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Brazil

The-Northeast Porto-Seguro Brazil


The state’s second most visited destination, Porto Seguro swarms with Brazilian package tourists who come from all across the country for partying and beach action. Not surprisingly, there’s well-developed infrastructure here, with hundreds of hotels and colorful buildings (none over two stories) that lean toward a colonial aesthetic. This is, after all, the region where Portuguese sailors first landed in the New World, and you can see relics from those early settlement days. Aside from history, Porto Seguro is really only for inveterate nightlife seekers who don’t mind the crowds. Otherwise, most travelers linger in town only long enough to change money and catch the ferry toward Arraial d’Ajuda.

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Brazil

The-Southeast Sao-Sebastiao Brazil


One of the only towns on the Paulista coast that has preserved a portion of its colonial charms, São Sebastião sits on a dramatic channel dividing the mainland from Ilha de São Sebastião (popularly known as ‘Ilhabela’), a 15-minute ferry trip away. Prices are moderate by local standards, but for good reason. There are no beaches at hand, and the town is also a major oil depot, with huge tankers somewhat diminishing the natural beauty. Still, it makes a fine stopover if you’re traveling to Ilhabela or along the coast. And the windy channel is ideal for windsurfing. For information, check out the tourist office (3892 2620, ext 4; Av Doutor Altino Arantes 174; 10am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-8pm Sat & Sun) on the waterfront in the small colonial center of town.

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Brazil

The-Southeast Vassouras Brazil


Vassouras, a quiet resort 118km north of Rio, was the most important city in the Paraíba valley in the first half of the 19th century. Local coffee barons, with titles of nobility granted by the Portuguese crown, built huge fazendas (farms) in the surrounding hills. With the abolition of slavery in 1888 and the resulting decline in coffee production, the importance of Vassouras diminished, but several historic buildings from the boom days still survive in the pleasant town center.

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Brazil

The-Northeast Barra-Grande Brazil


Deliciously off the beaten path, Barra Grande is a remote, tranquil fishing village at the northern tip of the Peninsula de Maraú. It has the same charm and tree-shaded magic that originally attracted bohemian types to similar sand-street villages further south, but it hasn’t yet experienced a tourism boom. With a fair number of pousadas and restaurants, Barra Grande makes a great base for checking out the rest of the peninsula. Much of the village closes in winter.

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Brazil

The-Northeast Caravelas Brazil


Caravelas is a calm fishing town on the banks of the mangrove-lined Rio Caravelas. Though it has a friendly, down-home Carnaval and a pleasant enough atmosphere, the primary reason visitors come here is to visit the Parque Nacional Marinho de Abrolhos and other offshore reefs.

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Brazil

The-North Ilha-De-Marajo Brazil


The 50, 000-sq-km Ilha de Marajó, slightly larger than Switzerland, lies at the mouths of the Amazonas and Tocantins rivers. It was the ancient home of the Marajoaras indigenous culture, notable for their large ceramic burial urns. Today, Marajó’s friendly residents live in a few towns and villages and on the many fazendas (ranches) spread across the island. This is a world apart, where bicycles outnumber cars and water buffalo graze around town. Legend has it the buffalo are descended from animals that swam ashore from a French ship that sank while en route from India to French Guiana. The island is well-known for its buffalo cheese, buffalo steaks and buffalo-mounted police force.