Atins Day Trip from Barreirinhas: Lençóis Maranhenses lagoons

Sand dunes, lagoons and the river mouth where the Preguiças meets the ocean

A full-day guided tour of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park departing from Barreirinhas, traveling by 4x4 through sand dunes and lagoons to the fishing village of Atins and the confluence of the Preguiças River with the Atlantic. Park entrance is included. Your guide speaks Portuguese and hotel pickup is arranged. Meals are not included, though Atins is known for grilled shrimp if you want to eat there.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Lençóis Maranhenses and Atins

• Travel from Barreirinhas in 4x4 vehicle
• Visit lagoons in Canto de Atins area
• Visit confluence of Preguiças River and Atlantic Ocean
• Explore rarely visited lagoons in the park
• Visit fishing village of Atins

The experience

How do you get into Lençóis Maranhenses without a car? The tour picks you up from your hotel in Barreirinhas and drives you into the park in a 4x4, which is the only way to cross the sand dunes and reach the lagoons. The vehicle handles terrain that a regular car cannot, so you move through landscapes most visitors never see: the park's interior lagoons, the dune fields, and the river systems that cut through them.

The day centers on three stops. You'll reach the lagoons in the Canto de Atins area first, where you can stand in front of the water and dunes without the crowds that gather at the park's main entrance. Then the tour takes you to the confluence where the Preguiças River flows into the Atlantic Ocean, a junction you can only reach by boat or 4x4 from inland. The third stop is a set of lagoons within the park that see few visitors: the kind of place a guide knows because they work here year-round. Your guide speaks Portuguese and can explain what you're looking at, though the landscape does most of the talking.

Atins itself is a fishing village at the edge of the park, and the tour includes time there. It's small and built around the water. The main thing people do is eat, and the region's specialty is grilled shrimp. That meal is not part of the tour, so you pay separately if you want it, but it's why Atins is on the itinerary. The full day runs eight hours from pickup to return.

What’s included

• Park entrance fee.
• hotel pickup from Barreirinhas.
• 4x4 vehicle transport through the dunes and lagoons.
• stops at the Canto de Atins lagoons, the Preguiças River confluence, and interior park lagoons.
• visit to Atins fishing village.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDeparts at 08:30

GroupUp to 10

Live guidePortuguese

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 31 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated 11 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortNot recommended during pregnancyNot recommended with back problemsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Rio by Foot - Tours

Is this one for you?The tour leaves from Barreirinhas with pickup at your hotel, so you don't need a rental car or your own transport to reach the park's interior. If you're staying in town without a vehicle, this is how you get to the lagoons and the river mouth that are otherwise unreachable on foot.

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Top questions

What are the lagoons in Lençóis Maranhenses actually like when you get there?

The lagoons are shallow pools of fresh water that collect between the sand dunes after rain, so their size and color shift with the season. In the Canto de Atins area where the tour stops, the water is clear and the dunes rise around them. You stand at the edge and look out across both. The lagoons the tour visits are rarely crowded because they sit away from the main park entrance.

Do I need to be fit or athletic for this tour?

The tour is suitable for all physical fitness levels. You spend most of the day in the 4x4 vehicle, and the stops involve walking on sand and looking at the landscape rather than hiking long distances. The vehicle does the work of getting you across the dunes.

What's included in the price and what do I pay for separately?

Park entrance and the 4x4 transport are included, along with hotel pickup from Barreirinhas. Meals are not included. If you want to eat in Atins, you order and pay at a restaurant there. Grilled shrimp is the local specialty.

Does the tour go to the Preguiças River mouth, or is that a separate stop?

The confluence of the Preguiças River and the Atlantic Ocean is one of the three main stops on the tour. You visit it as part of the same day, not as an add-on.

What language does the guide speak?

Your guide speaks Portuguese. If you don't speak Portuguese, you'll want to arrange translation or travel with someone who does, as the guide will not have English.