Itacaré
Brazil
A surf town where the Atlantic forest comes down to a string of small beaches
Photo by Matheus Oliveira on Unsplash
Photos by Aidan Formigoni, Milo Miloezger, Mr. Söbau and Mr. Söbau on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Brazil
September to March
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 200mm in Apr
Where it is
14.28°S, 39.00°W Open in Google Maps
Things to do
A week easily- Stay four or five nights — a week if you are learning to surf; the beaches are the point and each is a half-day
- Learn to surf at Praia da Concha or Resende with a school, before going near Tiririca
- Walk the forest trail to Prainha with a guide or a group, and swim when you get there
- Take a day to the Maraú peninsula and the Barra Grande side, by boat or 4x4
- Visit a cacao farm and taste the chocolate where it is grown
- Watch the sunset at Praia da Concha, where the river meets the sea
Itacaré travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Brazil
Mid-rangeCards work in the pousadas, the restaurants and the surf schools. Cash is for the beach kiosks, the parking attendants at the beaches off the coast road, and the guides on the trails. Pix needs a Brazilian account, so as a visitor you are on cards and a little cash.
ATMs & cards
Itacaré has a few machines — Bradesco and Caixa in the centre, and a Banco24Horas at the bus station — and they can run dry over a holiday weekend. Draw in the daytime, decline conversion, and bring some cash from Ilhéus or Salvador.
Avoid these
- the last day before a long weekend, when the few machines in town empty
Use these instead
- Bradesco
- Caixa
Few machines, all in the centre. Cards are taken widely; cash is for kiosks, parking and trail guides.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of Brazil
Reasonably safeThe town is relaxed and busy in the evening. The thing to know is the trails: the beaches south of town are reached through forest, and there have been robberies on the quieter ones, so walk them with other people or with a guide, in the middle of the day, carrying little. In the water, Tiririca breaks over rocks — learn somewhere else first, and ask a surf school which beach suits the day's swell.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (6 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
- Rua Pedro Longo — the main street, busy into the night
- Praia da Concha — the town beach, by day and at sunset
Worth more attention
- Prainha — the forest trail to it — walk it in a group or with a guide, in the middle of the day
- Praia da Tiririca — rocks under the break, for anyone still learning
- The river mouth by Praia da Concha, where the current runs out to sea on the ebb
- The beach trails after dark, at any time
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa Brazil visa rules
No visa neededup to 90 days
Other passports
e-Visa requiredup to 90 days$80
Brazil reintroduced visas for these three nationalities. It is an e-visa applied for online.
Visa required in advance
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of Brazil
Good but costlyRequired to enter
- Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Yellow fever — recommended for most of Brazil including the area around Rio
- Hepatitis A
- Typhoid
- Tetanus up to date
Getting treated
Public emergency care (SUS) is free to everyone including foreigners, but is crowded and slow. Private hospitals in Rio and São Paulo are excellent and expect insurance or payment up front.
Dengue, zika and chikungunya are all present and mosquito-borne — repellent matters. Yellow fever vaccination should be given at least 10 days before arrival.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodThis is the cacao coast, and the farms around Itacaré and Ilhéus make chocolate from their own beans — visit one and buy there. Moqueca, grilled fish and acarajé are as good as anywhere in Bahia, and the açaí bowls and juice bars on Rua Pedro Longo are where the surfers eat.
Travel tipsNightlife
A surf town with one street that comes alive after dark: caipirinha stalls, live music and forró on Rua Pedro Longo, and a lot of people who were in the water all day.
- Rua Pedro Longo — the bars, the stalls and the music
- Praia da Concha — the beach bars at sunset
Closing: Midnight midweek out of season; later at weekends and in summer.
Getting around
Limited- UberWorks here
- 99Works here
- inDriveWorks here
- BoltNot here
99 the Brazilian one, often cheaper
- Against a taxi
- Cheaper than a taxi and, in the big cities, the default for everybody.
Some favela and periphery addresses will not be accepted by drivers at night; that is a driver safety decision, not a fare one.
Time zone and your working day
America/Bahia — 1 hour ahead of you
7 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–16:00 your time, 10:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 08:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 08:00–16:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for Brazil, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
Portuguese (Brazilian)
- HelloOi / Oláoy / o-LA
- PleasePor favorpor fa-VOR
- Thank youObrigado / Obrigadao-bree-GA-doo / -da
- Yes / NoSim / Nãoseeng / nowng
4 more phrases
- Excuse meCom licençakong lee-SEN-sa
- How much is it?Quanto custa?KWAN-too KOOS-ta
- The bill, pleaseA conta, por favora KON-ta
- Cheers!Saúde!sa-OO-djee
Softer and more open than European Portuguese, and the de sounds like "dje".
Travel tipsReligion
Catholic and Evangelical
The largest Catholic population in the world, with a fast-growing Evangelical share and Afro-Brazilian traditions such as Candomblé and Umbanda practised alongside.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Greet with a kiss on each cheek between women, or a woman and a man; a handshake between men
- Expect physical closeness in conversation — standing back reads as cold
- Arrive late to social invitations; on time is genuinely early
- Learn a few words of Portuguese, and never open in Spanish
Don't
- Do not make the OK sign with finger and thumb — it is obscene here
- Do not walk with a phone visible in the street
- Do not wear obvious jewellery or watches on the beach or in the city
- Do not call Brazilians Hispanic or assume they speak Spanish
Where to stay in Itacaré
No Holistay rentals in Itacaré yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Itacaré on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Jorge Amado, Ilhéus IOS
1h 15mfrom the airport· 60 km as the crow flies
1h 15 min north on the coast road.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
