One travel writer makes the case for why Bahia is a repeat vacation destination.
Rio is chaos . On a hot summer weekend , a paries of umbrella cover the entirety of the city ’s beaches , accompanied by thousands of people . When many foreigners think of Brazil , it ’s Rio de Janeiro that comes to heed . And yet , as picture - arrant as Ipanema Beach may be , with the famed “ Two Brothers ” muckle in the space , every bit as beautiful as you had hoped , it ’s egregiously crowded .
But not Bahia . North of Rio de Janeiro , Bahia is get laid for its mailing-card of a coastline . If you have n’t hear of Bahia , then that ’s all the better ; it ’s extremely possible neither have your Friend , your boss , nor your inlaws . The Brazilian state is huge ( somewhere between California and Texas ) , but my affinity , like most visitors in the know , is for its beach . Though the sparkling coast is slenderly curt than that of California , it would take doubly as long to push back this stretch of Brazil northward to south , largely due to unpaved roads . In short : There ’s no immobile way of life to do Bahia .
In fact , the more bumpy the road , the few the people at the end of it , leaving a pristine beach that ’ll make you palpate like the last person on ground or the first one in heaven .
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This inability to rush is something you feel with each Bahian interaction , especially during meals . The time between ordering dinner and taking your first collation could be 60 or 90 minute , though servers will gladly keep you hydrous with a new coconut tree or beer in the meantime . Kick back , and do n’t stress the waiting , with nothing but gamy sea and sky in front of you . Friendly beach dogs stop by for a pat or do by as they rove . And the swim is ideally laid back , where you’re able to often wade over 100 feet into the water before it ’s above your articulatio genus . You have petty to interest about , bring through for a few mosquitoes , routine SPF layers , and some uneven wifi — but that ’s the point . You ’re removed from the masses . You ’re officially on “ Bahia sentence . ”
My first time in Bahia was during a period of incredible changeover , and these beaches were the perfect salve for an uprooted mentality going through physical and mental upheaval . Having left New York City in 2017 , I ’d been ping - ponging around several country , supporting myself as a freelance writer . I ’d hike Patagonia , drank wine in Mendoza , experienced a devastating earthquake in Mexico City , and was reeling from the chaos of carnival in Rio . But Bahia immediately felt dissimilar , so much so that I often ascertain myself taking out my phone to drop a pin on the map , just to front at how far away I was from everything I know . The solitude was strike . I would find myself skinny dipping and sunbathe thoroughgoing naked in the gumption simply because there was n’t a soul in sight in either focus , despite it being mid - March with an 80 - arcdegree cloudless sky overhead . I found solacement in the distance .
Though I technically was n’t the only one . A acquaintance joined this peg of the trip , who ’d just gone through a wrenching breakup , cease her job , and needed escape . And while we were there , her good booster back home in the Midwest devastatingly passed away . The services were held mid - snowstorm , and any last - minute of arc flying would cost thousands of dollars , ask some 30 + hours of travel , and would likely be stay or cancel due to weather . Bahia gave her the space to grieve and process . Here , she ask the macrocosm for forgiveness for not being at her supporter ’s funeral . Our week was jot and go emotionally , but it was the perfect mount to take our single space , to walk separate directions down a beach and be alone for 60 minutes at a time .
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From here , I finally went on to Berlin , but Bahia stuck with me . I fall three more time since then , as a sanctuary from cold , from my inbox , and whatever ails me . And so Bahia has become so much more than a vacation smear to be checked off some list .
It might initially experience like a wasted chance to revisit a plaza when there are unlimited options available to you , but a repetition holiday is actually a uniquely fulfilling experience . Too often is it tempting to build a collection of land - visited as if bet Pokemon , as though a bigger list has some sort of coolness currency to leverage over one another ( and especially on social medium ) . But the stories are much more rewarding from someone who ’s delight lengthy stays in only 15 countries as opposed to a individual who ’s pass the same overall sentence in 89 . It ’s not just about traveling dim , it ’s about coming back to see how a shoes has changed , how you ’ve change along with it , and building a relationship with the location .
repetition destinations oscillate in a sorcerous billet between plate and vacation . Because as exciting as locomotion can be , some trips leave you tired , with a feeling like you need a vacation from your holiday or like you ca n’t hold back to get base , no matter how memorable the excursion . Coming back to the same far - off position over time build a signified of base , somewhere that feels familiar and comfortable , where you could create routine and relationships , but is still categorize in your thinker as a reprieve . It ’s not about ensuring every single day is arrant — finally you get to the point where even the showery twenty-four hour period on Bahia ’s coastline can get off your dopamine levels sky gamey .
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But all the views in Bahia are deserving coming back to . You could find a black - sand beach on one turnoff , followed by a cliffside vista at the next . Then you may derive upon a ocean - shelled shore , before make it at a bob where a boat shuttle awaits . Before you hump it , you ’re on a machine - less island with sand - covered footer roads .
No matter where you wrap up , the death goal is always to fall at peace to the sound of ocean waves , rust fresh - caught seafood or hearty Brazilian culinary art , and for every mean solar day to feel like the previous one , so that you also lose rail of time and urging . Above all , Bahia helps exonerated out the fog inside your drumhead . There is no space for inflation here . The hospitality feel local and homegrown , where no one cares about condition or how much money you could throw at remote resorts . You might have the best week of your aliveness at only $ 50 a sidereal day .
To get to Bahia from the US , you will likely want to go through Rio de Janeiro orSão Paulo , and then catch a flight to Salvador or the smaller regional airports of Ilhéus , Porto Seguro , and Prado . Colorful , colonial Salvador is the Bahian Das Kapital ( and was actually Brazil ’s first capital , prior to Rio and then Brasilia ) , with 4 million hoi polloi in the metro area . The urban center is also the birthplace of funfair , the hub of Afro - Brazilian acculturation , and the homebase of the local Condomblé religion , which is a blending of Christianity and voodoo belief bring over by slave , primarily from Congo and Angola . While there , consider staying atFera Palaceand eating atCasa de Terezaas well asMistura Contorno , both owned and run by distaff chefs . Salvador is absolutely worth a 24-hour interval or two of your prison term while traveling in Bahia , though get yourself a few minute outside the metropolis in either focussing and you ’ve contract a smooth coastline again .
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If you fly into Ilhéus , consider point north , past Itacaré and its Rhizophora mangle and waterfalls , to reach the potholed backroads of the Península de Maraú . The hotelPousada Maraúis heavenly . Besides hourlong beach walks , you might barely lead the premises , which is all oceanfront , delectable food , and cozy abodes .
From Porto Seguro , stop in hippie - dippie Trancoso , which is kind of the Tulum of Brazil , for good or worse . Go there mostly to apprise the sprawl sea-coast , some of which has pitch-black - sand stretch . Then target the water - lined Caraíva , which is technically a peninsula , but feels like a no - car island . last , if you wing into Prado , it ’s all about Praia de Cumuruxatiba .
Most rental cars are manual transmission , and it ’s just as easy to ask your pousada for a secret - hire car service if you just require to hang on one beach for a few days . ( Ca n’t blame you . )
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There are a lot of places you’re able to go in the creation to have uninterrupted coastline , and it ’s entirely potential that some of thoseCaribbean , Fijian , and Mozambican ones could outshine Bahia as you build your beach - escape mood boards . But that ’s believably because Bahia does n’t really check on a mood plank . As beautiful as its beaches are in actual lifespan , Bahia does n’t feel like it ’s branded for any singular experience . You ca n’t sell a Bahia post card like you may a Rio one ; it ’s a place that depend good IRL than in its photos , which might also account for how easygoing it is to bunk the raft there . So yes , Rio might be topsy-turvyness , but Bahia is bliss .
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