Day Trip to Recife and Olinda

You can reach Recife also via a South America cruise. The city is located slightly south of the equator in northeastern Brazil. It is the largest city in the state of Pernambuco, with about 1.5 million residents in the city itself and a similar number in its suburbs, whose earliest residents and builders were the Dutch.
At this port, it is recommended to take a ship-organized guided tour because Recife is a relatively large, busy, and congested city, and also because you cannot walk out from the ship to the port exit; instead, you must take a free shuttle service provided by the ship. Those who do not have a ship tour are forced to stand in line to get a number for their departure time and bus ride, which wastes valuable time in the city.
Recife is nicknamed the "Venice of Brazil" because it is crossed by many rivers, across which numerous bridges are laid.

One of the tours offered by the ship is called Recife by Boat - a cruise in the rivers of Recife among the numerous bridges, providing an interesting perspective of the city from the water. It is not recommended to choose this tour (which lasts about two and a half hours) due to the fact that during low tide, the smell in the rivers is not pleasant at all.

The most comprehensive tour recommended to join is called "Recife & Olinda", lasting about four and a half hours net. This is a panoramic city tour where you will ride in a bus through different parts of the city, crossing many of its bridges. While riding, you will learn about the history of the city and the region, its culture, and its inhabitants. The tour includes several short stops:
First, you will stop at the city's beaches in the area of its major hotels. The city has a long, sandy coastline with plenty of palm trees, umbrellas, lounge chairs, and playground facilities, but it is not recommended to dedicate the day to vacationing and swimming on the beaches because the city's beaches are infested with sharks, and there are plenty of warning signs about it.

Afterwards, you stop in the historic center of Recife at Republic Square (Praca da Republica) - where you will observe the City Hall, the government building, the courthouse, and the old municipal theater, amongst which is a park with unique trees including the tree after which Brazil is named, as well as a baobab tree that looks like it was planted upside down.

A longer stop is made at an old prison that was converted into a tourist market named Casa da Cultura.

Each prison cell has been turned into a small shop, with only one cell left in its original form. This is the place to buy typical souvenirs of the region.

From there, you continue to the neighboring town of "Olinda", located about 6 km from Recife on a hill, reaching it by minibuses. This town, established by the Portuguese, was declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage site.

The town is well-maintained and preserved with colorful houses in a typical Portuguese style, numerous churches (the tour includes a visit to two of them), artists' markets, and many typical art shops. From the town, you can overlook the landscape of Recife with its skyscrapers, rivers, and beaches.

 

 

More articles about Brazil:
Trip and attractions in Rio de Janeiro
Guided tour in Salvador
Trip to a beach near Maceio