Salvador da Bahia: Getting there & around

Salvador's Aeroporto Deputado Luis Eduardo do Magalhães (tel: 204 1010) has domestic and international services.

For domestic flights, the airport is serviced by Gol, TAM, Varig and VASP. There are daily flights, but be sure to ask how many stops will be made on your journey.

It's worth checking up on airline specials as flying can sometimes be nominally more expensive than the bus.

A Brazil Airpass is a good investment, if you're planning on covering a lot of ground in a short amount of time. Each of the three major Brazilian airlines (Varig, TAM and VASP) offers a version of the Brazil Airpass, giving you five flights on its domestic routes, within a 21-day period. You have to buy the pass before you go to Brazil, and to do so you must also have an international round-trip ticket to Brazil.

For international travel, Air Europa and TAP connnect Salvador with Europe; flights to/from other international destinations go via Rio or São Paulo.

From Salvador, buses go all over the northeast and to Rio, São Paulo and Vitória.

They all leave from the bus station (tel: 460 8300) 8km (5mi) east of the city center.

Most buses coming to Salvador from the south go around the Baía de Todos os Santos, so an alternative is to disembark at Bom Despacho on Ilha de Itaparica and catch a boat across the bay.

Boats to points on Baía de Todos os Santos leave from the Terminal Marítimo Turístico (tel: 326 6603; Av da França), behind the Mercado Modelo, and the Terminal Marítimo de São Joaquim (tel: 633 1248; Av Oscar Pontes, Água de Menino).

Boats for Morro de São Paulo also leave from the Terminal Marítimo Turístico. Four companies have lanchas rapidas (speed boats) and two run catamarans. The number of daily departures varies according to demand.

The airport is about 30km (19mi) east of the center. Taxis, air-conditioned minibuses and city buses run to Praça da Sé in the center.

Linking Cidades Alta and Baixa are the Elevador Lacerda (tel: 322 7049) and the Plano Inclinado Gonçalves (funicular railway).

Taxis can be taken at meter price (the legal way) or negotiated.

There are two main city bus terminuses in the center that can serve as destinations or transfer points: Terminal da França in the Comércio and Lapa, behind Shoppings Lapa and Piedade.

Buses to the airport depart regularly from the so-called Praça da Sé bus stop, actually a block southeast of Praça Municipal. Supposedly they leave every 30 minutes, but the schedule is rather flexible, so leave plenty of time. The bus goes down Av 7 de Setembro to Barra, and continues along the coast before heading inland to the airport. The ride takes about an hour depending on traffic.

A municipal Aeroporto bus follows the same route to the airport, but gets very crowded and isn't recommended if you're carrying a bag.

Salvador's bus station is 8km (5mi) east of the city center. Air-conditioned minibuses marked 'Praça da Sé' go to the center from in front of Shopping Iguatemi, just across the footbridge out front. For Barra, catch the Barra 1 bus in front of the bus station.

Any bus that goes to Shopping Iguatemi will get you to the bus station.

To get to the ocean beaches, catch an Itapuã, Aeroporto or Praia do Flamengo bus, making sure it goes up the coast ( via orla ) and as far as you are going.