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Salvador, a city of about 3 million people in the state of Bahia on Brazil’s northeast coast, is most famous for its Afro-Brazilian heritage, exuberant Carnaval festivities, and wonderful African-influenced cuisine.

But it’s also a big modern city made up of a collection of neighborhoods that dot its countless hills and valleys. Split in two halves - the upper city (Cidade Alta) and the lower one (Cidade Baixa) - and located along the ocean and a massive bay, navigating its geography is a bit tricky. Some neighborhoods are located directly on the open Atlantic Ocean while others are along the protected Bay of All Saints (Baía de Todos os Santos). And still others are entirely inland, with no coast access at all.

There’s also the less pleasant, but very real, question of safety.

Because of its size, unique geography, and not insignificant safety concerns, choosing where to stay is a really important consideration. To help you choose, we’ve covered a selection of 4 neighborhoods that we think make sense for most visitors and described them, weighing the pros and cons of each.

Read on for more info.

Table of Contents

Salvador's city layout

Before we get into the specific neighborhoods, it’s important to first understand Salvador’s geography and city layout.

The city is located on a peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic and "protects” the Baía de Todos os Santo - the Bay of All Saints. One half of the city lies along the bay, while the other half lies on open ocean. Almost all of the Cidade Baixa is bayside while the Cidade Alta has more mixed geography, with a small section of it (including the Pelourinho - the city center) overlooking the bay, and then much of it inland or on the open Atlantic Ocean.

The Cidade Baixa includes the neighborhoods of Comercio (home to the Mercado Modelo and the cruise ship port) and the Ribeira, where you’ll find some pleasant beaches, a popular ice cream joint, and then the famed Igreja do Nosso Senhor do Bonfim. Unfortunately, outside of these two areas much of the Cidade Baixa is very poor and unsafe to visit. When considering where to stay, you can discount it all together.

Within the Cidade Alta, the wealthiest (and safest) neighborhoods are those that are south and east of the city center (i.e. south of the Pelourinho) and lie on the Atlantic Coast. This is where you’ll find neighborhoods like Barra, Ondina, Rio Vermelho, Pituba, and Itapuã. These are modern neighborhoods and where most tourists and wealthy locals stay and live.

Overview of my 4 recommended neighborhoods

For most visitors, there are really just 4 neighborhoods that I recommend staying in, and they’re all in the Cidade Alta. I’ve given a quick overview to them below, but get much more in depth in the following sections.

1. Barra

Barra is the first neighborhood (when coming from Pelourinho) in the Cidade Alta that sits on open ocean and it’s almost always my first recommendation for travelers. It’s quite touristy and has no historic architecture, but it’s safe, has two excellent beaches (Porto da Barra and Praia do Farol da Barra), a great oceanfront esplanade, a good selection of hotels and apartment rentals, and is very convenient for getting around the city.

2. Rio Vermelho

A bit further away from the Pelourinho (and about 10 minutes south of Barra), Rio Vermhelo is another very good choice. It differs from Barra in that the construction here is smaller, with fewer high rise condominiums and more houses. It’s also a major nightlife center, so absolutely full of pleasant bars, good restaurants, and lively squares that are busy all evening. The accommodation selection is good too, with a mix of boutique B&Bs and large, modern hotels.

3. Pelourinho and Santo Antonio Alem do Carmo

Technically two neighborhoods, I’ve listed Pelourinho and Santo Antonio Alem do Carmo together because they are adjacent to each other and only 10 minutes apart by foot. The Pelourinho is Salvador’s historic center and it’s an absolute delight of colorful colonial architecture, cobblestone streets, ornate churches, and beautiful squares. Santo Antonio is also a historic district (though it was built later and has no major sights) that is colorful and full of bars, restaurants, cafes, and pretty little pousadas (B&Bs). Neither neighborhood has beach access.

4. Graça and Vitoria

Graça and Vitoria are two adjacent upper middle class neighborhoods that lie in between the Pelourinho and Barra. Made up entirely of high rise condominiums, these are not tourist areas and the population is almost all locals. They don’t offer beach access or historic architecture, but they’re pleasant and safe areas and just a quick cab or walk to the Pelourinho or the beach in Barra. They’re a nice choice for those who want to be somewhere convenient, but less touristy.

Why I haven’t mentioned Ondina, Pituba, and Itapuã

Most guides about Salvador mention these three neighborhoods as places to consider, so I wanted to quickly note why I haven’t recommended them. To start with, all three are perfectly ok choices, I just think you have better options.

Pituba and Itapuã are modern, wealthy neighborhoods that developed over the last few decades as locals moved away from the city center (white flight and suburbanization are not just American phenomena…). They’re nice enough, but they’re places where you really need to have a car to get around and they’re simply very far from almost everything that you’ll want to do in Salvador. For me, it just doesn’t make sense to stay in them if you’ll only have a few days here.

As for Ondina, it sits in between Barra and Rio Vermelho, so the location is perfectly fine. But it’s hilly, has little in the way of restaurants and bars on the waterfront, and isn’t a place conducive to walking around. It feels kind of big and empty. Both Barra and Rio Vermelho have more to offer, so there’s no reason to stay in Ondina.

1. Barra

Barra is my top recommendation for people who want to be able to get to the city center quickly, but also want to stay on the beach.

The two city beach beaches here are lovely and many apartments offer great sea views. The beaches are especially good for those traveling with children as a series of rocks and reefs off the coast break the surf, meaning that the waters are extremely calm at low tide. Barra’s sunsets, especially from the lighthouse, are also legendary.

The neighborhood also has all the basic amenities you need for a pleasant stay of anywhere from a couple days to a week or more: restaurants, bars, grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, a giant shopping mall, gyms, and even a hospital.

When considering hotels, know that Barra is split in two, with one section lying south of the Farol da Barra lighthouse and the other lying north of it, in front of Praia do Porto da Barra. The two areas are connected by a lovely seafront esplanade that also runs all the way out to Rio Vermelho. It’s lined with bars and restaurants (most of them pretty mediocre, but perfectly serviceable) and extremely well illuminated at night.

There’s a lot of police presence all around the boardwalk and a few streets in from it, so it’s very safe and you’ll find loads of people out walking, dining, and cycling until as late as 10 or 11:00 pm. An added bonus are the BikeItau bicycle rental stations along this stretch of coast, and I always love to grab a bike and cycle the waterfront all the way out to Rio Vermelho (a 30 minute ride).

For what it’s worth, I think the area south of the lighthouse is more pleasant (and the hotels/apartments have better views), but both areas are fine. I would double down on this recommendation during Carnaval, as the apartments and hotels on the waterfront have a direct view onto the trios electricos/blocos (parades) that pass by during the festivities.

Being totally transparent, the area is very touristy and the immediate waterfront is almost all either hotels or short term apartment rentals. Almost no locals live in the area (at least not by the water), so it’s not a place where you’ll see a lot of local life, but most of the tourists are Brazilian, so you probably won’t even realize!

In terms of transportation, you’ll need to rely on the bus or uber to get around, but a cab ride to the Pelourinho will take just 20 minutes and costs around 20 reals (less than $4 USD). To Rio Vermelho, it’s even shorter and less expensive. For accommodation, you have a big selection of basic hostels, midrange hotels, and short term apartment rentals at all different price points.

The beauty of staying in Barra is that you can wake up in the morning, go for a swim and relax on the beach for an hour or two, then head into the city center or elsewhere for sightseeing, cultural visits, and whatever else, and then return home in the late afternoon for another dip. In the evening, both the Pelourinho and Rio Vermelho are just a short ride away for dinner and drinks.

2. Rio Vermelho

Rio Vermelho offers most of the same benefits of Barra, but with a much better dining and nightlife scene.

That said, I think the location is a little worse (further from the Pelourinho) and its beaches aren’t as nice (the water is rougher). Although you’ll often see it described as a “bohemian” area, it’s really not in any way. It’s an upper middle class neighborhood with a nice mix of locals and tourists and a strong dining and nightlife scene.

The architecture is different from Barra as you have high-rise condos mixed in with single family houses. It’s leafy and dotted by a series of wide squares that are lined with restaurants and bars that get busy from about 6:00 pm in the evening. There’s always live music, tons of people out mingling, acarajé stands dishing up food, and a huge selection of restaurants and bars. There are even a couple of nightclubs and a craft beer brewery. While the nightlife is good, it’s not crazy and staying here absolutely does not feel like being in a drunken nightclub district or anything like that.

There are two tourist sights here too: A Casa do Rio Vermelho which is the former home of the famous Bahian writer Jorge Amado and A Casa de Yemanjá, a house of worship for the deity “Yemanjá”, from the Candomblé religion.

The hotels in Rio Vermelho are quite nice, ranging from boutique B&Bs to big, modern hotels. The undisputed star of the show is the Novotel, which sits on a little hill overlooking the neighborhood and has an absolutely phenomenal rooftop pool/bar area.

Like Barra, Rio Vermelho is a quick cab ride to the city center and has its own pleasant waterfront esplanade. Although there are plenty of tourists here, lots of locals remain and others come from all over the city to eat and go out, so it feels a bit more local than Barra.

Although it won’t make much difference where you stay here (the area is small) I find the area next to Largo da Mariquita to be the most pleasant.

I think that Rio Vermelho is a good choice for younger people who plan on enjoying Salvador’s nightlife, those who want a great hotel (the Novotel or the cute boutiques) near the water, and anyone else who thinks that Barra might be a bit too touristy.

3. Pelourinho & Santo Antonio Alem do Carmo

Salvador’s historic center is simply iconic. No other city in Brazil has such an incredibly well preserved colonial center (nor one so large). The cobblestone streets are charming, the colorful buildings are beautiful, and the sights and sounds of drums, capoeira, and Afro-Brazilian dance and traditions are unique.

Almost all of the city’s principle tourist attractions are here and there’s nowhere else to stay if you want to enjoy colonial architecture, culture, and/or feel like you’ve stepped back in time.

The area is busy in the mornings and then again in the evenings and always full of local dance groups, capoeira practitioners, musicians, and tourists.

Santo Antonio Alem do Carmo is a small area stretching north of the Pelourinho from Largo do Pelourinho up to Largo do Carmo. It also has historic architecture with houses painted in beautiful pastels and pleasant cobblestone streets. Although the area is decently large, the part that tourists visit is really just one long street - Ladeira do Carmo - lined with boutique shops, artist ateliers, restaurants, cafes, and bars. It’s very pretty and always busy in the evenings. Locals regard it as safer than the Pelourinho and it does feel markedly more busy after 6:00 pm (when the Pelourinho can start to feel a bit empty).

Pelourinho and and Santo Antonio both have an excellent restaurant scene and Santo Antonio has a lively bar scene too. The restaurants are mostly reasonably priced, but given this is a touristy area, some are a bit inflated and you will find the occasional tourist trap.

In terms of amenities, access to things like banks, grocery stores, and pharmacies can be a bit of a challenge. As such, I don’t normally recommend the Pelourinho to those staying for more than 2 or 3 days. You also don’t have any access to the beach, though you can quickly get to Barra or some good beaches in the Cidade Baixa by car.

Police presence in the Pelourinho and Santo Antonio is very prevalent and both neighborhoods are safe in the day and the evenings on their main streets and principle squares, but the side streets that lead off (especially those that descend towards the Cidade Baixa - the lower city) can present safety issues. The neighborhoods that surround this area are very poor and this is not a place to wander aimlessly, be out late, or go “exploring” the back streets.

Tens of thousands of tourists stay in the Pelourinho and Santo Antonio and most don't encounter problems, but theft and robberies do happen and the security situation of the surrounding areas is not something to be blasé about.

In terms of hotels, you’ll mostly find pretty little boutique pousadas (B&Bs), but you also now have one “big” hotel option in the Fasano. Located right at the entrance to the center, the Fasano is certainly the city’s most elegant hotel - no surprise given that it’s the local outpost of Brazil’s most elegant hotel group.

For transportation, the metro stop in nearby Lapa (the modern city center) provides cheap access to the airport. Cabs and Ubers cannot access every street in the Pelourinho, but you’ll always find taxis waiting around in the main squares (which cars/ubers can access too). A ride to the beaches of Barra or Rio Vermelho will cost you from 20-30 reais.

If you plan on taking day trips to islands like Ilha dos Frades, Itaparica, or Morro de São Paulo, the port is right over in Comercio/Cidade Baixa, so you can literally take the famous Elevador Lacerda elevator down and just walk over to the terminal.

The Pelourinho (or Santo Antonio) are a good choice if you want to stay somewhere beautiful, historic, and iconic and you want to be walking distance to all the main sights in the city. You just have to accept that you shouldn’t be out late at night and that you’ll need to grab a cab if you want to head to the beach.

4. Graça & Vitoria

Graça and Vitoria are two wealthy hilltop neighborhoods that lie in between Barra and the Pelourinho. I've listed them together because Vitoria is really just a single street - Avenida Sete de Setembro - that connects Barra with the city center and Pelourinho.

Both areas are leafy, wealthy, and pleasant. Vitoria has lots of museums and cultural centers along its tree-lined boulevard as well as fancy restaurants, many of which offer beautiful views over the ocean and bay. Graça has nothing in the way of sights, but it's a nice residential area and very much feels like it. Both are very safe (by Salvador standards).

The buildings here are almost all high rise condos, but Vitoria has a spattering of pretty former mansions, most of which have been turned into the aforementioned museums.

For getting around the city, consider that it will take you about 10-15 minutes to drive into the Pelourinho, 5 minutes to Barra's beaches, and 10 minutes to Rio Vermelho. On foot, it's a fairly easy and flat walk of about 40 minutes to the Pelourinho and 15-20 to Barra.

For hotels, you're limited to 3 or 4 options along Avenida Sete de Setembro, all of which are pretty nice. In the rest of Graça you have a number of apartments, but no hotels.

These areas are a less obvious choice than the 3 we've already mentioned, but they're worth considering if you'll be spending more than just a couple of days in Salvador and want to be somewhere less touristy and more local. Because these are places that locals actually live, you have everything you need for daily life: supermarkets, gyms, regular restaurants, pharmacies, etc. There's almost nothing in the way of nightlife, but for that you can just head to Pelourinho or Rio Vermelho.

Where to Stay in Salvador, Brazil - Neighborhood Guide