Brazil – Atins, the Lençóis Maranhenses and Iguaçu: six weeks that were too short

Our Brazil travel blog tells the story of six weeks between Rio, Iguaçu and the northeast – by long-distance bus, plane and rental car.

Six weeks in Brazil, April and May 2026 – Rio, Iguaçu and then the northeast. We travelled the country by long-distance bus, plane and rental car, with our dog, our laptops and the plan to keep working on the road. This is the part after Rio.

Iguaçu: two days in Foz do Iguaçu, a day trip to Argentina

From Rio we took the night bus (about 22 hours, leito seat, roughly €60) to Foz do Iguaçu – our base, on the Brazilian side. We saw the falls from the Brazilian side in the afternoon and the Argentine side the next morning as a day trip across the border – both are worth it, the Argentine side gets you closer to the water. Entry is about €20–25 each. The bus stations are big, clean and safe, and the buses are better than any train in Austria.

Our photos from Foz do Iguaçu

The northeast: São Luís, Barreirinhas and Atins

A flight to São Luís, then four hours by rental car to Barreirinhas and from there by 4×4 shuttle on to Atins – a fishing village made of sand on the edge of the Lençóis Maranhenses, with no asphalt, kitesurfers, donkeys in the street and the most beautiful light we have ever seen. A truly wonderful place. We had a house with a large covered terrace surrounded by greenery, a hammock, solar panels and a pool at the resort next door. The laptop sat on the terrace table with Starlink next to it – that is how we worked for three weeks. Price: about €50 a night via Airbnb.

Lençóis Maranhenses

White dunes as far as the horizon, with lagoons of rainwater in between – still full in May, drying out from July. You can only get in by 4×4 jeep or buggy (tour from Barreirinhas about €25 per person; from Atins you can walk or take a buggy straight into the dunes). Go in the afternoon, watch the sunset from a dune, no people around. The most impressive piece of nature we have ever seen.

Rental car in the northeast

Booked through Discover Cars, picked up at São Luís airport. The roads are okay – potholes yes, signposting so-so, so download Google Maps for offline use. Only fill up at big petrol stations. We had a flat tyre in Barreirinhas: €15 to fix it at the tyre shop on the main road.

Costs (6 weeks, 2 people)

• Domestic flights within Brazil: about €400 in total
• Accommodation: €2,000–2,500
• Rental car for 3 weeks: about €500
• Food: very cheap, €10–15 a day for two eating prato feito

Money

Pix is everywhere (Brazil’s instant payment system) – as a foreigner without a CPF you can’t get your own Pix account. The trick: with Wise you can pay directly via Pix – scan the QR code, enter the amount in reais, done, even at the beach vendor. That is why Wise was worth its weight in gold in Brazil. The Wise card also works wherever there is a card terminal, and the real exchange rate is fair. ATMs: Banco do Brasil or Bradesco, not the yellow ones in shopping centres.

Brazil travel blog: our conclusion

Our conclusion from this Brazil travel blog: the country is huge, so it pays to plan fewer places and stay longer in each. You should also allow plenty of buffer time for Atins and the Lençóis, because getting there takes a while. How the trip started in Rio is told in our Rio de Janeiro tips; general information about the country is on Wikipedia.