Short answer: stay in Barreirinhas if you have up to two days, arrive by car or want the facilities of a town, with banks, a hospital and more hotels and restaurants. Stay in Atins if you have three nights or more and want the dunes, the beach and the quiet close by. For trips of five days or more, the best plan is usually to split: one or two nights in Barreirinhas and the rest in Atins.
Atins and Barreirinhas side by side
| Barreirinhas | Atins | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The main town of the municipality and the main gateway to the Lençóis, on the Preguiças River | A village in the same municipality, with sand streets, at the mouth of the Preguiças River on the edge of the park |
| Access | Paved road from São Luís, about 260 km and 4 hours | From Barreirinhas, about 1 hour by speedboat down the river or 1h30 by 4x4 across the sand. There is no paved road |
| To the lagoons | Lagoa Azul circuit (about 45 minutes by 4x4 plus a walk) and Lagoa Bonita circuit (about 1 hour by 4x4) | 20 to 40 minutes by 4x4 to the first lagoons, on the Lagoa Tropical and Sete Mulheres circuits, among others |
| Facilities | Banks, a hospital, pharmacies and the region's widest choice of hotels and restaurants | No bank or ATM, and weak mobile signal. Pousadas, restaurants and kite schools |
| Atmosphere | A real town, with bustle and nightlife along the river | A small, quiet village where you get around on foot, on sand |
| Best for | Short trips, tighter budgets, travellers arriving by car or wanting a bank and hospital nearby | Three nights or more, rest, beach, kitesurfing and the dunes without a long transfer |
What Barreirinhas does well
Barreirinhas is the best-known gateway to the Lençóis, and for good reason. The road is paved all the way from São Luís, so you can arrive by car, van or bus. The town has branches of Banco do Brasil, Bradesco, Caixa and Banco do Nordeste, a hospital, pharmacies and the region's widest choice of hotels, pousadas and restaurants. In the evening, the Preguiças riverfront fills with restaurants and live music.
The Lagoa Azul and Lagoa Bonita circuits leave from here, as do the speedboat trip down the Preguiças River to Vassouras, Mandacaru and Caburé, floating down the Formiga River and scenic flights in small planes. Since March 2025, a bridge has linked the two banks of the Preguiças River, which used to be crossed by ferry.
The downside: the dunes are not in sight, and every trip into the park starts with a stretch by 4x4. Going from Barreirinhas to the lagoons on the Atins side takes almost a full day.
What Atins does well
Atins is a fishing village at the mouth of the Preguiças River, right on the edge of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park. The streets are sand, almost everything is within walking distance, and the beach and the first dunes are a few minutes away. From here, the first lagoons are 20 to 40 minutes by 4x4; the most popular circuits are Lagoa Tropical and Sete Mulheres. Canto do Atins, with the shrimp restaurants run by Luzia and Antônio, is about 40 minutes along the beach. From June to January the wind blows hard and the village becomes a kitesurfing spot.
The downside: there is no bank or ATM, mobile signal is weak, and getting there means arranging the speedboat or 4x4, always in daylight. For a bank or a hospital, you have to go to Barreirinhas.
How many nights in each
- Up to 2 nights: stay in Barreirinhas and do the Lagoa Azul and Lagoa Bonita circuits. With so little time, the journey to Atins weighs too much.
- 3 to 4 nights: stay in Atins, or spend one night in Barreirinhas on arrival and the rest in Atins. That covers the lagoons, Canto do Atins, the river boat trip and a day with nothing planned.
- 5 nights or more: split. Two nights in Barreirinhas for Lagoa Azul and Lagoa Bonita and three or more in Atins. With a week, Santo Amaro fits in too.
That matches what the main travel guides recommend: when there is time for both, about two nights in Barreirinhas and two to three in Atins.
What about Santo Amaro?
Santo Amaro do Maranhão is on the other side of the park, west of Barreirinhas, on the Alegre River. The road is paved from São Luís, about 230 km in 3h30 to 4 hours, and the lagoons start almost in town: Lagoa das Andorinhas is a few minutes away, and longer trips go to the Emendadas lagoons and Betânia. It is the quietest and least visited of the three bases, with simpler places to stay, and at the end of the season its lagoons tend to last a little longer.
There is no road between Santo Amaro and Atins. Overland, you go via Barreirinhas, about 100 km away, and continue by speedboat or 4x4. The other link is the multi-day walk across the park, only with a licensed guide.
When to go
This comparison holds all year, but the calendar matters. The rains run from January to May, and the lagoons are fullest from June to September. From October many dry up, leaving the larger and permanent ones. See our month-by-month calendar.
Where to stay in Atins
Atins has everything from simple pousadas to boutique houses. Pousada Buriti Atins is one of them: seven units across 2,000 m² of gardens on Rua da Alegria, steps from the beach and the dunes, with regional breakfast included and two chalets with a private pool. To compare the styles of places to stay in the village, see our guide to where to stay in Atins.
Getting here
The nearest commercial airport is São Luís; Barreirinhas airport has no scheduled flights. From São Luís to Barreirinhas it is about 4 hours by road and, from there to Atins, about 1 hour by speedboat or 1h30 by 4x4. The step-by-step, with timings and transfers, is in how to get to Atins.