Carnival in Rio Cruise: Santos

In this fourth post of a multi-part series, Bethany explores the first Brazilian port on her Carnival in Rio cruise on Azamara: Santos.

Back for my second cruise on Azamara…this time I am exploring South America. The 15-night Carnival in Rio cruise is round-trip from Buenos Aires, going up to Rio de Janeiro and back. Join me as I explore the many wonderful ports in Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil along the way!

Carnival in Rio Full Itinerary

Below is the full itinerary for the trip. This post includes details about Cruise Day 5: Santos, Brazil. Looking for info on earlier stops? Check out the ‘Links’ section at the end of this post!

• Pre-Cruise – February 9 & 10: Buenos Aires, Argentina (embarkation)
• Cruise Day 1 & 2 – February 11 & 12: Montevideo, Uruguay
• Cruise Day 3 & 4 – February 13 & 14: At Sea
• Cruise Day 5 – February 15: Santos, Brazil
• Cruise Day 6 – February 16: Ilhabela, Brazil
• Cruise Day 7 – February 17: Parati, Brazil
• Cruise Day 8 – February 18: Buzios, Brazil
• Cruise Day 9-11 – February 19-21: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Cruise Day 12 & 13 – February 22 & 23: At Sea
• Cruise Day 14 – February 24: Punta del Este, Uruguay
• Post-Cruise Day 1 – February 25: Buenos Aires (disembarkation)
• Post-Cruise Day 2 – February 26: Iguazu Falls, Brazil
• Post-Cruise Day 3 – February 27: Iguazu Falls, Argentina

Cruise Day 5

Wednesday, February 15 marks day 5 on this fabulous cruise! Today is also the first time we visited Brazil, getting to explore the wonderful port city of Santos. Once again, the sail-in was gorgeous as we experienced the sunrise. There are a few smaller villages as you approach Santos, and then you see the skyline of the bustling city appear on the horizon.

The video below gives you a small taste of how pretty the arrival into Santos is!

Monte Serrat

Today I did the “Highlights of Santos” excursion, which included a few different stops along the way. The first stop was to Monte Serrat, where we took the bright red funicular train up to the summit. There are also stairs that take you to the summit; luckily, we chose the far easier option!

Once at the summit at 515 feet above sea level, there is a 360-degree view with breathtaking views of the city in all directions.

At the summit we visited the former casino, which is now an observatory and event space. There is some gorgeous architecture here, with stained-glass and leaded-glass windows sharing the amazing views, intricate tile floors, and some displays of its former life as a casino. Because it is carnival season, there were also several festive decorations spotted.

Another highlight at the summit is the small church and the shrine to Santos’s patron saint, Our Lady of Monte Serrat, dating back to 1609.

In the fences outside of the church are many small, colorful ribbons floating in the breeze. Visitors leave the ribbons here and make a wish or say a prayer.

After being able to leisurely explore the summit and soak in the breathtaking views, we made our way back down Monte Serrat on the funicular. Before climbing back into the train car, we got a good view of the complicated mechanics used to move it up and down the mountain. I also spotted a local cat enjoying a mid-morning nap in a shady spot of a small terrace on the way back down the mountain!

Museu do Café (Coffee Museum)

After visiting Monte Serrat, we then drove a short distance over to the Coffee Stock Exchange. This is where coffee buyers used to sample the various coffee beans for sale by the vendors and deals were made to buy and sell the precious beans.

This beautiful, historic building is now home to the Museu do Café (Coffee Museum). Here I learned about coffee production and its history through several informative exhibits.

I really enjoyed the beautiful architecture of the building itself. There are beautiful details and finishes throughout the building, both inside and outside.

And, of course, no visit to a Coffee Museum would be complete without a cup of coffee! After the tour was complete, we had some time to explore the gift shop and order a beverage at the cafe. I enjoyed a delicious cappuccino and a small biscuit.

Gonzaga Beach

The final stop of today’s excursion was Gonzaga Beach. On the way from the Coffee Museum to the beach we drove by a football (soccer) stadium in Santos, with a banner hanging nearby saying thank you to King Pelé (“Obrigado Rei Pelé”) who had passed away about a month prior.

We arrived at Gonzaga Beach and had an opportunity to explore the area a bit. The beach is very long and wide, with plenty of soft sand for everyone to relax on. The water was cool and inviting, but I only had a few minutes to dip my toes in.

A Relaxing End of the Day

From the beach we headed back to the ship. I enjoyed another delicious lunch in Windows Cafe and then threw my bathing suit on and headed for the pool deck. The saltwater pool felt wonderful on this (yet another!) hot and humid day. And sipping cold drinks while relaxing by a pool is never a bad thing…in my opinion.

After a full day in Santos we set sail after dark, on the way to our next port of Ilhabela. The views of the city lights as we sailed away were pretty.

Conclusion

My day in Santos, my first stop in Brazil, was another fantastic day on the cruise. The excursion was a nice mix of a few different things to see, and it was done with a good pace so we had plenty of time to see and explore things at each stop. It was also great to spend another relaxing afternoon by the pool. The hot and humid weather certainly takes something out of you, even a Florida gal like me!

Links

Click the button below to read the next post in the series:

Click the buttons below for earlier parts of the series:

Click the buttons below for more information about Azamara, and to read about my first cruise on Azamara in June 2022:

Note: I fully funded this trip on my own and received no compensation or any other benefits from any service providers I used along the way. The opinions expressed here are my own and I am not being compensated by any service providers.