World Cup Travel - Fortaleza

Hi Furnaccio,

As a local I can answer accurately your questions:

1. Is it a pedestrian friendly city?
Yes, they're fixing the main streets and its sidewalk. The only problem are the drivers, they usually don't respect or use the turn signs, so be aware.

2. Where are the best areas to stay? areas to stay away from?
It's relative, Fortaleza has hundred of "favelas" all around the city, but I'd suggest to stay in the neighborhoods of Meireles, Iracema Beach, Varjota and Aldeota. They are close to tourists attractions and you can find all the facilities in a range of few blocks.

3. Recomendations for must-do / must-see activities?
Go for a walk in Beira Mar boardwalk. Not as famous as copacabana, but the sunset is breathtaking. Every night there is a handcraft fair there, and at the end there is a fish market where you can buy shrimp, lobster and fish and they fry it straight to you.
Varjota neighborhood has restaurants for every taste, there are some nightlife too.
Iracema Beach is the nightlife neighborhood.
Praia do Futuro Beach is famous for its beach shacks, some of them work as club at night.

4. Any excursions worth checking out - day trip outside of fortaleza?
Sure, at Beira Mar you can find dozens of vans and minibuses offering day trips to beaches outside the city.
Canoa Quebrada and Jericoacoara are the most famous, but I recommend also Praia das Fontes, Praia do Cumbuco, Lagoinha and Taiba

5, Past experiences worth sharing?
Fortaleza is like anywhere, there is always that person that was robbed or similar.

7. I have tickets for a June 14 game in fortaleza (4 category 1), but i can't attend that game, so i'm looking to sell those.
I may be interested, how many do you have and how much are you selling?

 

@mateus Thanks for the very helpful response to @Furnaccio !

We'll be in Fortaleza for the entire group stage (so for about two weeks) and are getting very excited! None of us have been to your city before. We are thinking we might base ourselves in the city for one week (thanks for the neighborhood recommendations!), and then perhaps somewhere outside the city for the other week (just to have a different experience).

Do you think a place like Beberibe might be too far away, or could we go even farther in the direction of Natal?

We are going to try to get tickets for Ghana - USA on Natal on the 16th. We already have tickets to Brazil - Mexico on the 17th in FTL. Muito obrigado in advance, if you happen to see this message!

 

We are staying in BeachPark as a home base for the month. Trying obviously for the USA in Natal and match 17 that you already have! I've spent 7-8 weeks in Fortaleza (if you add them all together). PM me if anyone has questions, it's a great home base but I'm disappointed in the quality of games in the area. Or may I just say, too much Mexico in the northeast??

 

Fortaleza is home to the tallest water slide in the world- "Insano".
http://www.travelchannel.com/video/go-insano-at-beach-park

 

Booked the Holiday Inn in Icanema Beach. Is the area safe enough to walk around? Can we go to restaurants that are say, 3 or 4 blocks away? Or should we always cab it?

 

anyone know of a good cheap hostel in Fortaleza? I will be there with 2 others from june 16-18

 

Try these:

http://www.athomehostel.com.br/

http://www.hostelworld.com/hostelde...-12-12&dateTo=2013-12-15&sc_sau=avdc&sc_pos=1

http://www.hostelworld.com/hostelde...-12-12&dateTo=2013-12-15&sc_sau=avdc&sc_pos=8

I recommend At Home hostel and Pub! It's an awesome pub in a great location.

 

Holiday Inn is a really good hotel in the best location of the city, FIFA Fan Fest will be right in front of it. It's located close to the nightlife streets and close to Beira Mar boardwalk. Nice choice!

 

I love this video about Fortaleza.

 

Hotels by Avenida Abolicao is where tha party is at right?

 

I don't think so, The nightlife neighborhood here is Iracema Beach: The clubs and bars are the small houses between the 2 first Piers.
After the last pier is Beira Mar and Abolicao Avenue.
The big stretch of sand is where FIFA Fan Fest will be placed.


Try looking accommodation close to Historiador Raimundo Girao Avenue and Almirante Barroso Avenue.

 

Thanks for your suggestions. I emailed At Home hostel and Pub but got no response. But I ended up booking a room at a hotel on Rua dos Tabajaras, its in Iracema. Its because of your comments of Iracema beach that i decided to jump on it. How close will I be to the nightlife spots? Thanks again

 

Haha, good spot! there are several bars scattered through this street, actually the bars and clubs are all around this neighborhood. The most famous are close to "Dragao do Mar", it's an art and culture center.
I really like going to http://www.choppdobixiga.com.br/ where they sell wine beer draft, really effective way to get drunk. And after to this awesome rock club http://orbitabar.com.br/

 

Is anyone else having extreme trouble finding quality places to stay in Fortaleza? We have tickets & flights taken care of, but finding a nicer hotel in Iracema or Meirles has been cost prohibitive. Any suggestions?

 

I do hope Fortaleza is is even half as good as this video suggests. Surprised how few people have also decided it was a good base to have. Looking forward to it.

 

Can anyone recommend any hotels from June 25-30th and June 30-July 6th hopefully under 150 USD/night that are refundable? Chile plays Netherlands June 23rd, so I'll only know whether I'll use the reservation at that point.

 

Going to the World Cup I was going to target rio or the southern brazil but the northeast seems more classic brazil then the other sites and venue

 

Message me. I have a room with an extra bed for the week jun 30 to july 5th

 

I ended up with a number of tickets to Fortaleza matches even though I have no plans to go there. Let me know if anyone is interested. (see signature)

 

I am thinking about staying in Cumbuco, which is about 30 min from Fortaleza. Anyone else doing the same, or have an opinion on the area. I got some positive feedback on TRipadvisor

 

Any feedback on Hotel Diogo?

 

Diogo is very good and was one of the three I would have chosen to stay at. the Mareiro was just slightly cheaper but Diogo has slightly better ratings.

 

Why would you not want to stay in Fortaleza? For how many days?