Airlines TAM, Rua Epaminodas Gracindo 92, Pajucara T82/3327-6400 or at airport T82/3214-4114 or 3214-4112; Varig T82/3214-4100; Transbrasil T82/3221-8286. For information on flights, call the airport on T82/3214-4000.
Banks and exchange Banco do Brasil and HSBC are both on the first block of Rua do Livramento, close to the corner with Rua Boa Vista. You can […]

Maceió is particularly well known for its excellent shrimp and lobster dishes, but caters for just about everyone. Some of the best places to eat and drink in the city are out of the centre, at Mundaú lagoon and Pajuçara beach. From Praça dos Martírios you can take a taxi, or a local bus […]

The main city beach is at Pajuçara, whose curving road and wide mosaic promenade are studded with palm trees. The water is not always the cleanest here and many people hire jangadas (around R$15 an hour) and head 2km out to sea to swim in the natural pools that form at low tide.
The bay […]

Lampião was born Virgulino Ferreira da Silva in 1897 in the Northeastern state of Pernambuco. As Virgulino grew up, he and his family got involved in local feuding and they ended up of the wrong side of the law. Virgulino’s father was killed in a police raid on his home, turning Virgulino, only 25 […]

The small city centre is just inland from the modest harbour, and here what remains of Maceió’s past is to be found cheek by jowl with the cheap hotels and central shopping area. Quite distinct from this somewhat down-at-heel colonial heart is the modern, much larger and livelier area that starts at Pajuçara, a […]

By Brazilian standards the rodoviária (T82/3221-4615) is relatively close to the centre, though it’s still well beyond walking distance for either the old town or the beach area. Buses marked “Ouro Preto” or “Serraria Mercado” connect it with the old town, from where, to go on to the beaches you should take the “Ponta […]