If you think Lençóis Maranhenses is the only attraction in Barreirinhas, I’m afraid to tell you’re wrong! Taking the Rio Preguiças boat tour and visiting lovely villages such as Vassouras, Mandacaru & Caburé was surprisingly fun! On this post you’ll see how amazing is the Rio Preguiças boat tour and how to make the most out of this tour.
We had just a few days in Barreirinhas so we had to organize our time very well. We decided to take the most two popular tours through the Lençóis Maranhenses in one day. In the morning we took the Lagoa Azul tour (click here to read the full post) and the Lagoa Bonita one in the afternoon for watching the gorgeous sunset from there (click here to read the full post). It was the best decision! 🙂
Rio Preguiças boat tour
Next day, after breakfast, we took a boat in the hotel – Gran Lençóis Flat Residence (click here to check the hotel review). As the hotel is located in the river, the boat was already there to take Victor & me. If you’re staying in a hotel which there’s no direct access to the river, don’t worry because they will get a transport to take you to the river somehow.
The first stop is Vassouras (Pequenos Lençóis), but the way to there is also fantastic! We passed through vegetation consisting of palm trees and mangroves along its banks. Also igarapés, buritis & Juçara trees (açaí). The boat stopped for making us try to find some little crabs and an alligator! We did found lovely tiny crabs but not the alligator. Unfortunately! Arriving in Vassouras was a pleasant experience because we could have coconut water and interact with many capuchin monkeys who live there. Attention to your belongings because some of them are training to take your wallets, hats, sunglasses and especially food. Our backpack was closed but I had a Lays snack inside it. One of the monkeys smelled that, opened the backpack and ran away!
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Mandacaru was our next stop where there’s a lighthouse of 35 meter high with 160 front steps. The view from up there is definitely gorgeous & worth going up! You’ll have a panoramic view to Mandacaru, Atins, Caburé, Lençóis Maranhenses, mangroves and rivers. We bought some souvenirs and beers at the village and enjoyed the environment.
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The last stop was at Caburé beach where we had lunch & took a quick sunbathing. Perfect spot for relaxing and admiring the view. From there, the boat tour was finished and started the so expected quadricycle tour. So basically we departed with a boat and our way back was via quadricycle 🙂 The best choice we could ever made!
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Unfortunately we don’t have any pictures because we took only the GoPro with us for the quadricycle tour and in the middle of tour, we lost it! Yes, we were that lucky! :’(

We spent the whole afternoon wandering through the dunes, with a few stops including one for swimming in natural pools such as Lagoa do Alazão with a tent where we had some drinks. We can assure you it will be a hell of an adventure! o/
The Rio Preguiças boat tour is about R$ 50-80/person and the quadricycle we paid R$ 350.00.
Remember that the quadricycle allows up to two people. For those who are in a short visit, as was our case, this is an excellent solution for taking both tours in just one.
Don’t forget to take a hat, sunglasses, sunblock and repellent cream!
We had so much fun during these 2 tours! We highly recommend the boat tour but going back with the quadricycle! You won’t regret! What your favorite activity despite enjoying the beach when you visit the Northeast of Brazil?
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See also:
Click here to check all blog posts about Maranhão attractions.
Click here to check all blog posts about Maranhão.
Click here to check all blog posts about Brazil.
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