The Portuguese Colonial City of Paraty

Paraty is a small town on the coast of Brazil, between Sao Paulo (six hours) and Rio de Janeiro (four hours). Beautiful, old and calm are the words best describing the city and when going here it is worth staying for a few nights. We had four, which was great for just relaxing and laying on the beach.

The roads in the old center are paved with rocks, but not like the ones you find in old European cities. The city center roads are made up with huge rocks, and although it is beautiful and really old it is a pain to walk and drive on.

During the time we were there, there was a jazz festival called the Bourbon Festival, a free annual even that lasts for three days. All hostels and hotels were full and the city center was packed with mainly Brazilian tourists that had come for the concerts. On our last day on the monday everyone had escaped the city and there were just us and a handful of other tourists to see in the streets, which was great as we were exhausted from the night before and just wanted to relax. Our hostel was located right on Jabaquara beach, which was just a ten minute walk from the city center and a really quiet place to do so. The prices here in Paraty are also a bit more expensive than the other places we have been in Brazil so far, which probably has to with it being really small, but still a very popular destination for tourists. Boat rides over to Ihla Grande are also expensive (85usd) but take just one and a half hour with speed boat. Booze cruises with sail boats are also a popular activity with a much better value for the money (40usd) and everyone in our group did so but us. It is drawing towards the end ouf our trip and our travel budget so the last day here in Paraty we will just use to charge up for our last stop on our journey which is Rio de Janeiro.