Fly & Drive Rio Grande

Fly & Drive Rio Grande

Day 1: Amsterdam-Natal
You will receive a warm welcome from one of the staff from our local agency on your arrival at Natal airport, who will hand you everything you need for your Fly Drive holiday, including a route map and vouchers for various hotels. You will then be transferred to a local hotel for your first night’s stay. The following morning, your hotel will be delivered to your hotel.

Day 2: Natal-Tibau do Sul - approx. 79 km
You will leave Natal on the Rota do Sol in the direction of Pium, where you can visit a typical fruit market. You will then carry on to the village of Pirangi to admire the largest cashew tree in the world. Via Buzios you will continue on to Tabatinga where you have an opportunity to spy dolphins from the viewing point over the dolphin bay. In Tabatinga you take the right turn off the roundabout and follow the road in the direction of Nisia Floresta. You will then follow the BR 101 and in Sao José de Mipibu take a left turn over the BR 101 towards João Pessoa. In Goianinha you will turn left heading towards Tibau do Sul and Pipa. As you drive through Tibau do Sul you will see on your left side just before the large sports centre the Hotel Eurosol where you will spend your first night.

Day 3: Tibau do Sul-João Pessoa – approx. 165 km
Leaving Tibau do Sul first in the direction of Natal you will turn back onto the BR 101 and approx. 15 kilometres further on turn left off the BR 101 in the direction of João Pessoa, the state capital of Paraiba. In this greenest city of Brazil you will find wonderful colonial buildings and a beautiful bay of crystal clear green sea water. Here is where you will discover the most easterly point of continental America, Ponto do Seixas. Why not visit the beach of Jacaré and enjoy a memorable sunset? Your travel documents will include a detailed street map of the city.

Day 4: João Pessoa-Nova Jerusalém – approx. 284 km
On the morning of your third day’s journey you will leave the coast and head inland, experiencing some tremendous countryside on the way. From João Pessoa you will first head in a direction back to Natal and then take an exit signposted Campina Grande. Just before Campina Grande you will turn left in the direction of Queimadas and Caruaru. You will drive through the little town of Toritama, renowned for its many jeans factories. Retailers will travel from a long way to buy their jeans here. Many will be transported back in the 9-person Toyota taxis that you will see on the roads. Approximately 12 km further on than Toritama you will turn right in the direction of Fazenda Nova and Nova Jerusalém. Before Fazenda Nova a turn to the left will bring you to your hotel  ‘Pousada da Paixào’, Nova Jeruzalem. This town is home to the biggest open air theatre in the world, where during each Easter the story of Christ’s life is re-enacted. The theatrical hotel is situated in the middle of an elaborately dressed castle where in the evening you will be served dinner in magical surroundings.  Suring the weeks around Easter you will stay in an equivalent hotel within close range of Nova Jerusalém, since at that time of the year the actors will be using the Pousada da Paixào. However, you will still be welcome to visit this hotel.

Days 5 and 6: Nova Jerusalém-Maragogi – approx. 215 km
You will head back in the direction of Caruaru on the BR 104. In the centre of Caruaru you can wander around the local market and perhaps stop for lunch in one of the typical local restaurants. Leaving Caruaru, you will continue on the BR 104 as far as Agrestina, where you will turn off in the direction of Oatende. Keep a close eye on the road signs and head for Palmares em Agua Preta before finally reaching Barreiros. Here you will join the busy PE 060 highway and drive towards Maragogi. En route you can enjoy the glittering landscape characterised by River rapids and fields of sugar cane. Located along the PE 060 you will come across the traditional pousada Praiagogi, where you will be warmly welcomed by its Dutch owners. You will stay here two nights to enable you to fully enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Your friendly host will be happy to give you tips about al the sights worth visiting in the locality. 

Days 7 and 8:  Maragogi-Maria Farinha - approx. 180 km
From Maragogi you will drive north in the direction of Recife and Olinda along the PE 060 and the BR 101. When you reach Recife / Olinda you can already see signs to Maria Farinha. This name comes from a very small crab species that is widely distributed in the area. Whoever part of the overwhelming nature in this area, the Mico monkeys occasionally show their heads in one of the many trees at the hotel. Enjoy Hotel Amoaras, translated from the indigenous Tupi language "Always Come Back". Here is your chance to have a delicious boat ride through the mangroves. You can inquire at the front desk of your hotel.

Day 8: City tour Recife and Olinda
You will be collected at nine in the morning by a multilingual guide for a city tour of Recife/Olinda during which you will learn a lot about this cultural heritage. In Recife we strongly recommend that you visit the wonderfully preserved and protected town centre, in particular the Rua de Bom Jesus which during the Dutch period was named Jodenstraat (‘The Jewish Street’), as the street signs still indicate and is evidence of the relatively tolerant Dutch colonial past compared to, for example, the strict Catholicism of the Portuguese. The first Jewish synagogue in the Rua de Bom Jesus is now information centre covering Jewish history in South-America. But all of this, of course, will be explained to you by your guide.

Day 9: Maria Farinha-Bahia Formosa – approx. 220 km
From Olinda follow the signs to João Pessoa and Natal. After a drive of around 200 kilometers on the BR 101 you will come to the exit for the fishing village of Bahia Formosa. Arriving in the village you will find on your left the viewing point from where you can look out across the bay to the fishing boats. By turning right you arrive at the other end of the village and the beach. The pousada where you will spend the night is situated on a hill overlooking the sea and is one of the best known pousadas in the village, certainly amongst the local villagers. Here you can enjoy your next night’s stay in a truly romantic setting. And if you wake early the next morning, you can watch from your pousada as the sun rises from out of the sea.

Day 10: Bahia Formasa – Pipa/Tibau do Sul – approx. 78 km
Today you will drive on BR 101 towards Natal.

Days 11 to 14
Accommodation in Hotel Morro do Careca on a bed and breakfast basis seaview. Surcharge Hotel Pestana 5* seaview is 150,- euro per person.

Day 15 
Return flight leaving Natal 

Day 16
arriving in Amsterdam 

Recife
The footsteps of Dutch ancestors across the Atlantic. Not altogether lost, due to their importance in the founding and development of the multicultural capital of the state of Pernambuco. It was here that Prince Maurits of Nassau built the first bridge in South America and ordered his town planners to build a well laid out town, which formed the basis of the present-day Recife. The building work of Maurits and then the Portuguese is now visible in all its glory in the old centre - Recife Antiga - thanks to thorough renovation work. This area is now the most important place for social gatherings in the evenings because a number of streets are closed to traffic so that tables and chairs can spill out onto the streets. Here many Brazilians – some still with Dutch names – savour the delicious meat and fish dishes for which the region is famous, before the drinking and dancing gets underway. Live music - Frevo, the Pernambucan version of the samba - is never far away. It is necessary to practise for the carnival, so popular here that it is held twice per year.
However, the city is more than just a historic city along a beautiful beach. It is also the regional centre for the economy, culture, education, sport and tourism, in which over three million inhabitants seek to earn a living. And with great success, judging from the wealth of the city, so picturesquely lying on a river island along the coast.

Olinda
‘Oh, how beautiful’ – in Portuguese ‘O linda’ – exclaimed the first Portuguese governor Duarte Coelho when he first saw the site for the town he wanted to build. And that, according to tradition, is how the town came to be christened in 1535. Duarte Coelho was right: the surroundings of Olinda are breathtaking, from the coastline to the top of the hills on which the high town is built in a lavish colonial baroque style that is without equal. Today, the renovated Olinda seems like an open air museum: as far as the eye can see there are vibrantly painted churches, cloisters and colonial homes set off against the green of the palm trees and the sea. Most buildings date from the Dutch occupation (1636-1654), when the Dutch first arrived here and decided to raise everything to the ground because they thought that nearby Recife was more beautiful. After they were virtually forced out, Olinda rose from the ashes and in 1676 became the state capital, a position it finally surrendered again to Recife in 1827, which grew into a world city entirely eclipsing Olinda. These days, however, tourists have every reason to be happy, because now Olinda really is the Pearl of Pernambuco.
We wish you an unforgettable journey! 

Included:
• Ford Fiesta or similar model of car, 7 days (24 hours per day), including kilometres and All-Risk insurance
• All overnight accommodation in hotels or pousadas on a bed and breakfast basis 
• Three buffet dinners en route (see hotel vouchers)
• Clear road maps and route directions 
• Car to be issued to you and collected at your hotel or the airport

Not included:
• All refreshments and non-included meals 
• Petrol (your car will be supplied with a full tank and must be returned with a full tank)
• Insurance excess
• €49 per person to be paid to the travel agent on arrival
Important:
• You must have a credit card with you (a copy will be taken as a deposit for your hire car) 
• Minimum age of driver is 21 years
• You must possess a valid driving licence issued at least two years before the date of your holiday