The easiest way to get to the Lençóis Maranhenses is through São Luís, the state’s capital city. There are flights to São Luís from many major cities across Brazil.

That being said, many travelers make the mistake of simply skipping over São Luís, and driving straight from the airport to the Lençóis Maranhenses region. We recommend spending at least 1-2 days here! You can read more about that in our guide on What to Do in São Luís.

From São Luís to the Lençóis, it’s about a 4-5 hour drive.

There are 3 main towns you can stay in when you visit the park. Barreirinhas, Santo Amaro, and Atins.

• Barreirinhas is the more developed town, along the Preguiças River. This is the best place to stay to visit the region if you’re looking for shared day tours, want to choose in terms of meals and accommodations, and want options when it comes to transfers and tours. To get here, you can take a 5 hour shared mini-bus or van transfer, or a private car transfer. Another option is to rent a car and drive on your own! Many of the accommodations here have parking, and the roads are relatively easy to navigate!
• Santo Amaro is a povoado, a small village, where you can choose from pousadas (a sort of B&B common in Brazil) or we can arrange homestays for you to visit. This destination is unique, because it’s the closest to the national park, and you have the opportunity to see less visited lakes and dunes. Many say this is the most beautiful part of the park. This is the perfect place to stay if you want more contact with the local community, and want to get away from it all, whilst enjoying the scenery of the national park. To get here, you can take one of the shared transfers to a town called Sangue, where you’ll be picked up by another car, and taken to the village. Just recently, a paved road opened up to the village, so a private transfer or car rental can take you straight there as well. All in all, expect a 4-5 hour trip.
• Atins is a small village, up the Preguiças River from Barreirinhas. The village is also along a quiet beach and has an assortment of pousadas, ranging from more basic to boutique. To get here, you will most likely first go to Barreirinhas, and then take a 4×4 or boat trip to the village. An easy way to get there is to take the “Small Lençóis” tour up the river, that has stops along the way, and at the last stop near the beach in Caburé, you can take a quick boat ride to Atins. From there, pousadas will arrange to have you picked up and taken to check in. If you’re doing the Rota das Emoções, and traveling from Jericoacoara, there is also a way to get here by taking a transfer to Caburé along the beach. This village is great for those who want to visit the Lençóis, spend some time on the beach (with incredible sunsets!), and enjoy a quieter setting. The destination also features kite surfing schools for those who are interested in waters sports!

What to Do in the Lençóis Maranhenses

Day Trips to the Sand Dunes & Lakes

You’ll have the most options for tours leaving from Barreirinhas. These tours leave on pick up trucks, with benches in the truck’s bed, where you’ll join other travelers, and get to visit the most iconic lakes depending on the season, and weather conditions.

More popular tours are half day tours and range from R$70-R$100 per person, including transportation and admission to the national park. These are the more cost-effective ways of visiting the dunes, and well worth doing. It’s perfect for experiencing the park and meeting travelers from all over Brazil and the world. The more popular ones are the tours to the Lagoa Azul (Blue Lagoon) and Lagoa Bonita (Pretty Lagoon). These are both great “intro” tours to the Lençóis, where you can see incredible dunes, lagoons, and get a taste of what the park has to offer.

Canto de Atins and Betânia are regions you can visit leaving from Atins and Betânia respectively, and are well worth taking, especially if you want exclusive views of the park. When we visited the lagoons in Canto de Atins in July (high travel season), we were the only ones there for a good while, and at no point did it get full of other travelers!

Small Lençóis Tour

This is a boat tour that takes you up the Preguiças River, with 3 stops. The river is surrounded by mangroves and palm trees, and it’s a beautiful boat trip, on mid-sized speed boats.

The first, is to visit a part of the “pequenos lençóis,” literally a smaller version of the park seen on the other side of the river. The dunes aren’t as stepp, and the lagoons are smaller. At this stop, you can see a small conservation park with prego monkeys, and maybe get to take a picture with one.

At the second stop, you visit the village of Mandacaru, where there’s an old naval lighthouse you can climb to the top of and get great views of the region. It’s also a nice stop to have some ice cream, a drink, or buy souvenirs made of buriti straw from local vendors.

The final stop, in Caburé, is where you’ll most likely enjoy lunch at a riverside restaurant, and where you can also visit the ocean! To one side of the village is the river, and the other, the sea. Here, you can rent ATV’s and drive through the Small Lençóis as well!

The tour either returns to Barreirinhas in the afternoon, or you can continue on to Atins to spend the night there.

Treks Through the Oasis

If you’re interested in more of an adventure and love to hike, this is the perfect option for you! There are options that range from 1-5 days of trekking through the National Park, where you can stay in hammocks or simple accommodations in homestays. This is the perfect option to interact with locals, try regional cuisine, and get in your exercise. You’ll also be privy to lagoons and dunes travelers who take the jeep and boat tours can’t reach, seeing some of the most spectacular and remote parts of the Lençóis Maranhenses.

Flying Over the Lençóis

Another incredible tour in the region, is to take a small plane tour over the National Park. This is a bit pricier than the other tours, but completely worth it for the views. Also, if you book this tour through us, we’ll include it in our Co2 Neutralization Efforts!

Important Things to Note about the Lençóis Maranhenses

Guides

When visiting the Lençóis, you can find guides who speak an assortment of languages, but there are very few of them. If you’re on a budget, and still want to visit, you will often find English speaking travelers on the tours or don’t really need much instruction or explanations. For this, the guides’ basic English should suffice. If you want to take a trek or want to do a more personalized activity, like kite surfing, we can help arrange for a guide who speaks your language to accompany you!

Booking Activities

If you’re on a tight schedule and will only be in the region for a couple of days, we recommend booking transfers and activities in advance. If you have more flexibility and want to wing the tours once you’re there, this is completely possible, especially in Barreirinhas, where there are plenty of different agencies you can take tours with. Most of the pousadas also assist in booking tours for you and have deals through the agencies.

When to Visit

Although it’s possible to visit year round, and find incredible scenery whenever – the best time to see the lagoons at their full capacity and avoid the rainy season, is between May and September. If you want to avoid crowds, avoid visiting in July.

What to Pack

This part of Brazil is warm nearly all year round, and the sun is especially strong near the dunes and on the beaches. Bring strong sunblock, and a hat for visiting the park. Lots of light clothing, and swimsuits to dip in to the lagoons is also a must!

Are you interested in visiting and have any other questions for our team? Ask away in the comments! Please also let us know if you’ve been and have any advice for future travelers!

If you’d like to look at rates to visit this and other parts of Brazil, feel free to send us an email, or request a call!

ps – The Lençóis Maranhenses are part of a popular itinerary called the Rota das Emoções, where you can visit an assortment of incredible destinations like Jericoacoara and the Parnaiba Delta, on your trip to Brazil. If you’re curious to know more, let us know when you reach out 🙂