Buzios Trip Report – Carnaval 2003

My girlfriend Cristiane met me at the Rio de Janeiro International Airport upon my arrival at 7:30 a.m. on February 28. By the time I claimed my luggage, cleared immigration and customs it was about 8:15 a.m.

Cristiane arrived early and had already made contact with Antonio Ribeiro, our driver, arranged by Pousada Casacolina where we staying in Buzios.

I highly recommend Antonio’s services as your transfer to and from Rio de Janeiro. Antonio, a former Argentinian now living in Buzios, is a very warm and friendly guy. He speaks very little Enlgish, but if you can speak some very basic Portuguese and Spanish you will have no problems. Antonio maybe contacted at (22) 2623-2390 or 9211-3130. Antonio charges US$70.00 each way. Expensive by Brazilian standards, but well worth it. You could not hire a limo for this amount of money in the USA. You could also take a bus from the airport for a lot less money, but I decided on my own car (carro confidencial)

The drive to Buzios is about 180 km from RJ international and very scenic with rolling hills throughout the route. The drive normally takes about two hours to complete, but because of the start of Carnaval, it took us a little over three hours because of a long backup as we neared Cabo Frio, which is about twenty miles before Buzios.

We arrived at Pousada Casacolina at slightly past noon. Pousada Casacolina is located on a bluff overlooking and within a short walking distance (200 meters) of Praia de Geriba, one of the larger beachs in Buzios.

Pousada Casacolina is owned and operated by Helena and Alfredo, an Argentinian married couple who immigrated to Buzios about 23 years ago. Casacolina is a beautiful Pousada with many amenities including swimming pool, sitting areas (verandas), views of Praia de Geriba and the surrounding hills, restaurant and good, clean rooms.

The Casacolina rooms are small, but come with a large bathroom and showers, air-conditioning, full-size beds, television, mini-frig (stocked with water, sodas and beer) and a very small veranda (balcony) adequate for drying your towels and not much else.

I did a lot of internet research before selecting Casacolina, but my complaints are that the rooms are small, TV’s only have four channels, and air-conditioning is not very cool, but adequate and they only provide two large bath towels per day.

The Casacolina restaurant serves a complimentary continental breakfast each morning that includes coffee, milk, fresh juices, croissants, rolls, jams, cheeses, cereals, eggs, sausages and fruits. Casacolina can also prepare lunch and dinner, but I do not recommend them as there are plenty of very good restaurants in Central Buzios.

If you rent a car (not needed, by the way, as there are plenty of taxi’s and drivers) Casacolina provides parking in the front entrance. Security is good with locked gates, closed-circuit tv cameras, and security boxes located in each room, something that I found lacking in the apartment I rented when I stayed in an apartment on Copacabana.

The Casacolina staff is extremely friendly, but they do not speak much English. There were not very many Americanos staying at Casacolina, but most of them did not have any problems communicating.

Overall I would still recommend Casacolina because it is a very nice place to stay, well located and much better than most of the apartments in Copacabana.

Information and contact information for Casacolina is as follows:

Website: www.casacolina.com.br

E-mail: info@casacolina.com.br

Telephone AND fax (from USA): 011-55-22-2623-1570

If you decide not to stay at Casacolina there are over 200 other Pousadas where you can stay. You can find many of them on the Internet. I recommend two websites on information about Buzios and the Pousadas:

www.buziosturismo.com.br

www.buziosonline.com

These two websites provides good information on Buzios including links to the Pousadas.

Okay, enough about getting to Buzios or Casacolina. Most of you want to know the skinny on Buzios, so here goes.

GENERAL INFO

Buzios is an expensive (twice as much as Rio de Janeiro) and well known international resort with a population of about 20,000 that balloons to over 100,000 during Carnaval. Buzios is popular with Europeans, Americans, Argentians and Brasileiros. Many Brasileiros flock to Buzios to escape the madness of Carnaval in RJ and Sao Paulo.

Buzios is a peninsula which jets out into the Atlantic ocean and has over twenty beaches. The beaches are all within easy reach by taxi (R$15,00 is the standard fare).

Buzios is not cheap by Brazilian standards, but a whole lot cheaper than Miami Beach and the nightlife offers lots of variety and plenty of action for singles and couples.

There no termas (Sorry, Hombrecito and Athos) in Buzios, but plenty of places you can meet garotas and European girls. I would highly recommend that if you do come to Buzios that you BYOG (bring your own garota) and you speak some good, basic Portuguese so you can communicate.

Most of the action is centered within Centro (Central Buzios) along the Rua das Pedras. Centro is a short five minute taxi drive from Casacolina and just about all of the other beaches. You will find just about every type of bar and restaurant and boutique (lojas) within the Rua das Pedras and surrounding streets.

RESTAURANTS AND BARS

My favorite establishments, and the ones that Cristiane and I visited at least once include the following:

Chez Michou - Known for crepes; Serves beer and tropical drinks; Very noisy (bartenders use megaphones to call out orders) and crowded; Almost impossible to find a place to sit down during Carnaval; Crepes are not my thing (the one we had was terrible); Open air restaurant/bar with seating along the sidewalk; The place to find a chica if you are single; Received the patented “stare” several times.

Fashion - Serves a decent Pizza, pasta and good quality Brazilian food, drinks and beer; large restaurant with plenty of seating inside the restaurant and along the sidewalk; live music, dancing area and great view of the sea; Recommend the camarao (shrimp) with garlic

Patio Havana and Estância Don Juan – Serves Cuban food and churraso, drinks and beer; Excellent live band that plays Brazilian bossa nova music (my favorite); they also have a wine cellar, cigar and whiskey bars (didn’t try); Decorated in Cuban tropical style with an eating and drinking area in the front and upstairs eating area; highly recommended as a place to start

Chez Brigette – Known for excellent grilled seafood; facing the beach off the Rua das Pedras; highly recommend, but expensive

Guapo Loco – Serves mediocre Mexican food that is not much better than Taco Bell; Serves drinks and beer; A favorite among young Americanos and Brasileiros (I must be getting old to figure out why); Lots of seating with a good view of the beach from the balcony area

Zapata – Serves Mexican food, drinks and beer; Very crowded and noisy place; Did not enter, but seems to be very popular with the younger crowd; Located at the far end of the Rua das Pedras

Buzin – Excellent continental and Brazilian food served buffet style; Serves wine and beer; Large selection of sobremesas (deserts); Large, clean eating area on two levels; Excellent place if you have a family or large group; Excellent service; TV screens throughout; Located at 273 Rua Manoel Turibo de Farias (street that runs parallel to Rua das Pedras); Winner of best Restaurant in Buzios in Year 2001; Serves a large selection of good food (sold by weight); Nice surroundings; We ate there four times!! Highly recommended!!

Restaurant David – Excellent grilled fish, pasta, pizzas, salads and Brazilian food; Located on Rua Manole Turibio de Farias (runs parallel to Rua das Pedras); A bit cheaper prices than the restaurants listed above; We did not eat here, but a Brazilian couple we hung with did and they recommended it very highly

Brigitta’s Guest House – Specializes in seafood, churrasco and other Brazilian food; The smells beckon you in as you walk by; Services drinks and beer; Great service; Live shows; Excellent view of the beach; Highly recommended by our Brazilian couple

SHOPPING

Buzios offers a first rate window shopping experience if you get tired of the beach or drinking. Buzios has dozens and dozens of lojas (boutiques) that sell everything from Bikinis to paintings. Prices are twice as expensive as Rio de Janeiro or Barra de Tijuca so if you bring a girlfriend with you carry a heavy wallet.

I won’t list the lojas we went to, because there are just too damn many of them. Besides, most of you hombres don’t give a damn about shopping anyway. However, if you are looking for a garota shopping would be a great way to meet them.

BEACHES

Buzios is known as the “Riviera of Brazil” because of its many fine beaches—over twenty of them. I won’t list them all here, just the ones my girlfriend and I went to:

Praia de Geriba – This is a crescent shaped, golden sand beach located on the southern side of the peninsula and about five minutes from Centro and one of the first beaches you go by as you enter Buzios; Accessible from various streets intersecting Avenida Jose Bento Ribeiro Dantas, the main street entering and exisiting Buzios; Plenty of small restaurants and bars with attendants that bring you food and drink and allow you to run a tab; Very clean, calm and warm waters with hardly no wave action; Great for families with kids as the water is not very deep and you can walk out some distance; Located within an easy walk from Casacolina; Highly recommended

Praia Tartaruga – This is a small crescent shaped, white sand beach located on the northern side of the peninsula and about five minutes from Centro; Accessible from a side road directly across from Buzios Madeiria (Buzios Lumber) just off of Avenida Jose Bento Ribeiro Dantas; The road is paved, goes over a small hill and ends in a dirt road; Taxis will drive you within a short distance of the beach; Plenty of small restaurants and bars with attendants that bring you food and drink and allow you to run a tab; Very clean, calm and warm waters with hardly no wave action; Great for families with kids as the water is not very deep and you can walk out some distance; A bit rocky in some locations; We liked this beach very much and highly recommended it.

Praia da Ferradura - This is a small crescent shaped, white sand beach located on the southern side of the peninsula and about five minutes from Centro; Accessible from several well marked streets intersecting Avenida Jose Bento Ribeiro Dantas; Taxis will drive you right up to the beach; Plenty of small restaurants and bars with attendants that bring you food and drink and allow you to run a tab; Very clean, calm, but a bit colder waters with hardly no wave action; Recommend

Praia Jaoa Fernandes - This is a very small crescent shaped, white sand beach located on the northern tip of the peninsula and about five minutes from Centro; Accessible by turning left off of Rua Manoel Turibio de Farias where it intersects the Buzios Pier; Drive all the way around the waterfront and up over a hill (about a quarter mile); You will see the signs to beach; Taxis will drive you right up to the beach; Plenty of small restaurants and bars with attendants that bring you food and drink and allow you to run a tab; Very clean, calm, and warm waters with hardly no wave action; We loved this beach a lot and highly recommend it

OTHER THINGS TO DO

There are a number of things to do for fun. Here is just a partial list:

Snorkling or Scuba – Nearly all beaches offer snorkel and scuba rentals; You can also rent equipment from Centro, but it is a bit more expensive

Boat Excursions – There are a number of boat excursions offered along the Rua das Pedras; You can buy tickets along numerous stands or travel agencies located on the Rua das Pedras or at the intersection of the Buzios Pier and Ruas das Pedras and Rua Manoel Turibio de Farias; There are at least a dozen different boat excursions which leave from the Buzios Pier including the Queen Lory, Busiana I & II and Tropicana; We took the Schooner Tropicana; The Tropicana was a bit late (about an hour) but the tour was not undercut by the delay; The Tropicana serves complimentary sodas, water, fruits and a traditional Brazilian drink (don’t know name); You can also buy beer and drinks; The Tropicana visits about a dozen beaches and stops off of two beaches where you can go swimming in the open sea; Life preservers are available for all; This was a lot of fun and I highly recommend to gain a different perspective of Buzios

Banana Boat Rides – These were available at all the beaches we attended; The banana boat is pulled by an outboard motor boat and away you go; The length of the ride varies so it is best to ask; One hell of a lot of fun for the adventurous; Cost R$10.00; Highly recommended

Surfing – If you are into surfing the two beaches you want to go to are Praia do Marisco (adjacent to Geriba) and Praia Brava; surf boat rentals are available in Centro or at the beaches

Windsailing – If you are into windsailing Praia de Manguinhos is the place to go; You need a lot of wind and Manguinhos offers plenty

Nude Sunbathing – I am not a nudist, but I understand that there are a couple of beaches available (don’t know names), but these require a bit of a walk because of their seclusion; If you like this sort of thing, go for it.

Visit CABO FRIO – My girlfriend and I decided to visit Cabo Frio (located 28 KM from Buzios) for Carnaval after our third day in Buzios; If you go during Carnaval I would definitely recommend that you head out very early as the traffic congestion starts after 10:00 a.m.; Our driver Antonio Ribeiro drove us to Cabo Frio for $R50.00, but you can also take a taxi for the same fare or take a bus that departs from a bus stop at the intersection of Estrada da Usina and Avenida Jose B. Ribeiro Dantas (I believe the cost is $R15.00); See more about Cabo Frio in my CARNAVAL section below.

CARNAVAL IN BUZIOS

My girlfriend and I decided to avoid Rio de Janeiro for Carnaval because of the madness, crowds and high costs; Carnaval in Buzios is very calm and small with most of the action starting at the plaza where Rua das Pedras and Rua Manoel Turibio de Farias intersect; Small bands and dancers gather at the plaza and play typical Carnaval music; After midnight the procession makes its way up Rua Manoel Turibio de Farias stopping along the way; The Carnaval procession was a lot of fun with plenty of samba dancing and participants spraying themselves with floss all along the way

CARNAVAL IN CABO FRIO

We visited Cabo Frio because of its close proximity to Buzios (28 Km) and my girlfriend told me that they have some nice beaches, bars and wild Carnaval celebrations; She was right; We only spent one day in Cabo Frio, all of it at Praia do Forte which is fronted by hotels, restaurants and bars along its entire 7.5 km length; The beach is very fine white sand; The water is clean, clear, warm and you can walk out 300 feet without any problems

If you visit Cabo Frio during Carnaval it is best to leave early; We didn’t do this and it took us well over an hour to get there and the Praia do Forte was packed solid with sun worshipers from one end to the other; After walking around a bit my girlfriend was able to flag down one of the restaurant waiters who quickly found us a spot on the beach; This was a very hot day, made hotter on the beach because of the reflection of the heat from the fine white sand

Prices in Cabo Frio are from 30% to 50% cheaper than they are in Buzios and is very popular with Cariocas who flock there to avoid the high prices, crowds and congestion of Rio de Janeiro during Carnaval; We met many wonderful Cariocas who greeted us no matter where we went; Our umbrella was right next to a large group of university students complete with drums and guitars which added a wonderful touch to our visit in Cabo Frio

The restaurants and bars along the Praia do Forte serve primarily fast food and Brazilian food; I found the overall quality of the food to be of lower quality than the worst restaurant in we attended in Buzios (so buyer be ware); We settled for lunch at one restaurant (can’t remember the name, but located next to the Hotel Malibu) that served very good seafood

Other than the beach front restaurants and bars there is not much else to do except to walk around the area and window shop; The lojas primarily sell bikinis, beach clothing and tourist sourvenirs; I understand Cabo Frio does have a major shopping center, but we never made it there

The highly of our day was celebrating Carnaval on Praia do Forte at night; The north end of Praia do Forte had a stage setup that played Brazlian and rock music starting about 7:00 p.m. and continued well past midnight; At around midnight the Carnaval procession made its journey along the southern end of Praia do Forte adding participants along the way; I would estimate the number of participants at about ten thousand; The procession included a banda bus with musicians lots of loud speakers and individuals who wooed the crowd to samba dancing and other craziness; The Carnaval procession made its way down the entire length of the southend of Praia do Forte then made a reverse trip back to the stage area; Carnaval in Cabo Frio is nothing like that in Rio de Janeiro, but still a lot of fun; This was my first Carnaval and my girlfriend and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves

Carnaval in Cabo Frio went on well past 2:00 a.m. in the morning, but my girlfriend and I had to head back to Buzios so we grabbed the first taxi and split; We arrived at Casacolina about 3:00 a.m. in the morning and did not wake up until after 10:00 a.m. because of our sore feet from the goings on in Cabo Frio

CASAS DO CAMBIO

If you need to exchange dollars into Reals do it in Rio de Janeiro or Niteroi before you go to Buzios; Buzios had just about the worst rates ($R3.30 to the dollar) I have seen; There is a Casas do Cambio located at the plaza adjacent to the McDonalds and just before Rua das Pedras; You can also exchange dollars into Reals at just about any travel agency (same rates) located in Centro

TAXIS

You can grab a taxi anywhere in Buzios, but you will find them lined up in the plaza located at the foot of Rua das Pedras; The standard fare seems to be $R15.00 anywhere in Buzios; Most of the drivers understand some English, but it is best to bring the street address of the Pousada where you stay, or even better a map marking the spot so the driver can find the Pousada; I would recommend that if you do hire a taxi that you get their business card so you can contact them if you need a ride; I recommend two drivers: Antonio Ribeiro at (22) 2623-2390 or 9211-3130 or Claudio at (22) 2623-7444 or (22) 9218-5277; Although Antonio and Claudio have other clients you can generally prearrange a pickup and drive back to your Pousada or Centro; Both charge $R15.00 anywhere in Buzios; Claudio drives a VW Van which is perfect for large groups

SAFETY AND CRIME

My girlfriend and I never felt like we were in danger of getting mugged or robbed while in Buzios during Carnaval; Most of the people visiting Buzios tend to be better educated and affluent and not likely to be muggers like you might find in Rio de Janeiro, Salvador or Recife; Just to make sure, Buzios has plenty of city and state police walking around to insure that things do not get out of hand; I suppose if you go looking for trouble you will find it, but I felt entirely safe everywhere we went in Centro and the beaches we visited

PICTURES

I took about two hundred pictures of Buzios and Cabo Frio; Just as soon as I have a chance I will post these on the Internet

OVERALL IMPRESSION

I would definitely visit Buzios again because the restaurants, bars, shops and beaches are simply better than Copacabana and the establishments are on a par with those found in Ipanema and Leblon; Everything in Buzios is within a five minute taxi drive; Although the prices for food are more expensive than in Rio de Janeiro I found that the Pousadas were a lot cheaper than Rio de Janeiro; If you decide to visit Buzios I would recommend you go with a friend or BYOG (bring your own garota); Good luck to you and I hope this trip report helps you in your future trips to Brazil

Turk
Sman and I are planning on hitting Buzios in a week. Thanks for the excellent report! I'll plan on checking out some of your recommendations.
By any chance, did you notice any jet-ski rentals in Buzios?
Oh, and the nude beach sounds fun, provided I can have the wife slather some SPF50 on my tallywhacker every hour on the hour.

Great information and it sounds like you had a great time. I am planning on visiting for a few
days in May and this is just the type of information I was looking for. Will also be interested in hearing DG's take on the place also. Thanks again!

Turk5555
Perfect timing buddy, as DG says we will be there next week. I am going to print your report and take it with me. Thanks


DG
I saw a website that showed jet-skis, I'll see if I can find it and e-mail you. The last beach Turk5555 lists and highly recommends "Praia Jaoa Fernandes" is right by our hotel.

If you really wear Magnums, I'm not taking my garota and going to the nude beach with you. I wouldn't be able to watch her do a double take and look disappointedly back at me.

Sman
Looking forward to some nude jetskiing - but if I wear my Magnums, I should get very little sun from the neck down
DG

Turk:

Great report! You're pretty much dead-on about Buzios, nice place, kinda expensive, but a good break from Rio, BYOG. A shame about the food, Brazilian food is invariably good, except for the tourist clip-joints.... of which you managed to find quite a few. Also, except in Sao Paulo, I avoid any place that has "foreign" food - french crepes or Mexican food in Buzios is bound to be a disaster (that being said, Praia da Rosa in Santa Catarina has a great Thai place, so there are exceptions). I usually try to ask the locals whre they eat and then eat there. Also, next time, try visiting Angra or Parati, I think you'd like those too. When's the wedding to Christianne? ;-) She's from Campo Grande, isn't she? You should go visit over there - Bonito, Pantanal, Corumba.. it's all good.

DG: In case you're interested, the nude beaches in and around Buzios are Praia Olho do Boi, Praia das Virgems, and Praia Brava. Olho do Boi is one of BRazil's few "official" nude beaches - there's actually a police officer to make sure you take your clothes OFF (he has clothes on, though). Virgems is isolated enough that no-one cares, and Brava is a little less isolated, but pretty loose. The first two you can only get to after a 1km walk over the hills, Brava has a dirt road (and a lot of surfers).

And I'm sure you ca rent a jet-ski at Armacao or any of the other central beaches - ask around. In general, where there are banana-boats,there are jet-skis. Jet Ski is pronounced the same way in Brazil, rent is "alugar" - AH-loo-gahr.

OK, enough tour guide for one day!

BS

Hey Turk,

Great, informative report. Thanks for taking the time putting it together. I'd like to hit Buzios if I ever manage to get away from the termas and Help. Thanks again.

BUZIOS AND CABO FRIO CARNAVAL PICTURES

I was finally able to post the pictures of my trip to BUZIOS and CABO FRIO on YAHOO! Here is the link:

http://photos.yahoo.com/cheapmother2002

If you have any questions concerning my recent trip to Buzios or Cabo Frio please shoot me an email.

I hope you enjoy the pictures.


Turk

Except for this one ugly guy that keeps showing up, these pictures are great. Thanks for sharing
them. Looks like you really had a great time.

Turk5555,

Thanks for the information. I will be using this information on my trip..

BUMP