A huge city in the state of Ceara. Along with Recife and Salvador, Fortaleza is one of the major economic hubs in northeastern Brazil. Although it is a vibrant, modern and historically rich city.
POPULATION: 2,600,000
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IS FORTALEZA SAFE?
So-so. Fortaleza isn’t as safe as Florianopolis, but it is quite a bit safer than Recife or Salvador. Do your self a favour and don’t go near Barrio Serviluz. You will, almost without question, be robbed here. The touristy areas of the city are heavily patrolled though, so you should be pretty safe.
RENT AN APARTMENT IN FORTALEZA
$400.00 is what you can expect to pay. On the low-end. Investment hounds have been pouring into this city to try and make a killing on their pre-World Cup purchased properties.
NIGHTLIFE IN FORTALEZA
7.75/10
A wide selection of options in the Dragão do Mar. As a tourist, this is where you should be spending most of your nights.
I recommend: Pirata Bar. Arrrrrrrr! The Naughty Nomad would feel right at home here. This place is utterly ridiculous and wildly popular. Be a scallywag and check it out while in the city.
LEARNING PORTUGUESE
If you want to make the most of your time in Brazil, you will need to speak some Spanish. Rocket Portuguese is the best resource for learning Portuguese quickly and easily.
COST OF LIVING IN FORTALEZA
The following data is from Expatistan, a crowdsourced database of prices and cost of living around the world. In our experience, the data tends to underestimate cost of living, so take the following as the minimum you might need to live here.
*Figures are listed in USD
You’ll need a minimum of $600 USD/month to live in Fortaleza, Brazil
FINAL THOUGHTS
Fortaleza is a city worth seeing if you want to visit the north of Brazil. I’d recommend it over Recife, but not over Natal. The people are friendly, but the nightlife scene is hard to crack as a foreigner. Don’t stay here any longer than a few days; I wouldn’t recommend living here unless you are scouting out an investment property. If you’ve already visited Salvador, Recife and Natal and are debated whether or not to visit Fortaleza, I’d say skip it.
OVERALL RATING: 7.25/10
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