Icaraí de Amontada or Icaraizinho?
Both. Icaraí de Amontada is the official name: the beach of Icaraí belongs to the municipality of Amontada, on the western coast of Ceará, and the suffix distinguishes it from the state's other Icaraís — there is an Icaraí in Caucaia, in greater Fortaleza, and the name repeats across the Northeast.
Icaraizinho is the nickname. It started with residents and the first visitors, and became the name used in conversation, on road signs and on most online bookings. Today, people looking for somewhere to stay in the area type “Icaraizinho” far more often than “Icaraí de Amontada” — and both point to the same place: the beach village of Icaraí, in the district of Amontada.
If you have seen one listing in Icaraizinho and another in Icaraí de Amontada, they are not different destinations. It is the same village, the same beach, the same wind.
Getting here
The nearest airport is Fortaleza International (FOR), with direct flights from Europe and from across Brazil. Jericoacoara airport (JJD), in Cruz, is about two hours away and suits anyone combining the two destinations.
From Fortaleza. Roughly 190 km, three hours by car along the CE-085 coastal highway to Amontada and then a few kilometres more to the village. Almost the whole stretch is paved, and no part of it requires a 4x4.
By bus. Daily services leave Fortaleza's main bus terminal for Amontada; from the town centre to the village of Icaraizinho you continue by van, moto-taxi or a transfer arranged in advance. Allow four to five hours in total.
By transfer. The simplest option: a private car door to door, three hours, arranged before you travel. The pousada organises this transfer on request.
From Jericoacoara. Around 120 km and two hours by road — or a kite downwinder when the wind cooperates. Many people chain the two destinations in one trip, and Icaraí de Amontada tends to be the quiet half of the itinerary.
The beaches
The beach of Icaraí de Amontada is long, open and pale-sanded, with a wide strip at low tide and coconut palms reaching almost to the water line. It is where the village, the beach huts and most of the guesthouses are.
Walking east you find stretches that are practically deserted, with low cliffs and tidal pools that form between August and December. To the west, the beach runs on to the mouth of the Aracatiaçu river, a classic late-afternoon walk.
Nearby: Moitas, twenty minutes away, with its Mangue Seco and canoes; Caetanos de Cima, forty minutes by buggy, among dunes and freshwater lagoons; and Praia do Preá, already on the way to Jericoacoara. None of them is built up — that is precisely the point.
The tide runs the day. At low tide sandbanks and shallow pools appear and you can wade across much of the bay; at high tide the sea comes close to the beach huts and the sand narrows. Check the tide table when you arrive — it organises the excursions, the swims and the kite sessions.
Wind and kitesurfing
The wind is the reason for half the trips here. From July to January it blows steadily, almost every day, between 18 and 30 knots, side-onshore — the safest direction for anyone learning.
The water in front of the village is shallow and flat through much of the tide, which makes Icaraí de Amontada one of the most recommended places in Brazil for a first week of kitesurfing. Experienced riders use the same window for downwinders: the classic run is Icaraizinho–Moitas, or the long stretch to Jericoacoara.
The village kite school and club sits next door to the pousada, with lessons in four languages, equipment rental and beach support. The season, the spots and the gear are covered in detail on our kitesurfing page.
The same wind carries wingfoiling, which has grown fast in the village over the past few years, and windsurfing. Outside the wind window the flat sea favours stand-up paddle and swimming — the bay is sheltered and has no strong current for most of the year.
When to go
July to January — the wind season. High season for kitesurfing and wingfoiling, with steady sun, rare rain and a village full of people from everywhere. Book ahead: there are not many beds.
February to June — the quiet season. The wind eases, the rains arrive (mostly in March and April), the sea flattens and the village empties. This is the best time for anyone coming to rest, read, swim and eat well without competing for a table.
The temperature barely moves: between 26 °C and 32 °C all year, with a sea around 27 °C. There is no cold season in Icaraí de Amontada.
Two exceptions to the calendar: New Year and carnival week fill the village regardless of the wind, and rates rise. If quiet is exactly what you are after, skip those two weeks and choose September, October or May.
What to do
Beyond the kite: a buggy ride over the dunes of Caetanos de Cima, stopping at the lagoons; a canoe crossing to the Mangue Seco at Moitas; the walk to the mouth of the Aracatiaçu; stand-up paddle in the late afternoon, once the wind drops.
In the village, life is short and good: a market, a few craft shops, capoeira and dance classes, and sunset on the beach — a daily collective event here. Boat trips to watch dolphins go out when the sea allows.
For anyone travelling with children, the natural low-tide pools are the best plan of all: warm water, no waves, knee-deep.
Where to eat
The village has more good restaurants than its size would suggest — the result of years hosting demanding European and Brazilian visitors. Fresh fish, prawns, crab and rooted Ceará cooking appear on almost every menu, and vegetarian and vegan options have become the rule rather than the exception.
Restaurante País Tropical, inside the pousada, serves Ceará cuisine, seafood and vegetable dishes in the middle of a tropical garden, open to non-guests too. In the village streets there are crêpes, pizzas, Middle Eastern food and beach shacks frying fish to order.
Breakfast is an institution in Ceará: tapioca, cuscuz, cassava cake, seasonal fruit, coalho cheese and freshly brewed coffee. At the pousada it is included in the rate and served in the garden, which settles the first meal of the day without going anywhere.
Where to stay
Accommodation in Icaraí de Amontada ranges from simple rooms to guesthouses with full facilities. The criterion that matters most is distance from the beach: the village is flat and small, and staying inside it means walking to the sea, to the restaurants and to the kite school, with no moto-taxi and no car.
Pousada País Tropical is 50 metres from the beach, with 15 suites and bungalows, breakfast included, a pool and a tropical garden — a pousada em Icaraí de Amontada built almost 20 years ago and cared for ever since, rated 4.7 on Google across more than 280 reviews.
In the wind season (July to January) and over public holidays, book two to three weeks ahead: the village is small and the best places fill quickly.
