Traveling  To Maceió - Alagoas: Brazil

Photos: Amandy Gibbons/Ester Citti and Anahi Gibbons

Welcome to Maceió

"Maceió is a modern city set on some truly beautiful beachfront. Though not well-known to international tourists – at least not yet – Brazilians have rediscovered Maceió as a vacation getaway, and the past few years have seen a boom in domestic tourism. The city has a small but buzzing dining and drinking scene, a new bike-share system, and friendly, laid-back streets that close to traffic for street parties on Sundays; it’s also the gateway to wonderfully idyllic shorelines to the north and south. On the city’s beaches, vivid, emerald-hued water laps the powdery sands that are lined with palms and brightly painted jangadas (traditional sailboats). By night, locals follow the meandering beachfront path as it weaves past thatched-roof restaurants and palm-shaded football pitches. Maceió’s sights are relatively few, leaving you plenty of time to catch some rays and soak up the relaxed atmosphere."

Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/brazil/the-northeast/maceio/introduction#ixzz4A4dlSoim

                                        Where to Stay?

We stayed in Lagoa da Anta at Ritz Hotel

This hotel is a good option, but it is a little far from supermarkets restaurants and so on, if you intend to walk you are going to spend around 20 to 30 minutes to find restaurants bars markets and so on. So if you are really staying there I would recomend you to rent a car...

Another point is the beach where the sea is agitated good for the ones who surf but not so good for the ones who just want to swim or for kids.       

You can find more at: http://traveltips.usatoday.com/tourism-maceio-brazil-57704.html

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Accommodations

The most luxurious hotels in Maceio are situated near the beaches of Ponta Verde, Lagoa da Anta and Jatiuca. One of the best rated, Ritz Lagoa da Anta (ritzlagoadaanta.com) is a modern resort opposite the beach with plenty to occupy the family within the hotel, including three swimming pools, a mini golf course, volleyball courts and a kids center. For relaxation, the spa offers massage treatments, Ayurvedic therapies and Balinese ofuro baths carved out of volcanic rock. Travelers on restricted budgets will find cheaper options around Pajucara, such as Dover Hotel (dover-hotel.com.br), where you can reduce costs further by sharing a quadruple room. Despite simple furnishings, all rooms come with cable TV, direct dial telephone and high-speed Internet access."

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Side Trips

For many visitors, Maceio is a convenient base for exploring the approximately 125 miles of beaches north and south. The farthest beach north at Maragogi is about 2.5 hours by car, but the more easily accessed beach of Praia da Sereia, just north of Maceio, is a popular spot to swim in the warm natural pools and under the shadow of a mermaid sculpture, or to grab a seafood lunch at a beach kiosk. More secluded beaches can be found at Milagres and Porto da Rua, or by heading south to Barra de Sao Miguel and Praia Gunga, which, while busier at weekends, remain tranquil throughout the week. One of the easiest and most popular excursions from Maceio is the nine-island boat tour of the emerald green Lake Mundau departing from Pontal da Barra at the southern end of the promenade. The trip takes you up the inland waterways with stops at a couple of beaches for refreshments. Back at Pontal da Barra, you can sample local shrimp at one of the many small waterside restaurants."

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Getting There

While some flights from Europe arrive at Maceio's Zumbi dos Palmares international airport, connected to the city center by a bus that stops at the popular beach districts of Ponta Verde and Pajucara, North American visitors usually need to connect via domestic flights from Rio or Sao Paulo. If you are on an extended visit to Brazil, the airport has good connections with other cities such as Brasilia, Florianopolis and Salvador. Alternately, you can catch a bus from Recife, about 160 miles north of Maceio. An executive bus leaves Recife three times daily, and less luxurious coaches depart every two hours for the approximately four-hour journey."

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Attractions

Maceio is all about the beach, especially around the northern neighborhood of Ponta Verde and at Pajucara Beach. The former is home to a boardwalk lined with beach bars and many of the city's better oceanfront hotels, while the latter hosts a nightly craft market poetically named "Chiero da Tierra," or scent of the earth. Easily navigable by foot, Maceio city center contains few significant historic attractions, but some pretty colonial buildings, including 19th-century Bom Jesus dos Martires church, covered in Portuguese blue-and-white azulejo tiles. The port area of Jaragua is also home to a host of colonial buildings; many were converted into lively bars and nightclubs. But it's the water that inevitably draws you in, and to swim in the shallow reefs known as "parrachos," head to the Praia Pajucara and jump on one of the brightly colored jangada boat excursions."

To get more informations: https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Macei%C3%B3