Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
EATING
Café Paulista
Praça Rui Barbosa 8, Centro
T
13 3219
5550.
A lovely old café, founded in 1911, with tiled murals
of local agriculture on the walls. Nowadays it doubles up as
a restaurant specializing in fish, with top billing going to
the house-style sole in seafood sauce (R$75).
Mon-Fri
7am-7pm, Sat 7am-4pm.
Nova Mineira
Rua Bahia 174, Gonzaga
T
13 3286
2790,
W
novamineira.com.br.
Minas-style grub (and
other Brazilian dishes) by the kilo (R$30 weekdays, R$33
weekends), or as daily specials - and in case you can't be
bothered to roll up in person, they also deliver.
Mon-Fri
11am-3pm, Sat 11am-3.30pm.
Tika
Rua Bahia 93, Gonzaga
T
13 3284 6253.
Small
restaurant open limited hours, which can be relied on
for good Japanese food.
Wed-Sat 7.30-10pm, Sun
12.30-3pm.
Último Gole
Rua Carlos Afonseca 214, Gonzaga
T
13 3284 0508.
A restaurant and
choperia
where you can
get good, solid Portuguese food with no pretensions. It's
particularly hot on
bacalhau
(salt cod), which comes in
bolinhos
(croquettes) at R$3 apiece - great company for a
glass of
chopp
(draught beer) - or in dishes such as
zé do
pipo
(baked in a creamy sauce with onion and potato;
R$68).
Daily 11am-midnight.
Guarujá
The very commercialized
GUARUJÁ
is São Paulo's most popular beach resort, featuring a
set of large hotels and apartment buildings alongside lengthy, rather monotonous
beaches. In the summer, finding space on the main beach,
Pitangueiras
, can be di
cult,
and the beaches within walking distance or a short bus ride away to the northeast are
little better. In fact, without a car and considerable local knowledge, Guarujá is best
avoided unless you really just need a beach within easy striking distance of São Paulo.
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION
8
GUARUJÁ
By bus
The rodoviária is 1km north of the town centre - a
longish walk or short bus hop. Buses depart half-hourly for
São Paulo's Jabaquara rodoviária (1hr 20min). There are three
direct buses a day to the rodoviária in Santos (30min), but it's
better to take a local bus (#61) to the ferry terminal, cross on
the boat, and take another local bus on the other side.
Tourist information
The tourist office is at Av
Marechal Deodorio da Fonseca 723, opposite the end of
Av Puglisi, in the middle of Pitangueiras (daily
9am-5pm). The local council have a tourist information
section (in Portuguese) on their website at
W
guaruja
.sp.gov.br/turista.
ACCOMMODATION
Guarujá Hostel
Av Guadalajara 646, Praia da Enseada
(2km east of Pitangueiras, off Av Dom Pedro I)
T
13
3878 1439,
W
guarujahostel.com.br.
This is about the
cheapest accommodation you're going to find in Guarujá,
800m from the beach (Enseada is the next one east from
Pitangueiras), but it has a pool, and it's well run and
friendly.
HI card
holders get a small discount. Dorms
R$60
;
doubles
R$190
Hotel Rio
Rua Rio de Janeiro 131, Praia da Pitangueiras
T
13 3355 9281,
W
hotelrio.com.br.
A small hotel just a
block from the beach in the centre of
town,
with fresh a/c
rooms, wi-fi and a friendly welcome.
R$297
Maresias and around
The road east from Guarujá passes through the forested Serra do Mar before
descending into
MARESIAS
, a resort drawing surfers and clubbers, and a good place to
head if you want to beach it until sunset and then party until dawn. Some 10km or so
further on from Maresias you'll find the much quieter and less developed
Praia
Toque-Toque Pequeno
and
Praia Toque-Toque Grande
, which can be reached by local
bus and are the prettiest beaches in the area.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
MARESIAS AND AROUND
By bus
There are eight daily local buses to São Sebastião (35min).
ACCOMMODATION
Pousada Brig
Av Francisco Loup 1158, Beira Mar
T
12
3865 6527,
W
brig.com.br.
A very attractive option, set
just 50m from the beach, with a nicely l
andscap
ed garden,
a good pool and rooms of varying sizes.
R$300
