World Cup Travel- Salvador

I'm setting up a Salvador thread for all of those who are attending games in Salvador. Post questions about where to stay, what to do, etc. There are several people on BIGSOCCER who have lived in Salvador.

 

This is a repost from the World Cup Travel to Brazil thread.

Hi everyone! I am very familiar with Salvador as I lived there for two years. I am American. If you have any further questions feel free to shoot me a message.

I'll be honest. Coming from America or Europe, etc. Brazil is a dangerous place. Salvador is probably above average on the danger scale, BUT YOU WILL BE JUST FINE. Just stay out of the favelas and keep to the touristy areas and you will be fine. Rio Vermelho is a WONDERFUL place and is Bohemian. You will find the Largo da Marquita a great place for a bar. FIFA will be showing the games on a large screen in Jardim da Alah which is just a little bit up the coast from Rio Vermelho. You'd have to catch a bus or a taxi to get there. I would use taxis wherever you go instead of busses.

As far as beaches go...you want to go north to get the best beaches. The best two beaches in the city are Stella Mares and Praia do Flamengo. The Barra beach is small and not that great in my opinion. All of the other city beaches are dirty and full of locals. Go even farther than Stella Mares and Flamengo and you hit even better beaches. Jaua, Praia do Forte, Sauipe, etc are all excellent.

Also, I wrote the following for a few others and I'll repost it for those going to Salvador. Like I said, send me a message if you want more specific info.

1. There are some great excursions from Salvador. Salvador is a peninsula. Going farther up the coast there are some great beach areas. Don't go to any of the beaches in Salvador. They are mostly dirty and not the greatest. The closest beaches to go that are okay are Stella Maris and Praia do Flamengo. The farther you go north along the coast the more pristine it gets. Praia do Forte is awesome.http://goo.gl/hPbQ1U Jaua or Arembepe are cool too. There are busses leaving from the "Rodioviaria" (bus station) that go there. You could also go to Morro de Sao Paulo which is beautiful area. No cars are allowed at this place. It's an island south of Salvador so you have to take a four hour boat to get there. Chapada is also a beautiful area in the interior part of Bahia.http://goo.gl/iFpd3D there are lots of waterfalls and climbing to do. You'll have to take a bus there. That bus also leaves from the rodioviaria.

2. The must dos. You can google all of these if you'd like. Pelourinho is the main attraction. It's large and you can easily spend half a day just wandering around this beautiful area.http://goo.gl/ZBCxVUThere is a REALLY cool church here called Igreja e Convento Sao Francisco. At the pelourinho you will also find the Elevator Lacerda, Mercado Modelo, Also the Lighthouse at the Barra is beautiful. It's worth it to pay the 5 dollars to go into the museum. All of the Barra is beautiful. You can walk around this area and enjoy it without any concerns. Rio Vermelho is a cool area with a lot of history. You might want to catch this bus to see everything.http://www.lonelyplanet.com/brazil/the-northeast/salvador/activities/small-group-tours/salvador-bus

You should try seeing a "Capoeira" show which is really cool dance/martial arts thing. Also YOU MUST TRY "Acai", and "Acaraje" two foods that are commonly eaten in Salvador. The best places to eat these two can be found in Rio Vermelho.

3. I'll tell you where you should stay instead of where not to stay. Anything in the neighborhoods, Barra, Rio Vermelho, Ondina, Stella Maris, Pelourinho, or Praia do Flamengo are safe. Campo Grande might also be safe, but you'll have to look more into that. I recommend staying in Rio Vermelho.

4. DO NOT be walking around areas at night where you don't see any other tourists. Salvador is a perfectly safe city if you are smart about where you are at. Just stay where the tourists stay...Pelourinho, Rio Vermelho, Barra, Ondina, Campo Grande, Itapua, Iguatemi, Stella Maris, etc. If you want specific about what areas, please ask.

5. I'm not too sure about nightlife. However, Rio Vermelho has a great little night life that is safe. The "Largo da Maraquita" is a nice little place with places to eat as well as bars.http://goo.gl/gYvJ6HRio Vermelho is safe to walk around at night. Fun little area. Lots of great hotels in that area too. The Pelourinho might have some night life, but I'm not sure it is as safe. There are taxis everywhere though so if you had any problems you could get a taxi.

6. Taxi's are readily available. The taxis have two ways of charging on their meters. They either put a "1" or a "2" on the meter in the front of the car (you'll be able to see it). The only time they can charge you "2" is when there are three or more people in the car or after nine PM. Don't let them charge you "2" if there are only two of you in the car and you are driving before 9PM. You can take busses, but they are probably going to be pretty confusing.

7. 5 days is PLENTY to see Salvador. As far as the touristy things you can see Salvador in two days. The other three days can be spent on little excursions or just chilling on the beaches. See answer 1 for ideas.

8. The start of Brazil's winter is in June so you expect warm weather instead of the normal blazing hot. You probably won't be needing a jacket at all, but there might be a night or two where a light jacket would be nice. June is also the month that it tends to rain the most.

 

I forgot to mention that I am going to a few of the matches in Salvador as well. It's going to be a party!!

 

I remember the Barra Mar. It's an alright hotel. The great thing about it is it's location. It is right next to Jardim da Alah. Jardim da Alah is where FIFA will be hosting it's fanzone. I'm assuming there will be large screens, etc with the games. It's also right on the beach.

The bad thing about that area is that it's sort of far from the Barra, Rio Vermelho, and the stadium. But all in all probably a good choice.

 

For all of those who are staying for more than four days in Salvador I really recommend at looking at an excursion outside the city. Go to Morro de Sao Paulo, Chapada Diamantina, Sauipe or even Porto Seguro (short airplane ride) or Ilheus (also short plane ride).

You can pretty much see everything you want to see in Salvador in like two days. Also, like I said earlier, the better beaches aren't in the city. You will want to go north of the city to get the best beaches. There is a bus line called the Linha Verde that goes that direction.

 

Hey guys...I checked it out. I'm not sure how you got the hostel for $26. They are pricing me TONS more. You might want to check that out.