Travel in the interior of Maranhão is limited by the road system: there is only one highway out of São Luís, which forks east to Teresina and west to Belém. Although asphalted, chunks of it often get washed away during the rainy season. You’ll usually get through eventually – even if you have to […]

Set in a wonderful tropical landscape on the other side of the bay of São Marcos from São Luís, ALCÂNTARA is now no more than a poor village built around the ruins of what was once the richest town in northern Brazil. São Luís had already eclipsed it by the end of the eighteenth […]

Travel in Maranhão outside São Luís is made difficult by a road system that is limited and – given the rains – often precarious. If you want to travel along the coast the most practical way is by boat, an option, however, that is not to be taken lightly as it’s hard going: no […]

At weekends virtually the entire city moves out to the beaches, which are large enough to swallow up the masses without getting too crowded. You will quickly discover one of the delights of this coast: the seafood. The seas and rivers around here teem with life, most of it edible. The beach stalls do […]

São Luís is blessed with a chain of excellent beaches, all of which can be reached by bus from the Terminal de Integração. The surf can be dangerous and people drown every month, so take care. It’s also worth noting that swimming after sunset is not a good idea, as there are occasional attacks […]

The city’s central layout is easily grasped. Built on a headland that slopes down to rivers on two sides, the city’s largest square is Praça Deodoro, from where the narrow but crowded Rua da Paz and Rua do Sol, each only with room for one lane of traffic and perilously tight pavements, lead down […]

Both the airport and the rodoviária are some way from the city centre. A taxi from the airport to the centre will cost you about R$20: pay at the kiosk on the left as you come out of the luggage collection area and hand the coupon to the driver. Alternatively you can catch the […]