Olinda

Olinda

Olinda

Recife

Olinda

Recife

Destination - Recife & Olinda

Description 

Recife is the capital of Pernambuco state, located in the Northeast of Brazil. It has a preserved old centre and also modern areas such as Boa Viagem beach, where most of the hotels are located. Only 8 Km away from Recife is the beautiful old and colourful town called Olinda. Most of the houses in Olinda were built in the early days of colonisation, and are now painted in different and joyful colours. The town has not changed in almost 500 years, and on a walk around its hills it's possible to appreciate the views, the laid back atmosphere, the colonial architecture and many art ateliers.  Both Recife and Olinda have the influence of the African and European cultures with interesting food, art and music and have produced what is known as one of the best carnivals of Brazil.

Activities 

A city tour of Recife and Olinda will show you the main sites of interest. You can enjoy the beach of Boa Viagem in Recife (the water is amazingly warm), but be aware of the presence of sharks beyond the reef's limit. Attacks to humans have happened in the past. Day tours to Porto de Galinhas and surrounding areas are also good options.

Festivals

The maracatu is a traditional Carnaval procession encompassing dance, poetry and music, and a collection of characters including a standard bearer, a singer, a small percussion orchestra and a king and queen. All of these are led by the caboclos-do-lança. These men, sugar cane cutters by day, have near mythic status in the towns, carrying around costumes over 50 pounds and walking for miles in the blistering sun. All the while they parade, running jumping and twisting, swirling their lances in the air, almost daring a spectator to venture close and risk injury.

Packages including Recife and Olinda

- Natal & Recife - 7 days

- Rio de Janeiro & Recife- 8 days

- Other Packages

- Local Tours in Recife/Olinda

Accommodation

A good range of hotels, pousadas and resorts.

More info on the Official Brazilian Tourism site Embratur

Weather 

Tour 1 - City Tour of Recife and Olinda (4 hours) - Driving through the streets of old Recife with its old buildings, and attractions such as Governor's Palace, Hall of Justice, St. Isabel Theater. Visit "Casa da Cultura", a former prison converted into a craft market. Former cells turned into shops. Visit to Olinda, the old capital perched on hills only 4 miles north of Recife that is a national and world heritage city with impressive views and dozens of centuries-old churches amidst colonial houses. We then continue to Boa Viagem, a sophisticated residential section and urban summer resort with its reef-rimmed tidal pools, modern buildings and sandy beaches.

Tour 2 - Igarassu and Itamaraca (7 hours) Full day with lunch - Igarassu, a little town 20 miles north of Recife, a former trading post and the first settlement of the Portuguese in the early colonial times.
There we will see the Church of the Saints Cosme and Damian, the oldest church still standing in Brazil dating back to 1535. We'll see the coconut farms on the way to Itamaraca, a fishermen's village on the bank of the Santa Cruz River, the seaway that separates the island from the mainland. We'll visit Fort Orange, originally built by the Dutch. Free time for swimming after lunch.

Tour 3 -Porto de Galinhas (7 hours) Full day with lunch  - A beach with crystal clear water, protected by reefs just 60 km south of Recife. A drive through sugarcane plantations, coconut groves and rural communities takes us to this renowned vacation spot and fishermen's village.  Lunch will be served at a typical restaurant.