The city of Macaé stands in the State of Rio de Janeiro in eastern Brazil, 11 miles northeast of Rio itself on the BR-11 coastal highway. The local Benedito Lacerda Airport stands four miles north of the city. If you hire a car in Macaé you'll be able to get to the best beach of the area at Granja Dos Cavaleiros, a spectacular spot where Imboassica Lake meets the sea. Inland there's plenty to explore too. You'll find waterfalls in the rainforest at Andorinhas and Escorrega; and offshore the islands of the Santana Archipelago are unspoilt lush 'desert islands' with clean sandy shores.
Macaé is an old fishing village that became a tourist resort and is now at the centre of Brazil's growing petrol industries. There's a beach right in the city centre and plenty of modern hotels. If you hire a car to get around you'll note the busy, moneyed atmosphere that the petrol boom has bought to the city. The visitor highlights include the old Marechal Hermes Fort, the city museum housed in an colonial-style house and the ancient Sao Joao Batista Church, with its views over the ocean.
