Arraial do Cabo Archives - Caffeinated Excursions

Tortuga Tur & Saveiro Don Juan Tour Reviews (Arraial do Cabo, RJ, Brazil)

Kevin | Caffeinated Excursions — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 03:00:00 +0000

Tortuga Tur & Saveiro Don Juan Tour Reviews (Arraial do Cabo, RJ, Brazil)

Published January 27, 2021

Are you the kind of traveler who loves going off the beaten path and exploring local communities that friends back home have almost certainly never heard of? If you are, then you need to make a note of Arraial do Cabo for your next visit to Rio de Janeiro! This small town located about 160 km east of Rio is known for its sparkling Caribbean waters and laid-back vibe.

Arraial do Cabo (pronounced “ah-hai-OW du CA-bo”) is compact and walkable, but a couple of the town’s best beaches are only accessible by boat tour. This post will review two boat tours I went on, compare them, and at the end I’ll provide a quick summary of a jeep tour, which is another way to get to know Arraial.

If you’re curious about the town itself and what you can expect overall, check out my comprehensive guide using the image link below! Otherwise, let’s get started on these tour reviews!

Disclaimer Regarding Tour Reviews I paid in full for each tour mentioned here and received no discount or other incentive from either company as compensation for being featured here. Hence, all opinions are completely my own!

Boat Tour #1: Don Juan Tour

This company also goes by Saveiro Don Juan. Their booking office is located here, and the price of the boat tour per person is 100 BRL per person (as of January 2020). I’m sure you could purchase tickets online, but I bought mine in person at the office. One thing I loved right off the bat is that the office doubles as a cafe. Even though you have to be there early if you opt for the morning tour, you can get coffee and a small breakfast before heading over to the docks as a group.

When you get to the dock, you’ll need to bring cash to pay the 10 BRL marina tax. This is true no matter what company you book with, and employees should inform you of this when you buy your tickets.

A tour guide will direct you to the boat. Since there are a lot of different companies and vessels at the dock, it’s best to keep a close eye on your guide until embarking. You’ll have to submit the slip of paper you got when you paid the 10 reais as tax, so don’t throw it away until you get on the boat.

Stop 1/4: Praia do Farol

On this tour, our first stop was Praia do Farol (Lighthouse Beach). Because this beach is located on Ilha do Farol (Lighthouse Island), it’s one of the beaches that can only be accessed by boat tour. It’s also possibly the most picturesque spot in Arraial do Cabo, nestled between the lightest shade of ocean water you’ll find in this region and gently sloping sand dunes behind it.

Note that you’re not allowed to bring anything except a phone (and a mask during the pandemic) to this beach. That’s because it’s a protected natural reserve, so even flip flops aren’t permitted. If you’re going to bring your phone, you might want to purchase one of the waterproof necklace-style cases that are sold around town and at the marina for between 5 and 10 BRL.

Stop 2/4: Gruta Azul

After this stop, the boat will bring you around to Ilha do Farol’s rocky southwestern coastline to see some grottos in the rocky shore as well as the Fenda de Nossa Senhora, a massive break in the rocky cliffs that shelters a statue of a saint. At this stop, we didn’t disembark or swim, so have your cameras ready.

Stop 3/4: Praia do Pontal do Atalaia

Next, you’ll be given some time to explore Praia do Pontal do Atalaia. This beach is on the mainland. Based on Google Maps, it looks like it might have some dirt roads and hiking trails that lead out here, but it’s much simpler to see this beach as part of the boat tour.

At this stop, you can purchase drinks or snacks from a number of vendors, so bring some cash with you if you’re interested.

Stop 4/4: Praia do Forno

The fourth and final stop on this tour is Praia do Forno. This beach actually is easily accessible on foot from the town center, but the boat will drop the anchor somewhere in the bay and allow guests to swim for a bit. In comparison to the two beaches mentioned above, this one isn’t as spectacular, but it’s still nice to be able to get into the water to cool off for a bit.

Finally, the boat returns to the docks and passengers can go on their way.

Boat Tour #2: Tortuga Tur

The itinerary for the other company I tried called Tortuga Tur was very similar to the one for Don Juan. They have a corporate office closer to the docks where you can buy tickets. This tour was cheaper at only 70 BRL per person (in January 2021). Although they were just slightly more conveniently located, Tortuga Tur did not have a cafe at their meeting point.

No matter which company you book with, remember to bring cash for the 10 BRL marina tax. The boat for Tortuga is shown below. One thing I really liked about this one was that it had an upper deck, which Don Juan’s vessel did not. This, along with the cheaper ticket price, meant that Tortuga offered a better deal, although the 30 BRL difference is only about 5 USD and some change at the time of writing.

Just by coincidence, I booked my Tortuga tour in the afternoon and did Don Juan in the morning. I’ll talk a bit more about which one I recommend in the section below. Under normal circumstances, most companies appear to offer both time slots to choose from. Note that availability may be reduced due to COVID-19.

On this tour, our first stop was the rocky grottos and sea caves on Ilha do Farol. It was the same deal: a quick stop for pictures but not enough time to check it out on foot or go for a swim.

After this, we disembarked for a while on Praia do Farol, followed by Praia do Pontal do Atalaia. And just like with Don Juan, the final stop was also the opportunity to swim or relax while anchored offshore near Praia do Forno.

General Information

Regardless what company you book with, you’ll want to dress as if you were headed to the beach. Bring flip flops, a swimsuit, sunscreen, a mask during the pandemic, and possibly a towel or a change of clothes. Don’t expect to stay dry unless you’re okay never leaving the boat, which is technically an option.

In order to get from the main boat to shore at Praia do Farol and Praia do Pontal do Atalaia, all tour companies use small motorized dinghies. Note what your dinghy and your tour guide look like. There are going to be a handful of them on the beaches and it can be easy to lose track of them.

Furthermore, pay attention to how long you have on each beach. Employees appear to do headcounts before moving on from each stop, but you don’t want to be the person to hold up the boat because you lost track of time. If you don’t understand the announcements in Portuguese, ask for help! Employees will almost certainly be able to translate into English and Spanish!

Snacks and drinks, including alcoholic beverages, are served for an additional cost on board both companies’ boats. You can also purchase something to eat from a vendor at Praia do Pontal do Atalaia.

Expect the boats to have a professional photographer or two, but know that they are contractors who you have to pay if you want to purchase any of the shots they take. They are unfortunately not there to take pictures of you with your phone. I personally just asked other passengers to take photos free of charge.

A Comparison of the Tours

In general, I really liked both tours. I can’t really say that one was better than the other, but Tortuga was slightly cheaper and their boat with an upper deck was an added bonus. I don’t think you could go wrong by booking with either of these companies.

Another interesting question is whether you should book a tour in the morning or afternoon. Although there are tradeoffs for both, I have to say I think morning is better for a number of reasons. Although being out the door by 7:00 a.m. was a little rough, the beaches are less crowded in the morning. It’s also still a bit cooler for the first hour or two of the tour, although by noon it can already be quite hot.

If you care about taking pictures, the natural light is definitely better on Praia do Farol in the morning. In contrast, it’ll be easier to take good shots on Praia do Pontal do Atalaia in the afternoon. In my personal opinion, the color of the water in the bay is a little more impressive in the morning. It’s a stunning light blue all day long, but it tends to be just a shade darker in the afternoon.

The main drawback to booking a morning tour is that you might wake up to cloudy weather. For an afternoon tour, you have the option of trying to buy tickets once you’ve confirmed that it’ll be a nice day, although this might be more difficult if you’re trying to do so on a weekend.

Jeep (Buggy) Tour Summary

Don’t forget that buggy land tours are also a common offering in Arraial do Cabo! I chose to do one with Tortuga Tur, which cost 200 BRL. However, the Jeep looked like it would accommodate up to three passengers, so if you’re in a group you could split that cost. Here’s a quick overview of what we did.

After leaving the Tortuga Tur main office, we drove to the edge of town to see the southern end of Praia do Pontal. This is too far from the town center to walk, and I wouldn’t have thought to check this beach out on my own, but it was pretty amazing. The dark blue water here is totally different from the beaches that are part of the boat tour itineraries.

We continued to go further north along the shore before eventually heading back.

The last stop was Mirante da Boa Vista, a scenic viewpoint overlooking Praia Grande on the western side of town. Although you can technically get to this lookout without a tour, it’s on the edge of a small favela. If you’d like to visit the Mirante without a buggy tour, I would at least recommend hiring an Uber to get there and back instead of walking up and down the hill.

After this, we headed back to the office. This Jeep tour was nice but I would personally say that it’s optional. In contrast, I highly recommend doing at least one boat tour during a visit to Arraial do Cabo.

Enjoy Your Tour!

I hope that this post will help guide visitors to Arraial do Cabo in the right direction! Are you in town and shopping around for the best deal? Have you been to Arraial do Cabo before? Leave a comment below and let me know! If you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer them! Thanks for reading, and bon voyage!

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This post was published on Jan 27, 2021

Hi, I’m Kevin! I’m a coffee addict from Seattle, and my life revolves around traveling! Caffeinated Excursions is a record of my trips over the past seven years. Since I started blogging, I’ve lived in Mexico, Vietnam, Brazil, and the US. I just moved to Australia and plan to be here a full year. Thanks for checking out my blog!

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The post Tortuga Tur & Saveiro Don Juan Tour Reviews (Arraial do Cabo, RJ, Brazil) appeared first on Caffeinated Excursions.

Arraial do Cabo: Crystal Clear Caribbean Waters In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Kevin | Caffeinated Excursions — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 03:00:00 +0000

Arraial do Cabo: Crystal Clear Caribbean Waters In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Published January 25, 2021

One thing I love about the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro is that it has much more to offer than the world-famous city of the same name that serves as its capital. Along the state’s coastline are dozens of idyllic small towns that all have unique vibes and stunning beaches. To the east, you can find the historic gems of Paraty and Angra dos Reis (Ilha Grande). Further west of the city, you’ll find the resort towns of Cabo Frio, Armação dos Búzios, and Arraial do Cabo.

A four-day visit to Arraial do Cabo was my first exposure to the southeast corner of RJ state, and the beaches here are better than what you’ll find in Angra dos Reis or Paraty. That’s because the water is such a light shade of blue that you’ll think you were somewhere in the Caribbean!

Arraial do Cabo (pronounced “ah-hai-OW du CA-bo”) is about a two or three hour drive east of Rio (the city). If you’re planning on spending two weeks or longer in RJ state, I highly recommend scheduling two or three days to check out one of these coastal towns, and you can’t go wrong by choosing Arraial do Cabo. This post will explain what to expect and why you should go! I’ll highlight some of the beaches, mention a few tours, give my opinion of the town, talk about restaurant options, and end with a few tips.

Beaches

If you look at a map of Arraial, you’ll notice that there are about half a dozen main beaches. Some are only accessible by boat tour (more on that below), but most are easy to get to from the town center on foot. Here’s a quick overview of four of them.

Praia dos Anjos

This beach is adjacent to the town’s marina, and admittedly is the least impressive of all the ones mentioned here. Take a quick walk along the water, but don’t spend all day on this beach. Every other one mentioned below has nicer waters.

Praia do Forno

Praia do Forno, which means “Oven Beach,” can be reached by walking along a short hiking trail that starts near the marina and ends on the beach’s southern side. It takes about fifteen minutes each way, and there are some steps. The only other way to get to this beach is by boat as it’s surrounded by forests and no roads lead to it.

Normally, I’m quite cautious about hiking in Brazil because it’s notorious for being unsafe due to thieves, but this short hike has enough people walking along it throughout the day that it’s not dangerous. Arraial do Cabo has a lot of other hiking trails, but I wouldn’t recommend doing any other treks without consulting a local.

Prainha

Of the four beaches listed here, this one (pronounced “praiña” and meaning “Little Beach”) has to be my favorite! It’s easy to get to, and the color of the water is stunning!

A number of hotels are built right along the sand, and they all seem to set up umbrellas and chairs for their guests. I imagine some are also available for the general public to rent for the day. Because Prainha has beautiful water but isn’t a huge beach, it’s more crowded than the others in town.

Praia Grande

As the name suggests, this is the largest beach in town. In fact, it technically stretches on for miles and miles uninterrupted, well beyond the city limits of Arraial do Cabo. There’s a little scenic plaza right here that offers a good view, or you could venture down to the beach itself.

Since Praia Grande is the only west-facing beach in town, it’s undoubtedly the best place to catch the sunset. This is a much more pleasant time to visit anyways, since the beach is wide open with no shade. During the day, the white sand here can actually get pretty hot to the touch.

All About Tours

As mentioned above, a couple of the town’s best beaches are only accessible by boat tour. This is why you simply can’t miss booking one during your visit to Arraial do Cabo! I did two different boat tours to compare the experience between companies, which are discussed in a separate post.

The other type of tour you can do in Arraial is a buggy (jeep) tour. I’ve covered this in my separate tour review post as well. In short, the buggy tour is nice to do if you have an extra day with nothing planned, but it’s not a must.

The Town

This is the one less-than-positive comment I’ll make about Arraial do Cabo: the town itself isn’t super quaint. It’s by no means bad, but there isn’t really a historic center or anything like that. Don’t let that stop you from visiting, though! The gorgeous beaches more than make up for it.

Dining Options

In terms of food, I found that the town had pretty standard Brazilian options. Needless to say, there were quite a few seafood restaurants. Everything I tried there was good, but I did notice while browsing online that a fair number of places had many negative reviews. I always take online reviews with a grain of salt, but it does suggest that restaurants in Arraial do Cabo could be hit or miss.

Here are a couple of the places I recommend.

1. Restaurante Casa da Piedra

Address: R. Santa Cruz, 4 – Praia dos Anjos, Arraial do Cabo – RJ, 28930-000
Website: https://casadapiedra.com.br/home/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/casadapiedra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casadapiedra/

This was a great place to grab dinner, and its location right next to the town’s boat tour dock is convenient. I enjoyed both the fish with rice and shrimp sauce and fresh mango salad I ordered.

Casa da Pedra has a nice open-air patio and even offered live music after nightfall. For good food and a casual atmosphere, this is the place to go.

2. Restaurante Saint Tropez

Address: Praça Daniel Barreto, 2 – Praia dos Anjos, Arraial do Cabo – RJ, 28930-000
Website: https://www.saintropez.com.br/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/restaurantesainttropez/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/restaurantesainttropez/

If you want a sit-down dinner experience that is still fairly casual, check out Saint Tropez. They offered a very extensive couvert (appetizer platter) complete with mussels, quail eggs, salami, cheese, butter, and bread. I also tried a fish curry with mango and yellow rice, which was very interesting and fragrant.

3. Quiosque Flor do Caribe

Address: Praia dos Anjos

Sometimes these beach kiosks can really miss the mark, but this one on Praia dos Anjos was quite good! I ordered fried fish with pirão, a kind of orange fish-based gravy that is often served with seafood in Brazil. Adventurous eaters should definitely try it if they see it on a menu, or it may automatically come with some dishes. You’ll often get fries and/or a salad with a lunch combo like this, too.

4. Restaurante Tio Dorp

Address: Praça Daniel Barreto n10 – Praia dos Anjos, Arraial do Cabo – RJ, 28930-000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tiodorp/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/restaurantetiodorp/

I wasn’t sure if this restaurant would be good or not because it was pretty empty when I went, but it ended up being one of my favorites! I ordered octopus which was cooked perfectly and served with just the right combo of grilled potatoes and onions, white rice, and a small salad to balance out the meal perfectly. I also tried a cocktail and an appetizer of fried cheese, which were both equally good. Don’t pass this one up if you’re in the general area near Praia dos Anjos!

Tips

A visit to Arraial do Cabo is pretty self-explanatory, but here are just a few tips for a smooth visit.

Where to Stay

The town is fairly small and compact, so I don’t think there’s any “wrong” answers here. However, I stayed in a guesthouse a short walk from the marina and I’m glad I did, because boat tours leave early in the morning from here. If I didn’t stay here, I would’ve probably chosen a place near Prainha or Praia Grande.

Safety

In general, the town of Arraial felt safe to me as a solo traveler. There are some favelas but if you stick to the main streets in Centro and near Praia dos Anjos, you shouldn’t accidentally wander into one. Favelas are almost always located on hills and are easily distinguished from other parts of towns by their colorful cube-shaped brick houses, so this shouldn’t be a point of concern.

Walking around the main streets in Arraial do Cabo after dinner also felt safe, but I tend to stay in after about 9:00 p.m. if I’m in a town I’m not very familiar with in Brazil.

How to Get to Arraial do Cabo

I’m sure that there are many bus options to get to Arraial do Cabo from Rio de Janeiro, but due to COVID-19 I took an Uber both ways with windows down the entire time and masks on. Each ride cost about 300 BRL and took between two and three hours.

Who should visit Arraial do Cabo?

Rio de Janeiro has so many seaside towns near the capital that choosing only one can be tough. Options include Paraty, Angra dos Reis, Ilha Grande, Cabo Frio, Armação dos Búzios, and Arraial do Cabo. (This list doesn’t even include popular weekend getaway destinations that are further inland.)

What kind of a traveler should choose Arraial do Cabo? If you love amazing beaches but don’t need a historic city center, this is the destination for you. Words can’t describe how beautiful the water is here, and pictures don’t do it justice. It’s something you simply have to experience in person!

What do you think? Would you set aside a couple of days on a visit to Rio de Janeiro to see Arraial do Cabo? Leave a comment below and let me know! And if you’re headed out this way, be sure to check out my boat and buggy tour review post, too! Thanks for reading!

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This post was published on Jan 25, 2021

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Arraial do Cabo Archives - Caffeinated Excursions

Tortuga Tur & Saveiro Don Juan Tour Reviews (Arraial do Cabo, RJ, Brazil)

Boat Tour #1: Don Juan Tour

Stop 1/4: Praia do Farol

Stop 2/4: Gruta Azul

Stop 3/4: Praia do Pontal do Atalaia

Stop 4/4: Praia do Forno

Boat Tour #2: Tortuga Tur

General Information

A Comparison of the Tours

Jeep (Buggy) Tour Summary

Enjoy Your Tour!

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Arraial do Cabo: Crystal Clear Caribbean Waters In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Beaches

Praia dos Anjos

Praia do Forno

Prainha

Praia Grande

All About Tours

The Town

Dining Options

1. Restaurante Casa da Piedra

2. Restaurante Saint Tropez

3. Quiosque Flor do Caribe

4. Restaurante Tio Dorp

Tips

Where to Stay

Safety

How to Get to Arraial do Cabo

Who should visit Arraial do Cabo?

Share This Post With Fellow Travelers!

Recent Posts

Meet Your Caffeinated Blogger: Kevin!

Where I Am Now

Categories

Where I’ve Been

Upcoming Trips

Archives

Click To Follow!

Support the Blog!

Subscribe Via Email

Meta