Welcome to Brazil! You will be picked up at Belem Airport and transferred to your hotel. Enjoy the rest of the day at your leisure! (This service is on a private basis.)

Belem

Belem is known for being the economic capital of the Brazilian Amazon, located right at the mouth of the Amazon River. As the economic center, it is by far the most important and thriving port in all of the Amazon region. Belem is a lively and colorful city, with a unique cultural heritage of indigenous people and a charming colonial downtown area. You will be welcomed by many picturesque sights and fun activities throughout your stay. We suggest visiting Estacao da Docasor, the Cidade Velha, or indulge in a romantic sunset view at the Bahia de Guajara.

Local Market & Chocolate Plantation

Today, your excursion will take you on tour through Belém, beginning with a visit to the Mercado Ver-o-Peso. Here, you will find products from the forest and rivers all over the state of Para. It is a mosaic of the bright Amazon colors, aromas, and flavors. After strolling through the market and admiring the various stalls, you will take a local boat to cross the Guamá River towards Combu Island.

On the island, you will enjoy a gastronomic experience with the handcrafted chocolate of Filha do Combu. This lovely business opens its doors for visitors to see the cocoa plantation and to learn about all of the stages of production. This very laborious process is done entirely manually. After a walk through its orchard, you will experience its production process first hand, as you participate in a brief workshop to learn how to prepare a 'comidilha' (little food), using their cocoa. Combu chocolate is impressing more and more refined palates and is considered, by renowned chefs of Sao Paulo, to be high-quality gastronomy. After this, while still on your boat, you will have lunch and back to Belém to take a rest. At the end of the day, enjoy a dinner at Remanso do Bosque. (This service is on a private basis.)

Journey to Ilha de Marajó

After breakfast, you will start your adventure to Ilha de Marajo. Your morning will begin in your hotel as you transfer to the harbor, where you will board a boat towards the island of Marajó. In the first part of the journey, you will be able to see the region of the islands that surround Belém. After arriving at the island, you will go by land to Soure (considered an informal "capital") directly to your hotel. You will arrive just in time for lunch where you can eat a typical buffalo steak (not included).

In the afternoon, you will visit the Marajó fields. Observe the marajoara species of wildlife as maguaris, white and blue herons, red ibis, wild ducks, and many others. With a little luck, you might see monkeys, caimans, and capybaras, very common in this region. At the end of the experience, take in the beauty of the sunset. (This service is on a private basis.)

Ilha Grande

Located south of Rio de Janeiro, Costa Verde has a unique combination of mountains, tropical rainforest, crystal-clear lagoons and virgin tropical islands, and the perfect example is the magnificent island called Ilha Grande. This National Park has totally well protected natural beaches that descend into the emerald green waters which gave the coast its name. The island of Ilha Grande, with its 130 km of coast and rugged surroundings, contains 34 small peninsulas and 106 beaches with diverse characteristics. Furthermore, there is a large quantity of ecological hikes to view this paradise from different perspectives.

Fishing Village & Community Experience

Leave the city behind today, as your adventure takes you off the beaten path to a local fishing village. In the village, you will be able to watch the fishermen during the capture of Turú, which are shellfish species that grow on the trunks of mangrove trees. From there, you will continue to an extractive Fazenda, and if the tide allows, you will embark on a canoe trip. This would offer the chance to paddle through the streams that cross the luscious mangroves to Goiabal, a beautiful deserted beach. You will walk back to the Fazenda.

At the Fazenda, you will participate in a cooking workshop focused around the preparation of Turú Soup. After learning the traditions and customs, you will enjoy a tasty local lunch at the farm, proceeded by a free afternoon to make use of the swimming pool, or to explore on your own. Later in the evening, you will attend a rehearsal of carimbó, which is an African dance brought to the island by slaves and developed by the mixture of cultures with Indians and Portuguese. (This service is on a private basis.)

Local Crafts & Pesqueiro Beach

This morning, you will depart from your hotel to explore the different spots around the city and all the charm it has to offer. During this excursion, you will visit an atelier of Marajoara ceramics, which makes pieces based on Aruan culture, the last indigenous ethnic group living in Marajo. You will also have the chance to stop at a leather atelier, that produces local crafts with traditional features, passed from generation to generation.

After admiring the crafts and their careful handwork, the rest of the morning will be spent soaking up the sun on the pristine Pesqueiro Beach. You might want to enjoy a delicious treat for lunch with fish and crab on the beach here, although not included in the tour. Feeling relaxed and satisfied, you will be transferred to your overnight accommodations. (This service is on a private basis.)

Zoo & Botanical Park

After breakfast this morning, you will head out to visit the Zoo and Botanical Park Emílio Goeldi. This will be an unforgettable journey, both inside the museum and outside among the alleys and bridges, surrounded by more than 800 species of native plants. The fauna offers more than 600 animals, including jaguars, parrots, scarlet ibis, turtles, otters and crocodiles. By noon, you will continue to the Mangal das Garzas, an ecological park made of the revitalization of a 40,000 m2 area, which reproduces different geographic micro-regions of the Amazon flora. A colorful and thriving delight! (This service is on a private basis.)

After a fun tour, you will be picked up at your hotel in Belem and transferred to the airport for your flight to Ilheus. Upon arrival in Ilheus, you will be greeted by a private driver/guide and transferred by land to the cacao farm Fazenda Juerana. En-route you will pass through the State Park Serra de Condurú in the municipality of Uruçuca. After an eventful day, you will have time to rest and eat a delicious vegetarian meal prepared with organics from the farm.(This service is on a private basis.)

Serra Grande

Serra Grande is a small quiet town located on the southern coast of Bahia, in the heart of the tropical forest, fronting a beautiful long sandy beach. The city is built on the top of a green hill looking over the virgin Atlantic forest and the bright blue ocean. Serra Grande has managed to stay as original as it gets throughout the tourist boom over the past years, by preserving nature and the Bahian culture.

Cocoa Plantation & Floresta Viva Institute

After a hearty breakfast, you will go on a tour of the cocoa plantation farm. The trail passes through the Atlantic Forest with the cocoa trees that grow under other giant trees. Your guide will explain the system and planting techniques.

In the afternoon, you will visit the headquarters of the Floresta Viva Institute to learn about the restoration project of tropical forests through the nursery where many sprouts of native trees of the Atlantic Forest are produced. A forestry engineer will show you the various stages of reforestation with native trees. Follow an ecological trail in the middle of the Atlantic Forest near the headquarters of the Institute to identify these species in the adult stage such as Pau-Brasil, Pau d'arco, Conduru, and others. Afterward, you will return to your Fazenda for dinner. (This service is on a private basis.)

Taboquinhas Cocoa Plantation

After breakfast, head on over to Taboquinhas to visit another local cocoa plantation. The program has been developed by small farmers and gives you the possibility of making your chocolate. You will walk from the Active Base to the cocoa plantation owned by a small farmer in the neighborhood to learn from the cocoa culture. Learn and see how the fruit is harvested before you continue with the traditional process. Witness how they break the hard shell and manually extracting the seeds and deposit them inside a wooden box. Your guide Beto will prepare the withdrawal of the honey. The seeds are wrapped with pulp, are gently pressed until they release a liquid called cocoa honey. Experience this delicacy described by its discoverers as "nectar of the gods."

Afterward, you will toast and peel the seeds manually to be worked on the pylon before taking the pieces to the woodstove. Then, mix in the other ingredients and the dough in the pot to finally get the real chocolate. Lastly, you will need to wait for the chocolate to cool down to be able to taste this delight! Make sure to pack some samples to take home. (This service is on a private basis.)

Chocolate Production

After lunch, you will visit another chocolate wonderland, a small artisanal chocolate factory. Learn about the stages of manufacturing as well as the equipment to break the seed and the small stone mills that rotate for hours to make fine chocolate. Also, enjoy some chocolate tasting in the mills. Next to the factory, visit the store, which as the most delicious products from the factory.

Finally, transfer to Iatacaré where you will spend the last night of this trip. Savor a delightful and delicious dinner at one of its restaurants or relaxing with the lively musical atmosphere. (This service is on a private basis.)

After a relaxing breakfast, travel overland to the Cassagne community within the Maraú Peninsula. There you can find some of the best beaches of the Brazilian coast as well as freshwater lagoons. The combination of both turns that place into a kind of paradise for swimming and watching the sunset. (This service is on a private basis.)

Peninsula de Marau

The peninsula of Maraú is located in the Costa do Dendê, South of Bahia, between Morro de São Paulo and Itacaré. The term Maraú has its origin from the Indian village Mayrahú, discovered, and occupied in 1705 by Italian Capuchin friars that named the peninsula São Sebastião de Mayrahú. The village was elevated to town status in 1761 and still keeps houses preserved dating from the 18th century. It is formed by more than 40 km of semi-deserted beaches, sandbanks, immense coconut groves, forests, mangroves, and several villages with streets of sand. The peninsula attracts tourists from Brasil and abroad in search of sun, peace, and intense contact with nature. The many attractions can be explored through boat trips, traction vehicles, jeeps, quadricycles, etc., that take tourists through the best of the region.

Free Day

Enjoy the day free at your leisure to relax or keep on discovering the area. You will have many different optional activities and opportunities. You can go for a walk in the village of Barra Grande and its quiet beaches, visit a community that elaborates artisanal chocolate, go snorkeling in Taipu de Fora reefs. Or, just relax at the pousada on the beach while you read a novel by Jorge Amado.

Although your adventure must come to an end today, you will be leaving with new friends, amazing experiences, and memories to cherish for the rest of your life. Once you have checked out of your hotel in Peninsula de Marau, you will be met by your driver and transferred to the Ilheus Airport in good time to board your international departure flight.

We wish you safe and happy travels home! (This service is on a private basis.)