Rio may be famous throughout the world, and Sao Paulo may ring a few bells to F1 fans or financiers, but ask any Brazilian which is the most interesting city in Brazil and certainly which is the most fun, and they’ll tell you Salvador da Bahia every time.
Salvador Travel Booking Resources
These are my favourite companies to use when I travel.
• Search cheap flights with Skyscanner.
• Find the best deals on hotels on Booking.com.
• Find the best sightseeing tours & attraction tickets on GetYourGuide or Viator.
About Salvador
Located in the north-east of Brazil, Salvador is the beating heart of Brazil – the unofficial capital of the north and is the best place to enjoy the areas very different traditions, history and culture.
Unlike the south of Brazil, the Bahia area saw very little European immigration and it’s estimated that 80% of Salvadoreans have some African ancestry. This is reflected in the variety of Afro-Brazilian music and food which calls Salvador home.
The bay (or bahia in Portuguese) that Salvador lies on was first discovered by European explorers on All Saint’s Day 1392, but it wasn’t until 1549 that the town of Salvador da Bahia was founded. It grew quickly and was chosen as the first capital of the new Portuguese colony of Brazil. It was during this period, as the center for the burgeoning sugar (and hence slave) trades, that Salvador saw the mass forced immigration from west Africa that now gives it a character very different to the rest of Brazil.
This character was maintained partly because during the 19th and early 20th centuries, Salvador – as a largely agricultural centre – was left isolated from the industrialisation which took place in southern Brazil and which attracted large numbers of European immigrants to places like Rio and Sao Paulo. It wasn’t until the mid-20th century that Salvador began to grow rapidly and to develop modern suburbs along these lines.
Today, the north east of Brazil remains the poorest area of the country, and even though Salvador is the richest part of the area by some way, you may feel much more conscious that you’re in a developing country than you do in Rio or Sao Paulo. However, Salvador has so much to offer beyond this that it’s becoming a real favourite with foreign tourists.
The friendliness of the people has something to do with it, and you feel a warmth here that isn’t just down to the equatorial climate! This is also the land of capoeira and all the other Afro-Brazilian traditions that you might find elsewhere in Brazil, but which are at their authentic best here in Salvador. And all that’s quite apart from the many interesting historical sites and the best carnival in Brazil…
So while you should certainly visit the Pelourinho (or Old Town) and this is where most of the character hotels are situated, it’s definitely worth exploring a bit more of Salvador to learn more.
As well as its excellent city beaches, Salvador also benefits from having one of the great Brazil beaches just to the north of the city. The long, golden sands of Praia do Forte are famous throughout Brazil, and a selection of really lovely hotels make this a perfect place to start or end your Brazil holiday in Salvador.
Yes, that’s right: we said the best carnival in Brazil. Ask any Brazilian outside of Rio and they will tell you cheerfully that Rio’s all very well if you want to just watch the parades, but if you really want to get into the spirit of the thing and feel part of the carnival, then Salvador is the place to be!
Rather than sit in the stands at the Sambodromo, in Salvador you can join one of the parade floats and dance the nights away along with a million other dancing, singing, happily drunk Salvadoreans!
Check out my Brazil travel guide for more info and to compare the two carnivals and more things to do in this incredible country.