Barreirinhas to Jericoacoara

OK, I know lots of people do this (one way or another). And until recently, there was only two ways:
- Expensive ride along the beach for 1500-1800 reais per car.
- Two days riding local buses with an overnight stop. Cost is about 170 reais.

I was contemplating doing the last one (as I'm on a budget). However, speaking to the hostel owner (Casa do Profesor in Barreirinhas - great guy and always welcoming and helpful) he had another way.
- First travel by local bus (read back of a truck) to Paulino Neves. Cost is 25 reais.
- Organise a car (the hostel owner can organise it for you) from Paulino Neves to Jijoca. The car costs 125 per person (if there are 4 of you). A total of 500 reais. So less people would mean you pay more.
- From Jijoca, local buses (read trucks) ply the road to Jericoacoara for 12.50 reais.

This is a long, long trip in a day. And it ends up costing about the same as the public transport route. But it does get you there in one day.

I'll post this in the FAQ's as well - as its frequently asked.

You've learned a valuable lesson about Brazil, Grasshopper. :-) It's who you know.
A poster named IgridJeri, and another more recent named Frank in Jeri, both pousada owners iirc, have posted the equivalent route/transfers going in the other direction and using some person they each know. Friends of mine in São Luis and Santo Amaro can arrange the same type of transfers.
But if you're going all that way, IMO it's nice to explore the Delta, etc. along the way, make/plan the time to linger a bit to appreciate this still largely off the beaten path area, and not rush it into one day.
Glad you found/made a friend to help, and yes, future readers will undoubtedly find your hint valuable.

Hi guys! I have a question about this route: according to some information I've got from the internet, the big difference between the private car and the public transport is not just about the price, but it is also about the route itself; I read that by private car the trip is very cool and you follow a kind of "coastal path" without paved roads which goes through beaches and beautiful spots; the public transport seems to follow a more inland route and you are going to miss some beautiful landscape and views.
Is that true? are the two routes really different? and if they are, is the private car one really that much nicer than the public transport one?
We will be traveling just the 2 of us, so the private car will be very expensive, but, at the same time, we wouldn't throw away the chance to have an unique experience...
We will appreciate any information and any suggestion about this issue.
Thank you!

I read that by private car the trip is very cool and you follow a kind of "coastal path" without paved roads which goes through beaches and beautiful spots; the public transport seems to follow a more inland route and you are going to miss some beautiful landscape and views.

Hmmm...the private car trip that follows the coast is the buggy trip. And thats super expensive. The private car that I took, followed the highway to Jijoca de Jericoacoara (40-60 minutes from Jeri).

I cannot comment on the Public Transport option but it generally involves an overnight stay.

If you stay at Casa do Profesor in Barreirinhas, Rodolfo can help you out, and there will generally be 2-3 others wanting to do the trip - which makes the private car affordable. I was a solo traveller, so all options where expensive. There was 8 of us, so the private car was cheap for all involved.

We planned (based on local advice) to drive ourselves in the East-West direction, via Barroquinha, Parnaíba, Totoia, Paulina Neves, to Barreirinhas. The last part of this crosses part of the Lençóis Maranhenses (the "Little Lençóis).

Most of this is highway, and no doubt the route taken by the "private car". The last part is (or was) impassable without 4x4. We were fortunate in meeting Newton and Raimundo in Paulino Neves, who run 4x4 tours in the area and who were on their way to Barreirinhas. They told us that we would never find our way without them (no request for payment involved) and we followed them through the dunes to Barreirinhas. We definitely needed their help... (see http://suramericacontraelreloj.blogspot.com/2011/03/la-ruta-sao-luis-road-to-sao-luis.html).

As trent84 notes, the trip along the coast is via dunebuggy. We had taken this from Jericoacoara about halfway to Camocim; I can't imagine that it's possible to take a dune buggy all the way to Barreirinhas, since there are several significant rivers to cross, although if there are balsas (as there were for the one river we crossed on our trip, then I guess it's possible).

thank you all for the precious information!

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