Things to do in Lençóis Maranhenses
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Lençóis Maranhenses
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Wettest quarter. Lagoons are forming, rain is heavy and approaches to Atins and Santo Amaro can flood.
Rains ease and lagoons fill, with fewer visitors and lower prices, but wet days and rough tracks remain possible.
Peak window. Lagoons are full, skies are mostly dry, and prices and tour numbers are at their highest.
Still swims well, especially in Santo Amaro, while smaller and Atins side lagoons visibly shrink.
Most lagoons dry out. Dunes stay beautiful and empty, kite wind lasts into December and prices fall.
The only months delivering full lagoons and peak kite wind together, which makes Atins the best base then.
What's on
- São João and Bumba Meu Boi through June, peak around 23 to 29 June
Maranhão's June folk pageant of the resurrected bull, in arraiais in São Luís and smaller ones in Barreirinhas.
Best things to do in Lençóis Maranhenses
Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses
A vast dune field flooded into thousands of clear lagoons each year, visited as guided circuits from three different bases.
Lagoa Bonita
The classic sunset circuit, with a steep dune climb opening onto a whole field of lagoons below you.
Lagoa Azul
The morning swim circuit from Barreirinhas, a compact set of pools with soft bottoms and deep water in season.
Lagoa das Andorinhas
Santo Amaro's signature lagoon, a large clear pool under high dunes that holds water late into the season.
Lagoa da Gaivota
The second half of the Santo Amaro morning circuit, minutes from town, with a fine dune backdrop for photos.
Lagoa Betânia
A long lagoon beside a living village and river, with swims, a dune viewpoint and lunch in the settlement.
Lagoa das Américas
A smaller, calmer Santo Amaro lagoon reached with a short boat leg, ideal on a quiet third or fourth day.
Farol Preguiças
The Mandacaru lighthouse, whose top shows river, mangrove, dunes, the Caburé sandbar and the Atlantic at once.
Where to stay in Lençóis Maranhenses
Barreirinhas
first trip, families and logistics
Paved main gateway on the Preguiças River, with the most restaurants, services and tour departures.
Atins
kitesurfing, couples and slow stays
Sandy fishing village at the river mouth, with the beach, boutique pousadas and the kite schools.
Santo Amaro
lagoon purists and August to September trips
Quiet town minutes from the biggest lagoons, whose water lasts longest into the dry months.
Think twice about
- Caburé as an overnight base
Boat or 4x4 access only, a handful of simple pousadas and no evening life. Superb for lunch, thin for sleeping.
- São Luís as a day trip base
About four hours each way to Barreirinhas turns the park into a punishing day and the worst version of every circuit.
- Far outskirts of Barreirinhas
Addresses on the outer roads sold as central leave you dependent on shuttles and taxis for every dinner.
Best restaurants in Lençóis Maranhenses
Mangue Restaurante
Barreirinhas's splurge table, a big rustic seafood restaurant built for long warm evenings in the centre.
Bambaê Bar Restaurante e Pizzaria
A spacious garden restaurant famous for shrimp in a pineapple and huge portions, with a free hotel shuttle.
Restaurante A Canoa
The Beira Rio institution with a huge menu, fairly priced, and a claim to have pioneered shrimp in pineapple.
O Bambu
A Japanese restaurant and sushi bar on Beira Rio, the change of pace pick on a long Barreirinhas stay.
Restaurante Terral
A well reviewed, lower priced town restaurant for Brazilian standards, fish and meat plates without occasion pricing.
Restaurante Cabana do Peixe
The river day lunch, simple grilled river fish, fried manioc and regional juices at prices the bases cannot match.
Restaurante da Luzia
Half of a famous rivalry at Canto do Atins, serving charcoal grilled shrimp with a guarded family recipe.
Restaurante Cantos dos Lençóis
The other house at Canto do Atins with the same grilled shrimp led menu, equal when its rival is slammed.
Outdoor things to do in Lençóis Maranhenses
Circuito Lagoa das Emendadas
A 7 km sunset walk between linked lagoons from Santo Amaro, returning under the stars with no light pollution.
Travessia dos Lençóis Maranhenses
The multi day dune crossing on foot, sleeping in hammocks in the Baixa Grande and Queimada dos Britos oases.
Rio Preguiças
The speedboat day down the Preguiças to Vassouras, Mandacaru lighthouse and the Caburé sandbar.
Lençóis Kiteboarding
Atins's top rated kite school, teaching on flat low tide water and running lagoon sessions for advanced riders.
Atins Kiteboarding
A second established kite school in Atins, a mid priced way into lessons, taster days and gear hire.
Revoada dos Guarás
A short sunset boat ride to watch scarlet ibis fly in and turn the mangrove roost trees red as they settle.
Quadriciclo Atins Caburé
A guided quad ride along the coast from Atins to Caburé for a swim and lunch, physical and genuinely fun.
Rio Alegre
A gentle guided kayak run of three to four hours on Santo Amaro's river, a calm break from dune days.
Best hotels in Lençóis Maranhenses
Porto Preguiças Resort
The region's one full resort, a large riverside property near Barreirinhas with pools and complete infrastructure.
Hotel Pousada do Buriti
The reliable mid range town hotel in central Barreirinhas, with a pool, gardens and complete infrastructure.
Hostel Flor de Ipê
The budget hostel base in Barreirinhas, good for meeting travellers to split private tours with.
Anacardier Hotel
Atins's headline luxury hotel, a small design led stay in a village with no paved roads.
La Ferme de Georges
Six architect designed chalets apart from the village bustle, with gardens and a restaurant using its own produce.
Vila Vento
The mid range Atins pousada in local style, keeping beach and lagoon access at a step below luxury prices.
Pousada Jurará
A simple family run village pousada in Atins, a sound cheap base for kiters staying weeks rather than days.
Pousada Rancho das Dunas
Santo Amaro's top end pousada, comfortable and calm, valued for organising private lagoon circuits well.
Is Lençóis Maranhenses expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | R$400 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | R$750 a person |
| Splurge | R$1,800 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Lagoa Bonita: a few days ahead
- Lagoa Azul: a few days ahead
- Lagoa das Andorinhas: a few days ahead
- Lagoa da Gaivota: a few days ahead
- Lagoa Betânia: a few days ahead
- Lençóis Maranhenses Scenic Flight: a few days ahead
- Circuito Lagoa das Emendadas: a few days ahead
- Travessia dos Lençóis Maranhenses: weeks ahead
- Book Atins's best pousadas and Barreirinhas rooms weeks ahead for July and August.
- Reserve multi day treks, private circuits and kite lessons before arrival in peak season.
- Confirm in writing whether your guide speaks English, whether lunch is included and the pickup time.
Is Lençóis Maranhenses safe?
- Use tied on hats, a UV shirt and sunscreen. The wind hides how fierce the sun is on lagoon days.
- Never walk the dune field unguided. It has no landmarks, patchy signal and no water.
- Watch tidal pull and hidden depressions at Atins beach and Caburé, especially with children.
- Thunderstorms in the rainy season are the one condition that cancels tours outright.
Lençóis Maranhenses travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Doing Lagoa Azul and Lagoa Bonita on the same day is a false economy in the heat and on rough tracks.
- The Canto do Atins shrimp world title is marketing. The shrimp is good, the slogan is not a reason to plan a day.
- Feeding the habituated monkeys at Vassouras harms them and risks a nip.
- A cheap October package is cheap because the lagoons are leaving. Operator photos are always from July.
Getting around Lençóis Maranhenses: public transport and more
- Fly to São Luís, then a 3.5 to 4 hour paved road transfer to Barreirinhas, by shuttle or private car booked via your pousada.
- Atins is reached by speedboat from Barreirinhas a few times a day, or by a long rough 4x4 run.
- Inside the park there is no self drive: licensed 4x4s, boats and walking with a guide are the transport.
- There is no Uber in any base. Carry cash in reais, as there is no ATM in Atins and signal failures are common.
Who Lençóis Maranhenses suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
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