It all started with a foiled travel plan to San Luis, land of ethereal white dune beaches in northern Brazil.
My friend and I were in Montevideo, Uruguay, trying to buy plane tickets for vacation. We were both teaching with Fulbright Scholarships at the time and had a luxurious two-week winter break. The cold was encroaching on Uruguay, and our only goal was to be tanning on a beach.
Yet despite our most persistent intents, a certain GOL airline (Brazil’s answer to budget flights) seemed all but in cahoots against us and we had to abandon the hope of dreamy San Luis.
But then at the last minute, we found a steal to Salvador, Bahia.
We had vaguely heard it had nice beaches, so we unceremoniously said sure, let’s go to this random beach town. We booked our tickets on a Thursday, and on the following Wednesday, we headed out.
“This is Hilarious but also Are We Going to Die Here?”
Three flights (Montevideo → Buenos Aires → São Paulo → Salvador) later, we rolled in at 2 a.m. and took an Uber to a small hotel right near the airport that we had found on booking.com.
Let it be known, apparently not all places on booking.com are legit.
Our map led us down a random gravel road to a phenomenally inconspicuous residence — and our Uber driver looked equally dubious at the location. But there were the booking.com and TripAdvisor stickers proudly displayed on the gate, and it was the middle of the night, so we pounded on the door.
A groggy man whom we had clearly just woken up let us in, and we were greeted by his wife and two lactating dogs. The couple spoke only Portuguese (understandably so), of which my friend and I knew a dozen words between the two of us. But they took us upstairs to one of the four bedrooms they apparently rented, gave us the Wi-Fi code, and bid us goodnight.
We swiftly locked the door, looked at each other, launched into a series of the classic “this is hilarious but also are we going to die here” laugh-worrying ruckus that so often punctuates travel. And then we promptly fell asleep.
Later, but not late enough, we were awoken by our friendly host pounding on the door saying that it was somehow already noon and we had to check out. Simultaneously wanting more sleep but also marveling that we had indeed lasted the night, and certainly not wanting to spend any more time in the laugh-worry vortex, we scrambled to gather our things and high tailed it out of there.
As we were riding into the city to our new Airbnb, we noticed that this “random little beach town” actually seemed quite large. We asked our Uber driver, and he told us that Salvador is, in fact, the third biggest city — after São Paulo and Rio — in all of Brazil, with no fewer than three million inhabitants.
We soon arrived at our real Airbnb, which was thankfully splendidly superior. We showered, put the weirdness of the past 24 hours behind us, and set off anew.
Sidebar: if travel does anything, it teaches us to laugh generously at ourselves, go graciously, and know that things will probably be okay.
The City Where the Music Never Stops
Salvador! Also known as the party that never ends. By the happiest of coincidences, we ended up there on Bahia’s independence day. Cue non-stop celebrations.
Some quick facts: Salvador is the capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia. It was a Portuguese colonial port and operated as a central hub in the African slave trade. The old city center of Pelourinho has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and radiates with colorful, ornate facades, winding pedestrian streets, and lively plazas.
If nothing else, Salvador is vibrant — in its colors, flavors, and queen of all, the music. On our first day, we went for a stroll around the old city and waltzed right into several groups of street drummers jamming, complete with dancers, conductors, and the kind of reverberations that make your ears pound. These weren’t just any random troubadours. We’re talking large, coordinated, impeccably talented companies.
And don't even get me started on the dancing. In most circles, I can hold my own on a dance floor. Loose hips, quick learning, a few tricks up my sleeve. But these women! The isolated movements, the twerking, the fast feet.
As dancing standards go, the bar here was sky high and put us to shame. Delightedly, though, because at least we got to pick up a few new moves.
What to Do in Salvador, Brazil
We spent our first two days mostly baffled by the constant level of festivity everywhere. There was street music all the time. No joke, our morning alarm was shouts and drums from outside our window before 9 a.m. How anyone gets any work done in that city remains a marvel to us.
We spent the rest of our two weeks mostly like this:
- Sleep until street music wakes us up.
- Drink coffee, try new fruit.
- Walk around the city and see sights, walk to the beach.
- Soak up sun + read book.
- Swim in cerulean bathwater.
- Drink caipirinha.
- Eat street/beach food (açaí, come at me).
- Watch sun set over water.
- Walk back to Pelourinho.
- Dance to live music in plaza for hours.
- Shower, rinse, repeat.
Not too shabby, indeed.
Here are some highlights from our very strenuous itinerary for Salvador.
The beach
We walked daily from our Airbnb in Pelourinho down to Praia do Farol da Barra. It’s one of the best urban beaches in Salvador with a little bit for everyone. We spent most of the time soaking up some sun on the beach, but at high tide, you’ll catch surfers catching waves.
The sights
While lying on the beach all day every day was a potential (and viable) game plan, Salvador also holds a number of other stunning sights worth a peek: cathedrals, plazas, forts, and of course, all those winding colonial streets.
Pelourinho alone is sometimes known as a city within a city. You could easily dawdle away a few hours walking the cobblestone streets, gawking at the brightly colored buildings, and stopping here and there to grab a bite to eat.
The street food
Every morning, we walked down to the corner market to pick up a new fruit to try, including, but not limited to:
- Guava (all hail)
- Cashew fruit (yes, each individual cashew nut comes inside its own fruit)
- Sugar apple (the most exquisite cross of coconut and apple I ever have tasted)
- Cocoa (chocolate itself, in all its raw, bitter glory)
- Coconut (buy it whole on the street, slice off the end, stick a straw in, and slurp up every last savory drop)
On the beach and wandering around elsewhere in the city, we usually nibbled on:
- Açaí bowls (before they were a high-brow health trend in the U.S., they were sold for pennies on Brazilian streets)
- Corn on the cob
- Skewers of grilled street meat (yes, we dared)
- Skewers of fresh grilled cheese sprinkled with oregano
- Acarajé (a fried dough ball filled with yams, spices, okra, and shrimp)
- Tapioca in all its forms — sweetened with coconut milk as a dessert, patted into a tortilla as a crepe, baked with cheese as bread, powdered as sprinkle topping on everything. And that's just the beginning.
Hotels in Salvador, Brazil
On the way back, we learned from our mistakes and booked an actual hotel near the airport. Besides being a real, lactating dog-free hotel, it also included breakfast, a workout room, and a shuttle to the airport.
Notably, it cost us only about $10 more than our first lodging. We tried not to think about that, but it just goes to show you that in a city as large and vibrant as Salvador, you can find the perfect place to stay. From the ultra-budget (and semi-suspicious) hostel to a luxurious Airbnb to a respectable airport hotel, Salvador has it all.
Travel Insurance for Last-Minute Escapes
Travel plans don’t always go as expected. You don’t always know where those serendipitous moments will lead you, so it’s best to be prepared. Make travel insurance part of your plans, and protect your money against things like cancellations and delays, your health in case you get sick or hurt during your trip, and your belongings.
Get a quick quote at SevenCorners.com or talk to a licensed agent to find the right coverage for your trip, even if it’s a last-minute getaway.
