arraial d-ajuda
There is no official tourist information office in Arraial d’Ajuda, but you can get information at any of the tour agencies. There are Internet services all around town. On the Estrada do Mucugé, you’ll find CyberPoint, which always has people inside. There are ATMs in the Shopping d’Ajuda and if you run into any trouble, just head back to Porto Seguro to withdraw. The post office is on the far side of the Praça Hippie. For dune buggy rentals, try Buggy Mania (Estrada do Mucugé 250, 73/575-3000).
arraial d-ajuda
You get to Arraial d’Ajuda from Porto Seguro via the ferryboat that operates 24 hours per day. It costs R$5 to get to Arraial and it’s free to get back to Porto Seguro. Once you get to the Arraial side, you can take a taxi to the village for R$20. If your hotel it on the northern coast, then you can probably walk to it. If you have a lot of luggage, the taxi driver will charge you the same R$20 to go one kilometer to your hotel (we don’t need no stinkin’ taxi meter). There are busses from the ferry that leave every 20 minutes to the village and others that go to Trancoso. Finally, you can wait for ten people (not difficult in peak season) and fill up a Kombi (VW bus) that will take the group into the village (or drop you off earlier) for R$3 each.
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Neither Rio de Janeiro nor Sao Paulo made the list of unfriendliest cities for foreigners, according to LowFares.com’s Caution While Traveling column. Amazing at is seems, these well-known Brazilian danger zones do not compare to Los Angeles, New York, London, Moscow, or a number of other unfriendly cities around the world.
Of course, unfriendly could mean everything from bad manners to all-out danger. Paris, while known for being unfriendly (especially to Americans), is a fairly safe city, while Mexico City is among the more dangerous cities around, even though the service is excellent there.
Either way you look at it, the LowFares.com list is interesting and insightful. Check out their low travel fares while you’re there. And for an up-to-date report on safety in Sao Paulo, Brazil, check out the Overseas Security Advisory Council’s Report on the matter.
