Recife Disney Travel Agents Near Me

Overview

Introduction

Lanzarote's small, nondescript capital city, Arrecife, is situated midway along the island's east coast. The cruise ship port is located there.

The city has a few museums of note: The Museum of Arrecife History is housed in the 16th-century San Gabriel Castle on a tiny island just offshore, and the Museum of International Contemporary Art, housed in the historic San Jose Castle, was renovated for the purpose by Cesar Manrique.

The city's small golden sand beach is lovely, and is generally quieter than the popular tourist beaches at Playa Blanca and Papagayo Nature Reserve.

Location

Overview

Introduction

The northeastern coastal city of Recife presents a contrast with its colonial center and beaches lined with modern high-rise buildings. Nicknamed "the Venice of Brazil" for its canals and bridges, Recife is a poor but culturally vibrant city 1,155 mi/1,860 km north of Rio de Janeiro.

Plan two nights to see the city's historic center, with its many old mansions and impressive 17th- and 18th-century baroque churches, and to relax upon the sweeping white-sand beach of Boa Viagem, Recife's version of Copacabana. Additionally, Recife has a number of interesting museums, including the Museu do Homem do Nordeste, which offers a great introduction to the culture and history of the Brazilian Northeast.

Take time to browse at the Casa da Cultura (an old prison converted into a shopping mall), or shop for Brazil's finest ceramic tiles at the Brennand Ceramics Workshops, just outside of town (there are also many startling sculptures there). Recife has a fantastic Carnival that rivals those in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador.

Several half- and full-day excursions are possible, including visits to Olinda, a beautiful small colonial town with gilded baroque churches (World Heritage site); the stunning white sand beaches in and around the resort towns of Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Porto de Galinhas and Tamandare (20-65 mi/30-110 km south); the island of Itamaraca (30 mi/50 km north—good beaches, a 17th-century Dutch fort and one of the oldest churches in Brazil); and Caruaru (85 mi/135 km west—a typical town of the Northeastern interior famed for having the biggest outdoor market). Tours to traditional sugarcane plantations outside Recife are also available. 1,155 mi/1,860 km north of Rio de Janeiro.

Location

Recife's harbor largely caters to its commercial interests, but disembarking cruise ship passengers will find a relatively new terminal with restaurants, shops and tourist information booths.

Visitors are not allowed to walk through the port, so a shuttle is provided to transport people to a drop-off point by a large shopping mall. We recommend hiring a taxi from outside the mall—the city itself is spread out and is not easily explored on foot.