from the Rio de Janeiro city. 

If you are tight with money, go to the bus station in Rio de Janeiro downtown and enjoy three hours on the road.
 Remember to leave before the rush hours on the weekends; otherwise, your trip are going to last for five hours trip or more.

If you decide to rent a car. It is very convenient as anywhere in the world, but remember that in many places in Rio de Janeiro you are going to face a heavy traffic.

A great option now is to fly with Azul. The flight depart from Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Campinas every day but Saturdays.

If you want to travel to Arraial do Cabo from U.S. it is easier now. You can flight straight to Rio de Janeiro and then go to  Cabo Frio. Cabo Frio is around 10 kilometers from Arraial do Cabo by car.

A cheap option is take a bus at the bus station.The bus from Cabo Frio to Arraial do Cabo depart each 20 minutes and runs till 12 a.m.




Driving from Cabo Frio to Arraial do Cabo on Estrada Velha de Arraial do Cabo,is a box full with surprises.

Portal 

Arraial do Cabo

In this link, Arraial do Cabo you can find amazing pictures.

Along the road, you can find white sand dunes around the road and  on the middle of the road.
It is possible to  see a cow crossing the street, a small pond,

and a shoal.

Buzios : A unique place with 23 exotic beaches near to Rio de Janeiro

Buzios is the fifth city most visited in Brazil. Wake up in Buzios is the the same as to wake up in paradise.If you are a beach lover, Buzios is the right place to visit.

Buzios offer an amazing day light fun  for any kind of age. Buzios is choose as one of the best options places to visit near to Rio de Janeiro city. 

Because its variety of beaches and its nature beauty, Buzios attracts tourist from everywhere in the world.

The most famous beaches are:

Azeda

Azedinha

Ferradura

Ferradurinha

Geriba

Tartaruga

Joao Fernandes

Joao Fernandinho

Praia da Armação

Manguinhos

Praia do Forno

Praia dos Ossos

Praia Brava

After a day light fun visiting the beaches, a good suggestion is to lay down at Praia de Geriba and get tan.

 If you want to follow to Carioca style,stay at the beach till Sunset. Afterward,  go to have fun at

   Tartaruga Beach, where you can  get together with a variety of  nationalities people  dance and drink until 9p.m. under a loud song at the beach sand. 

Later on, people go back to their b and b to rest till 10p.m., get dress, and the night start over.

 As you can see, the nature beauty is there. 

Praia do Forno

Praia da Ferradura

    

Azedinha

Praia Azeda

Buzios: Visit a lively town where Rio goes to party

Buzios

One of the most beautiful town in Rio de Janeiro state is called Armacao de Buzios known just as Buzios.

 Buzios is located 180 kilometer north east of Rio de Janeiro and became very famous in the world on 1960’s by the French actress Brigitte Bardot
Buzios is the fifth city most visited in Brazil

To get there, be prepare to spend from $1200, to $1900, fly ticket.It depends when you are going.
The flight ticket is Rio de Janeiro destination and takes about 8 hours nonstop flight to get there.If you depart from Miami.
There are many flight companies' options to get in Rio de Janeiro city.The most popular is American Airlines and Tam Airlines.
A red-eye flight is the best way to enjoy this travel.I recommend to you to stay in Rio de Janeiro city until the next day.
Choose any four stars hotel,at least, at Leblon neighborhood, rest till the next day,rent a car at the hotel,and drive to Buzios.It takes approximately two hours driving from the Rio de Janeiro city to Buzios.
I promise it will be worth it!

Brigitte Bardot statue

The perfect weekend in Buzios is to get there on Friday night and stay until Sunday night. On Fridays, cariocas leave work, go straight to the happy hours to wait for the rush hours to pass, go home and pick up their bags to go to Buzios. 

 The life style in Buzios is very unique because the night entertainment starts at 10 p.m. and ends at 5 a.m. on the next day. Cariocas usually get there around 9 p.m., go to the pousadas, which could be compared to a bed and breakfast in U.S., and get ready to go and have dinner around 10 p. m. at Rua das Pedras
.

Rua das Pedras is the glamour street of the town. It is very similar to Lincoln Road in South Beach with many options of restaurants, bars, boutiques and clubs.

Rua das Pedras

 Cariocas usually make the first stop at Chez Michou Creperie. It  is the most tradition restaurant in town.Chez Michou is  famous for the variety of  crepe with an amazing french taste and a great price.You can choose from the most traditional ham and cheese crepe to the most unique taste,dulce de leche. The crepe price range from $10, to $30,.    
If you are looking for a more sophisticated food, a beautiful cozy place and an amazing entertainment night,you need to stop by at Pátio Havana Restaurant/Cafe.

Patio Havana Restaurant

Patio Havana is  a great option for your Buzios fan night.Its diversity  of concert make this place very unique.
If you are looking for a party time,Pacha is the place to go. 

Visiting Rio de Janeiro: Let's get a few facts straight first.

Hi visitors, 

There are a lot things that you should  know about Rio de Janeiro before you pick this city as destination in Brazil. 

Christ the Redeemer Statue

Let’s start by clearing up a few things:

•   The official language in Brazil is not Brazilian it is Portuguese.
•   Brazil was originally a colony of Portugal.
•   Brazil is not a Spanish speaking country.
•   Rio de Janeiro is not a capital of Brazil. The capital of Brazil is Brasilia.
•   Rio de Janeiro is known as a city, but it is also a state.
•   Whoever is born in Rio de Janeiro is called Carioca.

Now that you are already aware about some misconceptions, you should know how to deal with the Cariocas:

• Cariocas do not like to stop on the red traffic light. They are always scared if they would  be robbed.
• Cariocas love holidays. They honor all the saints as a national holiday.
• A vacation for Cariocas is 30 days, and they still feel that is not enough. 
• Cariocas are very touch person. Do not be scare if they kiss you. They love to kiss.
• Cariocas speak loud. But they are not fighting, this is the way they express their happiness.
• Cariocas are crazy for soap operas. If you are planning  to visit one, please go before or after the soap opera .The whole family  get together every night at 9 p.m. to watch the novelas (soap opera in Portuguese)  
• Cariocas have dinner around 8 p.m.
• Cariocas like to get away from “hustle and bustle” of the city.

Here is an amazing song that describes the real Carioca

Carioca lyric in English

Cariocas are beautiful
Cariocas are cool
Cariocas are clever
Cariocas are gold-tanned
Cariocas are modern
Cariocas are smart
Cariocas are frank
Cariocas don't like cloudy days
Cariocas are born bambas
Cariocas are born aces
Cariocas speak with accent
Cariocas are joyfull
Cariocas are so thoughtful
Cariocas are so sexy
Cariocas are so plain
Cariocas don't like boundaries

Cariocas, on the weekends and holidays, are always looking for a new place to escape from the city.
Cariocas like to travel to the Regiao dos Lagos in Rio de Janeiro state, which could be compare to Cote d’Azur on France or Sicily in Italy.