Things to do in Vitória
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Vitória
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Warm and comparatively drier, with Festa da Penha in April and mild mountain weather.
Best second window, warm and drier, overlapping the core humpback whale season.
Mildest and driest feeling months, and winter season in Domingos Martins and Pedra Azul.
Wettest and most humid stretch, with January holiday crowds in Guarapari and higher prices.
Humpback whale watching season from Vitoria, strongest in August and September.
What's on
- Carnaval de Vitória February, about a week before Rio Carnival
Samba schools parade at the Sambao do Povo at human scale, with street blocos in Centro and Jardim da Penha.
- Festa da Penha Nine days from Easter Sunday
Espirito Santo's defining festival at the Convento da Penha in Vila Velha, with pilgrimages and huge crowds.
- Festa de Nossa Senhora da Vitória Around 8 September
The patronal festival of Vitoria itself, with programming around the Cathedral and Cidade Alta.
- Erntedankfest June
Harvest thanksgiving tradition in Domingos Martins, part of the mountains' winter gastronomy season.
Best things to do in Vitória
Convento da Penha
A hilltop Franciscan convent with the definitive panorama over Vitoria, the bridge, the port and Vila Velha.
Praia de Camburi
Vitoria's largest urban beach and boardwalk, where the city runs, cycles and promenades from dawn to sunset.
Praia da Curva da Jurema
A sheltered bay beach with calm water for swimming, lined with kiosk restaurants for a long lunch on the sand.
Ilha do Boi
A quiet residential island with two small sheltered beaches, ten minutes from the office towers.
Paneleiras de Goiabeiras
Watch women potters hand make the black clay pots that every real moqueca capixaba is cooked and served in.
Palácio Anchieta
The former Jesuit complex at the heart of the old town, now the state seat, with historic rooms and art.
Projeto Tamar Vitória
A compact sea turtle conservation centre on Praca do Papa, with one of the best open bay views in the city.
Triângulo das Bermudas
Vitoria's concentrated bar and restaurant district in Praia do Canto, the answer to where to go tonight.
Where to stay in Vitória
Praia do Canto
first trip, all round base
The walkable heart, with the Triangulo nightlife, the best restaurants and Jurema beach on foot.
Enseada do Suá
business base and bay views
The office quarter on the bay, with big full service hotels, Shopping Vitoria and Praca do Papa.
Jardim Camburi
longer stays and value
A residential boardwalk base along Camburi beach, closer to the airport and lower priced than Praia do Canto.
Praia da Costa, Vila Velha
beach first alternative base
A real beach promenade across the bridge with the convent nearby and generally lower prices.
Think twice about
- Centro and Cidade Alta at night
The historic centre empties after offices close and streets are deserted. Visit by day, sleep in Praia do Canto or Enseada do Sua.
Best restaurants in Vitória
Restaurante Oriundi
A small northern Italian institution since 1993, strongest on risottos, and the locals' splurge answer.
Coco Bambu Vitória
A vast, lively seafood house built for celebrations, with huge sharing platters and prawns in every register.
Spaghetti & Cia
A cantina and fresh pasta factory where Vitoria families have eaten for years, mid priced for the quality.
Mahai
A relaxed Praia do Canto favourite with a broad international menu, the reservation when a group cannot agree.
Ilha do Caranguejo
A big, fun crab and seafood house with live music, famous for crabs in the clay pot and dancing waiters.
Don Camaleone
The Triangulo area pizza and Italian favourite, with a terrace that fills nightly and a younger scene.
Restaurante Atlântica
A long established seafood house whose moqueca capixaba in the clay pot is a first moqueca benchmark.
Papaguth
Capixaba cooking smartened up near Praca do Papa, serving moquecas and torta capixaba in a polished room.
Outdoor things to do in Vitória
Morro do Moreno
A steep free hike to a 360 degree summit over Praia da Costa, Vitoria, the convent hill and the open ocean.
Parque Pedra da Cebola
Vitoria's beloved neighbourhood park around a giant onion shaped rock, with lakes, courts and weekend families.
Parque da Fonte Grande
Atlantic forest trails above the centre to the high panorama of the island, the bay and the port.
Parque Estadual da Pedra Azul
A vast granite dome rising from green farmland, with a controlled trail to natural rock pools.
Guarapari
The holiday beach town an hour south, with family coves, black sand and clear water beaches in one day trip.
Praia da Costa
The classic beach promenade across the bridge, best combined with Morro do Moreno and the convent at golden hour.
Humpback Whale Watching Vitória
Full day boat trips in season to watch humpbacks breaching and travelling with calves off the Espirito Santo coast.
Clube Capixaba de Golfe
An 18 hole hillside course on the slope of Monte Mestre Alvaro in Serra, the region's only real round.
Best hotels in Vitória
Hotel Senac Ilha do Boi
A calm garden hotel school on Ilha do Boi with a pool and marina outlook, the city's established retreat stay.
Sheraton Vitória Hotel
The reliable international flagship in Praia do Canto, with bay view rooms a short walk from the Triangulo.
Golden Tulip Porto Vitória
A large tower hotel facing the bay and the convent view, well placed for Praca do Papa and the bridge.
Comfort Suites Vitória
A suites hotel near Praia do Canto with a pool and generous rooms that suit families and longer stays.
Sleep Inn Vitória Praia do Canto
A compact modern hotel in Praia do Canto itself, so you can walk to the Triangulo and to Jurema beach.
Go Inn Vitória
A clean, efficient budget chain hotel in Enseada do Sua, handy for Shopping Vitoria and the bridge.
Triângulo Apart Hotel
A simple aparthotel by the Triangulo with kitchenette rooms, buying location and space at a low rate.
Is Vitória expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | R$250 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | R$550 a person |
| Splurge | R$1,200 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Parque Estadual da Pedra Azul: a few days ahead
- Humpback Whale Watching Vitória: weeks ahead
- Clube Capixaba de Golfe: a few days ahead
- Restaurante Oriundi: a few days ahead
- Book Pedra Azul park trail slots days ahead in season through the IEMA system.
- Book whale watching days to weeks ahead in the June to October season.
- Reserve Oriundi at weekends and hotels around Festa da Penha, Carnival and New Year.
Is Vitória safe?
- Do not base in Centro or wander there after dark, as it empties when offices close.
- Use ordinary city discipline: no flashy jewellery, phone away at night, ATMs inside banks and malls.
- Emergency numbers are 190 for police and 192 for medical emergencies.
Vitória travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Shopping Vitoria is a good ordinary mall, not a sight, despite appearing on attraction lists.
- Jurema kiosk lunches are priced for the view, so enjoy one and do not eat every meal there.
- Check the bathing water flags at Camburi before swimming, as quality varies.
Getting around Vitória: public transport and more
- Rideshare is cheap and plentiful and is the default way to move around the compact island core.
- Vitoria airport VIX is unusually central, about 15 to 20 minutes from the visitor neighbourhoods.
- Rent a car or book a tour for Pedra Azul, Guarapari and the golf club in Serra.
- The Terceira Ponte is tolled and jams at rush hour, so time bridge crossings outside peak hours.
Who Vitória suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Vitória your trip
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