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Lençóis Maranhenses National Park is a paradise on earth. A vast area of breathtaking, white sand dunes, covering close to 598 square miles, the park has a glorious appearance of lençóis (bedsheets in Portuguese). During rainfall, the sand dunes are full of incredibly, blue lagoons numbering in the thousands. A swim among these midnight blue lakes after hiking through the sand dunes is simply an unforgettable experience. This post is all about exploring the incredible Lençóis Maranhenses National Park!
Logistics:
Getting to the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park is no easy task, The best way to get to the park is from São Luís, the capital city of the state of Maranhão. São Luís is accessible by flight from any major airport in Brazil. As I was flying into São Luís from São Paulo, the flight took about 4.5 hours.
There are three towns that offer accommodation near the park: Barreirinhas, Santo Amaro, and Atins. Santo Amaro and Atins tend to be smaller villages with more contact with the local community and more access to less visited lakes and sand dunes. On the other hand, Barreirinhas tends to be more developed with numerous options for accommodations and tours. The town also has direct bus/van transfers from the city of São Luís.
Getting From São Luís to Barreirinhas
Van Transfer
There are three options to get from São Luís to Barreirinhas. The first is through a shared, van transfer from São Luís airport. You can typically ask your accommodation to arrange the van transfer for you and this typically occurs two or three times a day. The cost of traveling by van ranges anywhere between 80-90 reais one way. Although the van is fairly comfortable, you are not able to choose where to sit and the roads tend to be bumpy along the way.
Expert Tip: Some van providers might ask for a downpayment of half the price to secure your spot in the van. In that case, you would have to transfer the money via PIX, an app that allows you to send and receive payment once you have a Brazilian bank account.
Bus Transfer
Alternatively, you are also able to catch the bus from São Luís to Barreirinhas. If this is your chosen form of transportation, I suggest first confirming bus times before booking your flight to São Luís as the bus transfers tend to be more limited than the van transfers. Buses tend to be cheaper, with prices ranging anywhere between 60-80 reais, and are more readily available during the week without advance booking. They also tend to be a lot more comfortable than van transfers.
Expert Tip: Securing a bus ticket from Barreirinhas to São Luís is fairly easy, as you are able to find a bus provider, called JPtour, in the city center of Barreirinhas. You can go there directly and book a day in advance during the week.
Taxi Transfer
Taking a taxi from São Luís International Airport (SLZ) to Barreirinhas is the third option. This is the most expensive option but if both a bus and a van transfer fail, you can always rely on catching a taxi ride outside of the airport- at least before late evening! Taxi drivers will charge anywhere between 800-1000 reais just for a one-way transport to Barreirinhas.
When to Visit Lençóis Maranhenses National Park
Although you can go to Lençóis relatively anytime, given the availability of rainfall all year, some months are better than others. May- early September is the best time to travel, as it is a heavy rain season and water levels can rise higher than 5 meters allowing for a nice, deep plunge in the lagoons. I went in early November, a month that is considered low season. Water levels were about 2 meters high and the lagoons were still fairly comfortable to swim in with fewer tourists in the region.
What to Do in Lençóis Maranhenses National Park
There are many tour companies in the town of Barreirinhas with various tour options and services. From flying over the lagoons to riding quadricycles in the sand dunes, you will surely find what you are looking for and can spend days doing different types of tours. The following three tours below are most popular with tourists in the region:
Day Trips to Sand Dunes & Lakes
Day trips to sand dunes and lakes can be arranged between your accommodation and tour companies in the area. Once you pick the tour you will like to do, the tour company will come around with a pick-up truck where you will join other travelers to visit the lakes. On my first day in Barreirinhas, I did a whole day tour of Circuito Lagoa Azul (blue lagoon) and Circuito Lagoa Bonita (pretty lagoon). The price was about 180 reais per person to do the whole day tour in a travel group of about 6-8 people. This was a more cost-effective and excellent way to meet other travelers coming to experience the wonder of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park. The tour ended with an upward trek on the sand dunes to catch the sunset, descending to eat fantastic tapiocas (Brazilian pancakes) from local vendors.
Day Trip to Atins
After doing a day trip to sand dunes and lakes, I took a day trip to Atins the next day. This consisted of visiting two lagoons and a swim at a beach. If I had to go back, I would not personally recommend this tour as I felt most of the tour was spent on the road getting to Atins. Also, there was not sufficient time to really see the small village and given the unique nature of the lagoons, I would have preferred to spend more time swimming among the lagoons. That being said, I did enjoy the lunch break which consisted of eating fish from the region and again, meeting new fellow travelers.
Small Lençóis Tour
I did not have sufficient time to do the small lençóis tour but if I went back, this would be the tour I would do on the next day rather than the day trip to Atins. This tour consists of a boat ride that goes up the Preguiças River with three stops: Pequenos Lençóis, the village of Mandacaru, and Caburé. Pequenos Lençóis consists of smaller dunes and lagoons with a small conservation park full of monkeys. The village of Mandacaru has an old naval lighthouse while at Caburé, you are able to visit the massive ocean.
Where to Stay in Barreirinhas
Pousada Lins– This pousada is located right in the city center and provides excellent breakfast and tour accommodation services. I stayed here for one day and really liked how accessible it was to the city center, bar and restaurants.
You can check availability on Booking.com
Pousada São José– Before relocating to Pousada Lins to be closer to the city center, I stayed at Pousada São José for two nights. It is located about 10 minutes by walk from the city center. The rooms are extremely comfortable and clean, offering a wide variety of options for breakfast and tour reservation accommodations. The Pousada is located close to a basketball court that welcomes tourists to get to know some of the locals living in the area.
You can check availability on Booking.com
Pousada Vilas Boas– Although I never stayed here, a friend of mine recommended this place. The Pousada offers excellent breakfast, comfortable and clean rooms, and is close to many restaurants and bars.
You can check availability on Booking.com
If you enjoyed reading this blog post and found it helpful as you plan your travel to Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, please leave me a comment. Also, make sure to check out other related articles on Brazil and its endless wonders below!
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