How to Get to Atins
The road to the rustic village where the Preguiças river meets the sea.
First, get to Barreirinhas
Atins has no direct paved access: the route goes through Barreirinhas, 260 km from São Luís on the BR-402, in about 4 hours. From there, the fun part begins.
From Barreirinhas to Atins
The most enjoyable way to arrive is by speedboat down the Preguiças river, gliding for about 40 minutes to the river mouth. You can also go by 4x4, a crossing of about 2 hours, and there is even a route through the dunes for those who want to turn the arrival into an expedition. Arriving by river is a tour in itself: it is Atins's calling card.
The direct transfer makes this trip with no stops. If you want to get to know the river at a slower pace, set aside another day for the full-day boat tour along the Preguiças, a separate tour that departs from Barreirinhas or Atins and visits the villages of Vassouras, Mandacaru and Caburé. Mandacaru is home to the Preguiças Lighthouse, 35 meters tall and open to visitors, with a view from the top that reaches both the river and the sea. Caburé is a narrow strip of sand between the river and the open sea, with kiosks and restaurants serving regional food, and it is usually the longest stop of the tour, the lunch one.
From the village to the dunes
In Atins, the typical vehicle is the quad bike: the crossing from the village to the lagoons takes 30 to 40 minutes, and at the lagoons there it is common to see only quad bikes, hardly any traditional 4x4. The rental is arranged with accredited local drivers and guides, hired and paid by you at the destination, and its price matches the destination's profile: set that cost aside in your trip budget and book in advance.
When the session is here, I cross over with you. Because the quad bike is a single-rider vehicle, that means booking one extra quad bike for the photographer, with the same local driver or guide, when you arrange the tour. If the session includes the dedicated video and drone crew, that is one more quad bike for the drone professional. Access to the dunes for the crew is arranged by you, like anyone else’s, because entry to the park is only possible with accredited transport.
What to expect when you arrive
Atins is a village with sand streets, no pavement and few signs, where the river meets the sea and the wind draws kitesurfers from all over the world. Charming pousadas, rustic restaurants and an end-of-the-world feeling in the best sense. It is the Lençóis destination of exclusivity and sophistication: stays and transfers come at higher prices, and the guests who choose Atins come exactly for that. There is no dune access fee.
A photographer's eye
Atins has the mouth of the Preguiças, dunes that walk toward the sea and a late-afternoon light that blends river, ocean and sand into a single frame. It was here that Guilherme dropped to one knee to surprise Júlia, and where Matheus discovered that waiting for the big lagoons was worth it. Two of the most memorable sessions of my life happened on these dunes. And the quad bike crossing through the dunes is a scene in itself: seen from a drone, it yields cinematic images only Atins delivers.
If your route ends in Atins, get ready to never want to leave. And if you want to keep this trip in photographs, read the two stories I lived here.
Compare the three base towns →
