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Cost of visiting Lençóis Maranhenses in Atins: A Comprehensive price guide

ByLo Lee

In August of 2024, a friend and I headed to one of the most beautiful destinations in Brazil: Lençóis Maranhenses National Park. This park is located in a remote area, about a 3-hour drive from the nearest airport. Visiting remote locations typically comes with a high price tag, and today we will be breaking down the costs of my 5-day/4-night itinerary to Lençóis Maranhenses based out of the most hyped base: Atins.

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Cost of visiting Atins vs. Barreirinhas

Atins is currently the hot spot for visiting the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park. Offering kite surfing, Lençóis Maranhenses access, bird-watching tours, and much more, Atins is commonly referred to as the most complete base for visiting the National Park. All this hype comes with a higher price tag when compared to staying at Barreirinhas, which is the easiest and most common base for visiting the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park.

For the cost-conscious traveler, Barreirinhas might be a better base option as one can do the main Atins tours during a day trip. For kite surfers, staying in Atins is a no-brainer, as there you can kite surf both on the ocean and on the beautiful lagoons inside Lençóis Maranhenses National Park.

Let’s deep dive into each of the expenses I came across in Atins and Barreirinhas to see if Atins is the best Lençóis Maranhenses base for you!

Accommodation in Atins

During the high season of the Lençóis Maranhenses (May to August), it is hard to find a good place to stay in Atins. Prices are high and options are limited. For us, it was especially challenging because we booked our trip last minute. Among the few options we had, Pousada Maresia caught our attention due to its proximity to the beach. Other similarly priced stays were far away and would require us to rent a four-wheeler to get by, adding even more to our cost.

  • 4 nights at Pousada Maresia (with breakfast): R$ 3.232 (616 USD) for two people
    • Pousada Maresia was a rustic and well-located stay. The staff was helpful and prestative and the accommodations were comfortable. It is important to note that this accommodation, does not offer anything luxurious or even average compared to hotels in São Luís or Barreirinhas. The breakfast is very lean, the rooms use cheap electric showers that allow for little temperature control, air conditioning use is limited during the day (it keeps turning itself off), and wi-fi access is slow. I expected more of this stay given the price tag of this stay, but later I found that this is the price to pay to stay at a great location in Atins.

Total cost of accommodation (1 person): R$1616 (308 USD)

Transportation in Atins/Barreirinhas

  • Barreirinhas <> Atins boat transfer (including pickup/dropoff in your Atins accommodation): R$160
    • The most common way to get to Atins is by boat transfer out of Barreirinhas. The boat transfer lasts about 1.5 hours and offers incredible views. Some transfer operators also offer a scenic tour, which you can learn more about in this dedicated post.
  • Four-wheeler ride in Atins (5-minute ride to a beach club): R$20
    • Getting by in Atins can be expensive, the only “taxi” options are four-wheelers that charge between R$20-30 for a ride. Luckily, I was in a hotel with an amazing location and was able to walk to the best restaurants in town. When choosing accommodation, keep in mind how expensive getting around Atins can be!

Total cost of transportation: R$180 (34 USD)

Must-do tours in Atins

There is an infinity of tours available in Atins, here are my favorites:

  • Revoada dos guarás (bird watching): R$120 (23 USD) per person
    • This is an Atins-only tour, it is short and can be done in a chill sunset. Don’t miss it if you are staying in Atins!
  • Ponta do mangue or Canto de Atins half-day tour (visiting dunes at Lençóis Maranhenses): R$130 (25 USD) per person (I did both, so I spent a total of R$260)
    • These tours visit some of the most famous dunes in the Atins region. If you are doing the morning tour, they drop you off at a restaurant near the park to have a bite before dropping you back in your hotel. If you’re doing the afternoon tour, you are likely to catch an amazing sunset! Because we had time, we chose to do these tours on different days to avoid travel fatigue. If your schedule is tight, you can book the full-day tour and quickly experience all that these two tours have to offer.
  • Lagoa Azul (half-day tour out of Barreirinhas): R$120 (23 USD) per person
    • This is the most famous pool at Lençóis Maranhenses National Park for a good reason: it is huge and lasts for a long period. When visiting in August, I was disappointed with how dry the pools near Atins were, so I really wanted to visit Lagoa Azul, which is closer to Barreirinhas. From Atins, the only tours heading to Lagoa Azul are private and run at the flat rate of R$1500 for a group of up to 6 people. Because this option was way over my budget, I modified the itinerary by adding one afternoon in Barreirinhas, where this tour goes for R$120 per person. The views did not disappoint.
  • Stargazing at Lençóis Maranhenses: R$175 (33 USD) per person
    • In my opinion, this is the most fun tour I’ve done in Brazil! I saw falling stars and the Milky Way with my naked eye. The cherry on top was having the dunes to myself and entering one of the pools in the pitch-black desert. Make sure to check out the post with all the details of this experience!

Total tour cost (1 person): R$675 (128 USD)

Food in Atins

Food in Atins is extremely expensive (yet not very good), and I had trouble controlling my expenses on this end. I typically eat very little and brought snacks from São Luís, so most days I was able to get by with just one big meal plus the free breakfast served in my hotel. I also do not drink alcohol, so my restaurant bills were significantly lower than that of the average traveler:

Check out the menus of some of the restaurants I visited in Atins:

Total Atins food cost: R$435 (83 USD)

Food in Barreirinhas

In Barreirinhas, there are many restaurant options to serve just about any taste. This time, I did not go outside the pier area in Barreirinhas where the boat transfer to Atins leaves from. Therefore, the few restaurants I visited were in this more expensive area of town. The variety, quality, and price of the food did not disappoint. A special food highlight goes to Café no Ponto Barreirinhas, where authentic (and delicious) Brazilian breakfast food is served at low prices!

Total Barreirinhas food cost: R$173 (USD 32.7)

Total cost of my 4-night/5-day itinerary visiting Lençóis Maranhenses National Park

My incredible 4-night/5-day itinerary to Lençóis Maranhenses National Park came to a total of R$3079 (585.7 USD). The money spent was absolutely worth it, but next time I will be staying in Barreirinhas for increased comfort and significantly lower prices. Atins offers a lot of fun and exclusivity, but for me, it did not justify the high prices!

Check out the amazing views I came across during this trip!

Lo Lee is the lead author of carry oner, a blog that helps travelers find incredible destinations and travel tips through unfiltered posts. She has lived in 4 different countries and visited over 45!

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