Jericoacoara: top things to see and do in the hidden paradise of Brazil
Almost hidden in between sand dunes, crystal-clear lagoons and a striking national park, Jericoacoara is one of the last unspoilt holiday destinations that you can find in Brazil. With its unpaved roads, pristine beaches and one of the most relaxed vibes in the country, I loved Jericoacoara from the moment I arrived!
Check out this post to discover all the top things to do and see in 3 days in Jericoacoara, the hidden paradise of Brazil!
planning your visit
How to go from Fortaleza to Jericoacoara
Jericoacoara, known locally simply as Jeri, is located 300km west of Fortaleza, the capital of the State of Ceara. Although the distance doesn’t seem that big, the last part of the journey will be through unpaved roads, so in total it will take you about 6h to reach Jijoca de Jericoacoara, where most visitors stay overnight.
To go from Fortaleza to Jericoacoara, you can get one of the daily transfers that leave around 7am from different locations of Fortaleza, including Praia do Futuro or Praia de Iracema. There are also some options to book a private transfer, if you need more flexibility with the departure time. You can book your transfer from Fortaleza to Jericoacoara from this link.
Jericoacoara is also served by a small airport, connecting the town with some of the main Brazilian cities, including Belo Horizonte, Sao Paulo or Recife. The airport is located only 33km south of Jericoacoara, but again due to the unpaved roads, a taxi from the airport will take you at least one hour. Since flights are scarce and quite expensive, most visitors decide to fly to Fortaleza Airport instead and get a transfer or drive from there.
Jeep in jericoacoara
Reaching Jericoacoara can be a bit of an adventure. Because the end of the journey requires driving through an unpaved road with very few signposts, if you’re driving on your own you will need to hire the services of one of the locals that wait for tourists at the exit of the highway. For a small fee, they will safely drive your car until the main parking space outside the city.
For that same reason, if you decide to rent a car, make sure that you rent a jeep or 4x4. You’ll need it not only to drive the last stretch of the journey, but also to explore all the different tourist attractions in Jericoacoara. Most of them are hidden in between dirt roads, creeks and sand dunes, so you won’t be able to reach them with a regular car.
If you decide to rent a car, I always use and recommend DiscoverCars.com, an international car rental service available worldwide. They compare offers with more than 1,000 car rental companies in 150 countries, so you’ll always find the best prices for your trip.
Where to sleep in Jericoacoara: Best guesthouse
Pousada Ibirapuera
Jericoacoara is well known for its hundreds of guesthouses ( in Portuguese ‘pousadas’) scattered all around the town.
For my stay, I decided to book the Pousada Ibirapuera. Located only 300m away from the beach and Sunset Dune, this cosy property couldn’t have a better location!
In Pousada Ibirapuera, rooms are decorated in a rustic, beach house style and have two different levels with lots of space and a private bathroom. In the patio, you can also find a swimming pool and hammocks that can be used by guests.
Rates include a very nice breakfast and they’re also happy to organise any activity that you’d like to book. I personally loved my stay!
To find the best rates for my stay in Jericoacoara I used Agoda.com. With over 2 million hotel listing around the world, they’re one of the world's largest travel marketplaces. You can compare prices and book your accommodation in Jericoacoara from this link.
Best Restaurant in Jericoacoara
Jerizando
There are lots of options for food and drinks in Jericoacoara, but one of my favourites was Jerizando.
Located in Rua São Francisco, right in the heart of Jericoacoara and only a few steps away from the beach and my guesthouse, this small restaurant is known for its traditional pizzas and friendly atmosphere.
I tried one of their crepes (you can find them sweet and savoury) and it was delicious! They also serve some amazing cocktails that I highly recommend.
Food and drink are served in very generous portions for quite reasonable prices. I actually enjoyed the food so much that I even came for a second time!
Things to do and see in Jericoacoara: 3 day itinerary
Most sites in Jericoacoara are a few minutes drive from each other, so the most popular way to visit is by buggy. Visits are generally divided by coast:
East Coast: including Lagoa Paraiso, Lagoa Azul, Pedra Furada, Sloth Tree and Buraco Azul.
West Coast: including Tatajuba Dunes and Lagoon, Mangue Seco Beach, Guriú River and Lagoa Grande.
These visits can be booked in one of the many stands that you can find all over town. The size of the group, quality of the visit and price can vary greatly depending on the tour operator, so to find the best rates and a highly-rated visit, I recommend booking your day tour in advance with Viator.com.
Since we had our own car and we weren’t particularly interested in the west coast, we decided to split the sites of the east coast across our 3-day visit and have some additional time to enjoy each stop. We hired the same local guide that drove us from the highway to Jeri and we followed the following 3-day itinerary:
Jericoacoara
With a population of only 17,000 inhabitants, for our 3-day visit in the region we stayed in the small town of Jericoacoara.
As soon as I arrived in Jericoacoara, I realised that it wasn’t your typical beach destination: with no pavement on the streets, only sand from the dunes, and no lampposts or even a bank, Jericoacoara is truly one of the last preserved paradises of Brazil.
Jericoacoara has a very hippy vibe that really reminded me of the Phi Phi islands in Thailand; a relaxed but lively village full of bars, restaurants and stalls where you can get some of the best cocktails, lots of backpackers and groups of youngsters playing the guitar and singing on the streets…. in Jericoacoara there’s no room for stress!
Praia principal
The main beach in Jericoacoara is known as Praia Principal. Located right next to the village and surrounded by rafts and sand dunes, it is by far one most popular spots in Jeri.
Since we arrived in Jericoacoara just before lunch, we decided to spend the first day by the beach and dedicate the next two days to explore the surrounding region.
The calm and shallow waters are just perfect to relax on the sun while enjoying a traditional caipirinha, so we rented one of the sunbeds near the water and just laid in there for most of the day. In spite of its small size, to my surprise, the beach wasn’t too busy.
Sunset Dune
On the left side of the beach, you will find the popular Sunset Dune, or Duna do Pôr do Sol in Portuguese.
Every day around 5pm, a few minutes before sunset, dozens of people climb this 30m-high dune to enjoy one of the most beautiful views in Jericoacoara as the sun sinks into the vastness of the ocean and the skies are light up with striking tones of orange and pink.
After viewing the sunset, according to tradition, you have to descend the dune from its front. Take this chance to make your way down doing esquibunda (Portuguese wordplay meaning ‘ski-butt’), where you sit on top of a flat board and slide down the dunes on your butt!
Alchymist Beach Club
In our first full day in Jericoacoara, our first stop was the Alchymist Beach Club. Located in Lagoa do Paraiso (Portuguese for ‘Paradise Lagoon’), it is without a doubt the best and most popular restaurant and beach club in Jeri.
We were quite disappointed as we drove there as it was raining heavily that morning, but we were pretty lucky and the rain stopped as soon as we arrived at the door.
Access to the club has a price of R$20 (approx. €3.50) and will give you access to their private beach in the lagoon, where you can enjoy the crystal clear water and famous hammocks inside the water. The beach is pretty small but absolutely gorgeous!
We left our things at one of the tables in the restaurant and stayed almost for the entire morning just relaxing by the beach. In the restaurant, you can buy some snacks or get lunch, but prices are considerably higher than what you’ll find in other places in Jericoacoara. For that reason, we decided to eat at the Buraco Azul instead and we only ordered a couple of cold beers.
Buraco Azul
We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Buraco Azul (Portuguese for ‘Blue Hole’), the latest tourist attraction in Jericoacoara. This peculiar formation was formed only at the end of 2019 after torrential rains filled with water a muddy area that had been excavated to extract sand for the construction of the CE-182 road.
The turquoise colour of the water comes from the soil of the excavation area, rich in limestone. The fine-grain sand reflects with the sun, creating that striking tone of blue.
The waters are very calm and warm, so it’s one of the best places to swim in Jericoacoara! Some parts of the lagoon can reach 7 metres in depth, so most people, including myself, stay near the shore where you can relax on one of the hammocks inside the water. Unfortunately, the rain came back during our visit, but it didn’t bother us too much thanks to the perfect temperature of the water!
You will also find a restaurant where you can order some drinks or food. We ordered a few different local fish with rice for lunch which was delicious and much cheaper than in the Alchymist Beach Club!
Pedra Furada
Pedra Furada is one of the most emblematic spots in Jericoacoara. Meaning ‘Pierced Rock’ in English, this famous formation is a big arched rock with a hole in the middle caused by erosion. Although it may not seem that impressive, its true magic comes at the end of July when the sun can be seen setting on the horizon right through the hole of the rock.
There are a couple of different options to reach the stone. When the tide is low, you can walk from Jericoacoara Beach for about 2km along the coast. The walk will take about 45 minutes each way while you enjoy the caves and beautiful natural pools near the cliffs.
Alternatively, if the tide is high or you don’t feel like walking along the beach, you can take one of the carriages for R$40 per person that leave from Jericoacoara to Morro do Serrote and then walk down the hill until you reach the rock. We didn’t have much time that morning before having to drive back to Fortaleza, so we went for this second option.
The path to descend and climb back is pretty rocky and steep, so it can take you a good 30 minutes and lots of energy to make your way up and down. This is, however, a great option if you’d also like to enjoy the fields with animals and the amazing views of the cliffs and Pedra Furada from the top.
Sloth Tree
Just before heading back to Fortaleza, we stopped at the Árvore da Preguiça, Portuguese for Sloth Tree.
The peculiar shape of this tree, which seems to be ‘lazy’ just lying down on the beach, is in fact the action of the strong winds. Certainly a peculiar spot for a photo, but not much more than that!
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