Trancoso - The Perfect Beach?

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We had a bit of a torrid time leaving Itacare for Trancoso. The easiest way was going to be on a touristy minibus but there were never enough people wanting to make the journey. Instead we ended up on public transport which involved one bus to Ilheus then another to Porto Seguro. We had to stay in Porto Seguro overnight which wasn’t too bad. At the bus station we had been told that nothing around the port area was open but we found a nice pousada and the promenade area was very lively, especially on “Pasarela Alcool”, the street with all the bars on it!

The next morning we took a ferry from Porto Seguro to Arraial D’Ajuda. It was only a 10 minute crossing and we were met by a bus to take us to Trancoso. It took about 50 minutes to get here and we immediately made our way to the Pousada do Mineiro which Trish had found online. It was lovely so we decided to stay for a few nights.

The beach at Trancoso is to die for. It is a large sweeping arc of golden sands fringed by palm trees with hardly a soul to interfere with your tranquillity. The ocean waves are cooling and fun to splash in without fear of being swept away. It really is heavenly, if only we could spend more time out there in the sun without burning, and that’s using Factor 30!

We spent part of a day back in Arraial but the beach there was disappointing. There were just too many people around and it was nowhere near as clean as Trancoso. The plan had also been to go down to Praia Espelho (Mirror Beach) which is supposed to be one of the best in Brazil. We’re not sure how it can be better than Trancoso itself and an 8am bus ride hasn’t tempted us either!

On the food front, Trancoso isn’t cheap. Apparently Naomi Campbell, Matt Dillon and Lauren Hutton are all occasional visitors here. Lauren was here just a week ago! That shows how the place has moved from backpacker/hippie heaven to a more upmarket resort. We ate in a wonderful Aussie-owned restaurant who did the meanest Rogan Josh curry (at a price). There are cheaper options if you get away from the touristy area and back into the functional part of town though. We found a wonderful churrascaria where we stuffed ourselves silly with meat, rice, beans and salad for just R$15 between us.

It would be easy to stay here a few more days, indeed we might yet do that as this is our last beach place for a while. No doubt you’ll find out in the next entry.

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Photos

The Crab and Coconut
Sounds like a tropical pub!

Comments

[Agnaldo [Mineiro]]

Maravilhosa Trancoso
Olá Russ! Tudo bem? espero que sim! Tive adimirando seu blog e comtemplando as belezas publicadas. Trancoso então nem se fala é só conhecendo para poder falar. Parabéns e obrigado pela dica da pousada. Um abraço.