1

For a 2 week vacation, I'd suggest going up the coast by bus from Rio to Salvador, stopping at any of the following: Buzios/Cabo Frio, Abrolhos marine park, Porto Seguro/Arraial D'Ajuda/Trancoso, Ilheus/Itacare, Barra Grande on Marau peninsula, Boipeba, Morro do Sao Paulo.
From Salvador, you could go inland to the Chapada Diamantina by bus for a couple of days, a beautiful natural area with hikes and waterfalls.

If you want to explore the beach villages between Salvador and maybe Natal (Fortaleza city really not worth the effort unless going on to Jericoacoara, 7 more hours by bus and jitney), I'd fly between major cities, to the nearest one to the beach (for example, Recife for Porto de Galinhas or Itamaraca) and go north and south from there.

2

Salvador to Fortaleza in only two weeks would be too rushed, IMO.

I you want to go North, maybe you could head from Salvador until Recife, passing thru Chapada Diamantina National Park (a little out of the way), Maceió and other beach towns on the way. Southern Bahia is also great, like amobr82 said.

3

DONT MISS:

1 - NATURAL PARK: CHAPADA DIAMANTINA
2 - BEACH: MORRO DE SAO PAULO

You dont have time so for two weeks this will serve you well...

If you travel from Salvador to Fortaleza, you could check the Jericoacoara beach. It is very nice...

Cheers

4

There are no trains btw.

5

True. In fact this is the best example of how unreasonable public policy in Brazil happens to be...

6

Yes, and DjalmaUlrich informed the OP of this quite comprehensively enough.
Existence of passenger trains is kind of a moot point anyway since distances are vast and flying is relatively cheap compared to surface travel for those routes.
If you want an interesting and worthwhile train trip, try the Sierra Verde or the Pantanal Express or the Maria Fumaca from Sao Joao del Rey to Tiradentes or the one from Ouro Preto to Mariana.

(Don't understand what I was supposedly boasting about that has to do with anything on this thread.)

7

Flights aren´t cheap, IMO.

8

When, for example, the bus from Rio to Foz do Iguacu is a bit over R$200 and a flight can cost under R$200 at many times, then it becomes relatively cheap to fly. This is not always the case in other countries, such as the U.S. so it is a point worth making to some posters new to Brazil. And while that may not be cheap to a Brazilian making 1 salario minimo, foreign travelers posting here have a budget for...........travel.

9

The growth in the number of carriers, volume of fares, volume of passengers and the fares themself over the past decade suggest that flying has become cheap enough in Brazil. Cheap compared to Europe? No. Cheap compared to elsewhere on the continent yes and for many long haul routes cheaper than the bus and that's the main point for visitors.

Last I heard they won't have completed the tender process for contractors for the SP -Rio fast train until 2014, then there's a couple more years before they actually start construction and an estimated six years construction time. I'll be surprised if it comes in on time but then again I suspect it will be finished before the montanha de russa in Salvador is.

SP doesn't really need an intercity train. It has a metro system that goes all the way to Switzerland or at least, the money did. Maybe Paulo Maluf should be a consultant on this project?

;-)

10

I had the misfortune to see "Fast and the Furious 6," and it showed a modern train somewhere around Rio, traversing a deep, deep canyon. I know Brazil fairly well but don'tknow where this train is. I'd like to ride it. There are commuter trains in the Northeast, such as around Fortaleza, but while I haven't ridden them, from what I've seen you wouldn't want to ride one unless you had to (i.e., nothing like the train in the movie). Fortaleza is just starting a Metro subway system, but won't extend beyond the Centro for a while.

Maluf will have lots of time on his hands, so maybe he could be a consultant for free. Along with Direceu.

11

I`ve alredy done the entire coast of Brazil in an one year trip, all the way down from the border of the French Guiana to the border of Uruguay - it`s a huge coast line and it was the best trip i've did in my life till now. You can see one of the most remarkable landscapes, meet the most variaty of people and cultures; simply amazing

Some great cities and places to visit (just google it and see for yourself): Canoa Quebrada, Macau, Sao Miguel do Gostoso, Genipabu, Natal, Tibau do Sul, Baia Formosa, Jacumã, Igarassu, Olinda and Recife, Cabo de St.Agostinho, Porto de Galinhas, Tamandaré, S.Miguel dos Milagres, Macéio.....I dont know..its just too many amazing places to be and see! Also, Itacarè, it is freakin' beautiful with a great little town! Definitely worth to visit and to spend some time in.

A great trip suggestion is to make your way up to Fortaleza, maybe further, perhaps to Belem. But I am not sure if you can do all that, and do it well, within two weeks... i truly believe that you cant or will not enjoy as should. Maybe is best to concentrate in a smaller portion of the northeast coast, by that terms I would definitely recomend only the State of Bahia portion, since you are already landing there. Try Morro de Sao Paulo, Itacare, Boipeba, Imbassai, Lauro de Freitas, Porto Seguro, Trancoso, Caraiva, Itaunas...All this places are remarkable, and definitely try Chapada Diamantina, it is unbelievabel...

12

"I had the misfortune to see "Fast and the Furious 6," and it showed a modern train somewhere around Rio, traversing a deep, deep canyon."

5.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_Five

And yeah, apparently the train was filmed in the Mojave Desert.
http://jerrygarrett.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/fast-five-filmed-in-rio-not-so-fast/