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Beach along Avenida Beira Mar
North-East Brazil and Fortaleza Brazil at its Best
The Meireles beach is not quite the Copacabana in Rio, but it is so much closer. Scantily clad Brazilians in bright shirts and shorts along watching the jangadeiros at work on their fishing boats, which sail out on the nightly off-shore breeze to return with the lobster catch when the wind turns onshore by day .
The Jangada sail driven fishing boat is a symbol of Fortaleza City and lobster is a typical dish. The climate can be hot in midsummer and most tourists choose to go from September onwards when it cools a little.
Iracema Beach is a Bohemian quarter, with all-night bars with names like Pirata. The buildings have a nineteenth century colonial charm. The Estoril building, like a small palace hosts restaurants and an art gallery.
Fortaleza Resort Beaches
The best beach resorts are Praia das Fontes 50 miles south-east ot Fortaleza with an Oasis Hotel. The Porto das Dunas is a sandy beach located only 10 miles from Fortaleza. Cumbuco is to the North-weast and quite unspoiled with the Dolphin Hotel. Jerico a small fishing village 170 miles away has the charming Mustique. Canoa Quebrada is a quiet village100 miles to the south-east. Fortim is not quite so far.
Fortaleza Tours
You can take a 3 hour trip into the mountains to Baturite with its monastery or a shorter one to an animal farm or a rum distillery or drive out to see the favelas
D from Oklahoma found it very cheap.
"There is no easy way to get to Fortaleza but the beaches around the city are beautiful, the sand is very fine, almost dust like. There are high dunes. The down side is there is a lot of littering on the beaches. The climate is not nearly as uncomfortable as you might expect at 200 miles south of the equator. The lows were in the upper 79Fs and it never got above 92F. There was always a breeze from the northeast, it was quite comfortable. The north of Brazil is considerably more laid back than the south. The street vendors are not as aggressive and nobody is in a hurry to get anywhere or do anything. If you ask, "fala Ingles"?, most people will answer, "umpoco", a little. They should say no. In general the people are very friendly, but very few people in Fortaleza speak any English at all, very few Americans go there. Most of the tourists are from other parts of Brazil. As far as I could tell, I was the only American there.
When I was there everything was incredibly cheap. $18/night for a hotel including bottled water, some internet access and "Brazilian breakfast", a buffet of fruits, juices and baked breads with eggs, (turkey) and sausages that were tasty but of uncertain origin. Dinner for 6 adults was $20. I had lunch at a small open air restaurant, well off the touristy areas; a platter of chicken, pork, sausages and beef, with something like coleslaw, bread and guarana, the local soft drink. It was about 3 dollars for four. However the pizza is dreadful, the locals put catsup and mayonnaise on it. Meat on the other hand is ranched, not factory farmed, it is tougher but it tastes better than what is generally available in the US. Coffee and tea are good."