Start · Ceará
Fortaleza & the east coast
Arrive, acclimatise. Long beaches, markets, music – and quiet fishing villages such as Parajuru or Canoa Quebrada.
Northeast Brazil · Ceará · Piauí · Maranhão
Rota das Emoções
Travel with me from Fortaleza to São Luís – along beaches, over dunes and right through the delta.
Brazil expert since 1988
In the Stefan Loose guidebook since 2005
Group trips guided in German
The route
A thousand kilometres of coast –
and five worlds in between
The Rota das Emoções links Fortaleza with São Luís: sand tracks instead of asphalt, dunes running down into a turquoise sea, a river delta full of mangroves – and at the end an old town of colourful tiles. You choose the direction – and the pace.
What makes this coast special
- You cross three states and three completely different landscapes – in one unbroken line along the Atlantic.
- We drive by 4x4 along beaches and sand tracks, glide by boat through the mangroves and paddle by canoe into the quiet side channels.
- You stay in family-run pousadas with character – from a bright suite to a hammock in the middle of the delta.
- We follow the tides, the water levels and the turtles' nesting seasons. That's not a restriction – it's the rhythm of this coast.
Map: my own illustration of the Jeri · Delta · Lençóis route.
National park
Jericoacoara
Sand paths instead of asphalt, donkeys by the wayside, dunes and warm lagoons. You end the day on the Duna do Pôr do Sol and the evening in a hammock.
Piauí · Maranhão
Delta do Parnaíba
The only open-sea river delta in the Americas: mangroves, monkeys, caimans – and in the afternoon the red guarás, the scarlet ibises.
National park
Lençóis & Atins
A desert of white sand where thousands of lagoons form after the rains. On its edge: the village of Atins.
Destination · Maranhão
São Luís
An old town of tiles and colonial houses, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. Reggae, bumba-meu-boi, crafts.
Ways to travel
Three ways to experience this coast
Alone, as a couple, with family or in a group: I put your trip together from building blocks that have proven themselves on the ground – with drivers, boatmen and pousadas I know personally.
Modular trip
Travel independently
You tell me how much time you have and how you'd like to travel – I build the stages: off-road along the beach, on asphalt, or slowed down with overnight stops.
- Transfers, boats, pousadas, excursions
- Local rates, transparently itemised
Guided group
Group trip with me
No more than nine travellers, everything organised, guided in German throughout. The next trip takes you from Fortaleza to São Luís, 5–22 December 2026.
- Part 1: six days to arrive in Parajuru
- Part 2: the Rota das Emoções in eleven days
Logistics only
Transport, boats & tours
You're already on the road and only need the tricky bits: the crossing through the delta, the driver from Barreirinhas to Tutóia, the boat to the guarás.
- Crossing the delta instead of a detour overland
- Fixed rates from my local partners
“Sand, wind, vastness – and then,
at the end of the dune, the sea.”
SAT 5 – TUE 22 DECEMBER 2026
First arrive.
First arrive.
Then set off.
Six days in Parajuru so that body and mind can arrive in Brazil. Then eleven days on the Rota das Emoções – dunes, delta, Lençóis, São Luís. In a group of no more than nine people.
Max. 9 travellers
Part 1 also on its own
Flights not included
Apply rather than book
I am an intermediary and travel companion, not a tour operator. I put the building blocks together, name the provider of every service and am with you the whole time – you make the contracts directly with the providers on the ground.
Part 1 · 5–11 December
Arriving in Parajuru
You stay six nights at the Refúgios Parajuru, between fields, lagoon and sea – not a big resort, but bright suites, chalets and villas run by the owner herself.
- Sat 5 Dec9:30 am from Fortaleza-Meireles, at a leisurely pace with stops, to the east coast
- Sun–WedBeach, pool, hammock. Breakfast buffet, three-course dinners, plus a massage, a horse ride and water aerobics
- as you likeExcursions nearby: the freshwater springs of Praia das Fontes, the colourful sand cliffs of Morro Branco, jeep tours over beach and dune
- Thu 10 DecFull day in Canoa Quebrada – red cliffs, dunes, fishing village
- Fri 11 DecOnward journey – or end of Part 1
Canoa Quebrada comes alive in the evening too: red cliffs at sunset, then music in the bars along Broadway lane. Whether we stay on is up to the group on the spot.
Part 2 · 11–22 December
Die Rota das Emoções
Eleven days from the west coast of Ceará to São Luís – by 4x4, boat and canoe.
- Fri 11 DecFlecheiras / Guajiru1 night
- Sat 12 DecJericoacoara3 nights
- Tue 15 DecAlong the beach into the delta, Ilha das Canárias2 nights
- Wed 16 DecPontal, monkeys by canoe, night safari in the evening—
- Thu 17 DecTo the guarás, night at Senhor Raimundinho's1 night
- Fri 18 DecTutóia → Caburé → Atins3 nights
- Mon 21 DecBarreirinhas1 night
- Tue 22 DecArrival in São Luís – end of the tripEnd
5–11 December
Parajuru – recharge
You wake up by the sea, take your time over breakfast and then decide: Praia da Gamboa, the quiet lagoon of the Rio Pirangi, a horse ride – or simply the hammock. If you like, head to the springs of Praia das Fontes or the sand-bottle market of Morro Branco.
11–15 December
West coast & Jericoacoara
Over beach and track to Flecheiras, then on to Jeri. Three days you shape yourself – buggy, Lagoa do Paraíso or hammock.
15–18 December
Delta do Parnaíba
By boat to the Pontal, quietly by canoe to the monkeys, at night the eyes of the jacarés glowing in the torchlight. And the afternoon when the red guarás come home.
18–22 December
Atins, Lençóis, São Luís
By speedboat to the edge of the Lençóis Maranhenses. Sand, wind, vastness – and finally the tiled façades of São Luís.
Services & price
What your price is made up of
No package price – each service stands on its own
- Parajuru hotel package: 6 nights half board, massage, horse ride, water aerobics
- Transfers and the day trip in Part 1
- Round trip Part 2: vehicles, boats, the trips in the delta
- Accommodation along the way, per night and person
- Single room on request
- My services as intermediary and companion
Contract partners and payment
You always know who you're paying for what
- Every service has its own provider: the hotel, the driver, the boatman
- Contracts are made directly between you and each provider – in your itinerary I give you every one by name
- Payment is made locally in Brazilian reais, to the providers
- We agree my fee for arranging and accompanying separately
- No package price, no paying up front blindly
Part 1 includes
6 nights in a double room with breakfast buffet, 6 three-course dinners, one massage, one horse ride, one water aerobics session, the transfer Fortaleza–Parajuru, the day trip to Canoa Quebrada and tour guidance.
Part 2 includes
All 4x4 transfers, the boats and tours in the delta, the speedboat to Atins, the transfer to São Luís and tour guidance.
Not included
Flights, accommodation in Part 2 (I book at local rates), hotels in Fortaleza and São Luís, other meals, excursions in Jericoacoara and Atins, the Jericoacoara eco-tax.
Each item has its own price with the respective provider, charged in Brazilian reais. I give you the figures when we talk and in writing in your itinerary – service by service, with the provider. There are deliberately no catalogue prices here.
Two honest notes: In December the lagoons of the Lençóis often hold little water – the dune landscape is still impressive, but swimming lagoons are not guaranteed. And the delta follows the tides: departure times are set by our boatman José Ribamar – Senhor Zé – not by the calendar.
Who travels with you
“You don't have to organise anything. You can simply be there.”
Anne Knapp
I've been travelling this coast since 1988 – and I still discover it with the same curiosity. I'm not interested in sights to tick off, but in the transitions: the moment the asphalt ends, the hour when the red guarás return home, the evening when someone in the fishing village gets out a guitar.
I accompany small groups and put together individual trips – in German, with local partners who have been the same for years. Everything is organised through Feel Good LLC.
Since 2005 I've been listed in the German guidebook Stefan Loose Brasilien – back then backpackers found me; today it's mostly people who want to travel more slowly than they used to.
José Ribamar – Senhor Zé
Everyone calls him Senhor Zé. We've worked together since 2005: countless tours, international guests and nature experiences that stay with you. He's at home in Porto de Tatus, knows every side channel of the delta, reads the tides the way others read a timetable – and finds the guarás when nobody else can see them. Boat, canoe and birdwatching all the way over to Tutóia: when Senhor Zé says we're going now, we're going now.
Good to know
Before you ask – the essentials
Applying & paying
- You send me a few lines about yourself and the way you like to travel
- We talk and find out whether the group is a good fit
- You receive your itinerary in writing: every service, every provider, every price
- Payment is made locally in reais to the providers; we agree my fee separately
- Cancellation rules follow the terms of each provider
Flights
- You book flights yourself – it's usually cheaper
- Outbound to Fortaleza, return from São Luís
- I'll tell you which flight times fit the trip
On the road
- We travel by 4x4, in places right along the water's edge
- Some stretches of beach are protected – during sea turtle nesting season we take the road
- In the delta the tides set the daily schedule
- Luggage: soft, light, washable
Enquiry
Tell me what you have in mind
A few lines are enough. I reply personally, usually within two to three days – depending on how well the internet is working in the delta.