Brazil Trip - Fortaleza to Sao Paulo

We've bought tickets (my S.O. and I) to a world cup match in Fortaleza.
It'll be our first trip to Brazil, but we've both travelled extensively in Central America.
We land in Sao Paulo, and we'll fly after a few days to Fortaleza.
We'll have 16 full days total in Brazil, and 11 full days to get from Fortaleza back to Sao Paulo.
My questions:

1- Our plan is that after the match, we'll bus or take the train (I know the train only starts in Salvador) back to Sao Paulo, stopping along the way at Rio and possibly Salvador. Can anyone comment on the feasibility and safety of this plan, particularly of taking the bus or train at night ? Any comments, and/or links or otherwise knowledge of this plan would be appreciated.

2- I'm a fan of spending an equal amount of time in both the city and countryside. Can anyone recommend a place along the aforementioned route that's isolated and still has interesting things to see? Anyone who's been to Palawan, Philippines; Yosemite Valley, USA; Ometepe Island, NIcaragua; Zdair, Slovakia; and/or Banff National park in Canada will have a good grasp of what I'm talking about. I'm looking for at least 5 days somewhere along my route, enough off the beaten path it will have a very small population, but will still have neat things to see.

3- What is the practicality of getting from Sao Paulo to Iguazu falls in a short trip within that time frame ?

4- Any other comments/suggestions to modify that plan ? I am still flexible in my planning.

Anything is appreciated !!

You may want to review what you think you know. There is no train service from Salvador to São Paulo or anywhere else for that matter, only a suburban train that runs to Paripe. In fact there are really no passenger train services that connect any of the major cities, Fortaleza included.

1) Your available options are to take a bus or fly. Often enough air fares for long distances are comparable or cheaper than the bus. Whether that will be true of your travel dates is dependent on volume of passengers. You would be sensible to start looking at looking at all the airlines websites now.

Buses are quite safe and can be very comfortable if you pay for a sleeper service. The distances are vast. Salvador to Rio alone is a 26 hour passage, as opposed to a two hour flight.

2) Plenty of interesting places although as I've never been to Banff or the Philippines I can't really divine what it is you are after. You should spend some time in Salvador if you pass through. It's a fascinating city, quite unique and infinitely more interesting than Fortaleza. I'd suggest getting hold of a guide book or give a better idea of exactly what you want rather than hoping for random suggestions from people who might have been to the same places you have. Guia 4 Rodas are the best guides for Brazil.

3) Given your time frames, only practical if you fly. It's another long, long haul on a bus from São Paulo and back and it would mean sacrificing time better spent elsewhere.

4) Give yourself some time in Rio. You won't regret it.

Enjoy your trip.

I do understand that Brazil is a country of significant distances and I understood this when talking about bus tickets, that it may end up being journeys of 1-2 days.

I would be open to plane tickets if they were significantly cheaper than the bus tickets, but otherwise I was planning on taking the plane from Sao Paulo to Fortaleza, and then taking the bus back to Sao Paulo, even possibly Iguazu falls, all the while knowing full well this would be a cumulative of at least 3.5 days of sitting in a bus. I have looked at plane tickets and wasn't impressed by any airline company except perhaps Azul. I could not find tickets that matched the price of bus tickets. Perhaps I am missing out on some cheaper airlines that operate within Brazil.

As for rail travel; I found this: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/FCA_e_Vit%C3%B3ria_a_Minas_railroads.jpg

As for a small, isolated spot to visit: I already have a guidebook but sometimes word of mouth is better than what's written in a guidebook. I can atest to that being from Canada (I've travelled widely, and yes, distances to cover by buses are even more vast than Brazil). I've checked places like Duas Barras, Alagoas; Piaçabuçu city, Alagoas; Pontal de Coruripe, Alagoas; O Encontro das Aguas, Piaui. I like activities more than relaxing, and stuff like hiking/camping, scuba diving, horseback riding, yoga, etc... is all very fun. Palawan had scuba diving, horseback riding, island hopping, camping, kayaking (lessons or solo) and it was a gorgeous place geographically, though each of the places had activites like that. SO in terms of a natural spot, away from the cities, that's what I'm looking for.

Yes, there is passenger service between Vitória and Belo Horizonte, that's quite true. It's the only one in the country. Not quite sure how that helps you. Everything else you see on that map is purely freight. As I said there is no passenger train running south from Salvador.

Airline tickets for the period in question may indeed be steeper, depends on traffic volume, that said others have reported finding normal fares within the period of the WC. I used to fly Salvador to Rio on a regular basis and the fare worked out cheaper than taking the bus not to mention the time difference.

I'd suggest that you look into the Chapada Diamantina for hiking and spectacular scenery and Caraiva for your beach side retreat.

1- So you have 11 days. Thats a long way to travel in such a short time frame. Buy a few flights. You are going to need them. A bus from Fortaleza to Recife is going to be about 12 hours or so (not exactly sure). A bus from Recife to Salvador is 12 hours. Salvador to Rio is 24+ hours. Rio to Sao Paul is 6 hours. Look at Brasil By Busfor bus routes/times/prices etc. No train travel really as Corisco points out its mainly freight.

Buses are safe and convenient. But some stations can be in sketchy areas - so be careful arriving early/late at night.

2- Chapada Diamantina is a great place (its 6 hours from Salvador by bus). If you want beaches then I'd recommend somewhere like Ilha do Boipeba (not far from Salvador). There are lots of places. However, my one issue is that you dont have time. Take out 3-4 days of travelling, and you are down to 6-7 days. And thats barely enough for Salvador and Rio.

3- To see the falls properly, you need 2 days. You can visit the falls on the Brasil side in a few hours, the Argentina side needs a FULL day. Be aware that you may need to pay the Reciprocal fee to enter Argentina. Do this BEFORE going to the border. Flight will be best as the bus is another long affair.

4- Time. You have time constraints. Brasil is one of the largest countries in the world. And you are travelling a very large distance. I would utilise flights as best you can. I don't see a place to spend 5 days of the beaten path with just 11 days. Its just enough to fit in Rio and Salvador. In my mind, you are jamming in too much in too little a time frame. Ill say you need at least 5-7 days in Rio. Rio is amazing and you really need time to experience it. Case in point - I spent a week there in 2012 and didn't enjoy it (it was miserable and rainy). I went back in 2013 and this year. And I fell in love with the city last year. It truly is incredible. You wont regret spending as much time there as you can.

you dont mention when you plan to hit Rio and possibly Salvador... if it is still within World Cup period (June 12- July 13), bear in mind that accomodation may be an issue.
a few days ago, the association representing major hotel chains in Brazil reported that, for that period, occupancy level in member hotels in Rio is already at 88%, with spikes to 94% on days just before final WC match. You can imagine what that does to pricing levels.
Salvador is not as bad, at 67% (with peak of 80% for Spain-Netherlands match).
but hoteliers expect an additional 10% in overall occupancy levels until WC actually starts.

you dont mention when you fly to Fortaleza... again, WC has a huge impact on that. Brazil will play a match there on June 17 (and that has driven hotel occupancy to 99% already), and it is widely expected to play a quarterfinal in Fortaleza again on July 4. flying to Fortaleza just before and flying out just after those dates will certainly cost more than in any other dates. plan accordingly.