Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
ITACARÉ
By bus
The rodoviária lies just off the main road into town,
Av Boa Vista (BA-654), a 15min walk from Rua Pedro Longo.
Buses run frequently to Ilhéus (7am-7.40pm; 1hr 40min;
R$12) but much less regularly to and from Camamu
(2 daily; 55min) and Valença (2 daily; 3hr). From Salvador
it's best to take the ferry across to Bom Despacho on Ilha
Itaparica and take the Águia Branca bus (
W
aguiabranca
.com.br) to Ilhéus, which should stop at Itacaré (check
before you get on) - it takes around 4hr.
INFORMATION AND TOURS
Services
There are currently two ATMs in town and
numerous internet cafés.
Tours and surfing
Try Brazil Trip Tour (
T
73 9996 3331,
W
braziltriptour.com) on Rua Pedro Longo for a full range
of activities, including trips along the Península de Maraú.
For surfing instruction, contact the well-respected
EasyDrop school (
T
73 3251 3065,
W
easydrop.com) at Rua
João Coutinho 140. November to April is the best time for
beginners, with rates ranging R$150-240 per day.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Casarão Verde Hostel
Av Castro Alves, Praia da Coroa
T
73 3251 2037,
W
casaraoverdehostel.com.
Fun hostel
in a gorgeous pea-green mansion built in 1913. The
elegant dorms are spacious and clean (with fans), and
there are basic doubles with shared bathroom and fan. You
can op
t to h
ave break
fast in
cluded or not (R$7-10 more)
Dorms
R$28
; doubles
R$90
Itacaré Hostel
Rua Rui Barbosa 19
T
73 3251 2510,
W
itacarehostel.com.
This HI-a
liated hostel offers cheap
dorms and rooms on the main drag (though not quite as
atmospheric as
Casarão Verde
), with a choice of fan-cooled
or a/c doubles and fully equipped kitchen, TV room and free
wi-fi. Prices f
or HI me
mbers are given
in brackets. Dorms
R$53 (R$40)
; doubles
R$175 (R$135)
Manga Rosa
Rua Pedro Longo 249
T
073 3251 3095,
W
restaurantemangarosa.com.br.
Relatively expensive
3
restaurant in the heart of town, popular with tourists but
still a good bet for decent Brazilian dishes, pasta and
seafood, though you are paying for the location (and really
good free wi-fi). Mains cost R$25-45.
Mon-Sat noon-
11pm, Sun 5-11pm.
★
Pousada Casa Tiki
Rua C 30, Praia da Concha
T
73 9810 6098,
W
pousadacasatiki.com.br.
Gorgeous
hotel with four simple but immaculate, colourful rooms, all
with a/c,
and
lush gardens, free wi-fi and breakfast
included.
R$240
★
Tio Gu Café Creperia
Rua Pedro Longo 488
T
73 3251 2084,
W
tiogu.com.
Most popular snack spot
in town, this is a chilled-out surfer favourite serving tasty
crêpes, organic fresh fruit juices and sandwiches for
R$15-25.
Tues-Sun 5-11.30pm.
Ilhéus
In literary terms
ILHÉUS
, 70km south of Itacaré at the mouth of the Rio Cachoeira, is
the best-known town in Brazil, as the setting for
Jorge Amado
's most famous novel,
Gabriela, Cravo e Canela
, translated into English as “Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon”.
If you haven't heard of it before visiting Ilhéus, you soon will; it seems like every other
bar, hotel and restaurant is either named after the novel or one of its characters.
Traditionally Ilhéus has also been popular for its lively city beaches, though given the
options now available to the south and north, these need not detain you long.
Catedral de São Sebastião
Praça Don Eduardo • Daily 10am-8pm • Free
The city's landmark
Catedral de São Sebastião
on Praça Don Eduardo looks like a
Romanesque wedding cake, with a 48m-high dome, but was actually started in 1931
and only dedicated in 1967. It replaced an older chapel deemed too small for the city
and demolished.
Igreja Matriz de São Jorge
Praça Rui Barbosa • Tues-Sun 10am-6pm • Free
Dating back to a structure completed in the 1570s, the
Igreja Matriz de São Jorge
is the
oldest church in the city (though most of what you see today is seventeenth century),
containing an old and venerated image of Saint George (São Jorge). The sacristy serves
