Day Trips from Recife: Which to Take

Recife is a city of islands, rivers and bridges, with the hilltop churches of Olinda just to the north and reef pools along the coast to the south. Here is what each of our six Recife tours involves, and which to pick if you only have one day.

One day, and you want to see the place: Recife, Olinda and the Ricardo Brennand Institute, in eight hours. One day, and you want the sea: Porto de Galinhas, timed to low tide.

The six, side by side

Trip	Length	Leaves	Price
Recife and Olinda Private Day Tour with the Ricardo Brennand Institute	8h	07:00	Price on request
Olinda Private Tour: The Historic Centre and the Alto da Sé	4h	07:00	Price on request
Recife Private City Tour: Recife Antigo, the Sculpture Park and Boa Viagem	5h	07:00	Price on request
Recife Private Tour: The Brennand Workshop and the Ricardo Brennand Institute	5h	07:00	Price on request
Porto de Galinhas Private Day Trip from Recife	10h	07:00	Price on request
Praia dos Carneiros and Tamandaré Private Day Trip from Recife	10h	07:00	Price on request

Prices on request: send us your date and group size and we reply with the price.

How to choose

You have one day in the city, and it has to count

Recife, Olinda and the Ricardo Brennand Institute. Eight hours from 07:00: Olinda first, before the midday heat, for the Alto da Sé, São Bento monastery and the painted lanes; then Marco Zero, the Rua do Bom Jesus and the Kahal Zur Israel synagogue in Recife Antigo; and in the afternoon the castle-style museum of arms, tapestries and Frans Post's paintings of Dutch Brazil. On a Monday, when the Institute is closed, we add the Casa da Cultura and Boa Viagem instead.

You only want Olinda

The Olinda half day. Four hours, at 07:00 or 13:00, through the UNESCO-listed upper town at a walking pace: the view from the Alto da Sé to the Recife skyline, the gold-leaf altar at São Bento, the painted ladeiras and the tiled cloister of São Francisco. The car waits at the bottom of the steepest hills.

You want Recife itself

The Recife city tour. Five hours: a walk on the Boa Viagem promenade, Marco Zero and the Rua do Bom Jesus, Francisco Brennand's Sculpture Park on the reef across the harbour, and the island quarters of Santo Antônio and São José, with the Casa da Cultura, a former prison whose cells are now craft shops. A good first day, or a day off a cruise ship.

You want art more than sights

The Brennand half day. Five hours in the Várzea, on the west side of the city, at two museums a few minutes apart: Francisco Brennand's ceramic workshop in an old factory, and his cousin Ricardo's castle of arms, tapestries and Dutch paintings. Both are closed on Mondays; on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, take the 13:00 start.

You want the reef pools

Porto de Galinhas. Ten hours, built around the tide: a jangada out to the natural pools in front of the village, the calm water behind the reef wall at Muro Alto, and the river mouth at Pontal de Maracaípe. The drive south takes about an hour each way.

You want a long day on one beach

Praia dos Carneiros and Tamandaré. Ten hours: the old fort at Tamandaré, then most of the day at Carneiros, with coconut palms, warm shallow water, reef pools at low tide and the small white São Benedito chapel on the sand. It is about an hour and three quarters each way, and the afternoon is free for a boat on the Rio Formoso estuary.

Four things worth knowing before you book

The tide sets the beach days

The reef pools at Porto de Galinhas and Carneiros appear at low tide, and we plan the order of the day by the tide table. If there is no usable low tide in daylight on your date, we will tell you when you book.

Some things are paid on the day

The price covers the private vehicle, driver, fuel, tolls and parking. Church and museum entrances, the boat to the Sculpture Park, the jangada to the pools at Porto de Galinhas and the day-use fee you pay to reach the beach at Carneiros are paid on the day.

Private costs less than you think for a group

A coach seat is cheap for one person and stops being cheap at four. Our prices are by group size, not per seat: up to four of you share one car at one price, and the price only steps up when you need a van. And you are not waiting for forty strangers at every stop.

You can change your mind

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before pick-up, refunded in full. If the date stops working, message us and we will do our best to move you to another day.