Where We Sleep
A Guide to Our Accommodations in the Serra do Espinhaço
Where We Sleep
In our minds, the most enriching accommodations are a bit paradoxical. On the one hand, they give us a safe haven from the strange world outside the door; on the other, they offer an intimate glimpse into that very world. As settings within settings, they play an enormous role in our trips, and we curate them with the same care we bring to routes, crews, and stories.
Unless you request otherwise on a Bespoke trip, our guiding philosophy is simple: we look for places that are authentic, memorable, enriching, and relevant to the story you’ve come to experience. We want our nights to reflect the diverse socioeconomic and ethnic geographies of the Espinhaço. Comfort and convenience are considerations, but only insofar as they make sense in the context of the world around them.
A few other guiding principles:
· Having a friendly, grounded host on site to receive us matters.
· Price and perceived exclusivity don’t impress us much.
· Logistical needs are real and sometimes trump all other considerations — especially on long crossings, where we may find ourselves in remote areas with few (if any) established options for shelter.
· On Journeys in particular, and with the right traveler, we may occasionally go a bit off-script.
To set clear expectations, we describe our accommodations in five broad comfort bands. The bands aren’t rankings: none is “better” in an absolute sense. Rather, each gives us a different way to understand and enjoy the Story of Brazil.
If you’ve read this far, we think you’ll love the places where we sleep.
If you’d like to see how these nights fit into an actual journey,
[See our 2026–27 trips →]
I. Campsites & Rustic refuges
These are the simplest shelters we use — and often the ones people remember longest.
Here we’re talking about tents (in established campgrounds or wilderness sites) and the most rustic of mountain refuges, where we sometimes choose to sleep in our tents even with a roof overhead. There are usually no private bathrooms — and sometimes no bathrooms at all. When that’s the case, we’ll talk it through with you before the trip. Breakfast is prepared by our crew.
What these places lack in amenities, they make up for in setting: white-sand river beaches, savannah-enshrouded caves, wide-open campos rupestres, remote mountain refuges with big skies overhead. Put it all together, and they tend to host some of the most memorable evenings of a journey.
On most Journeys and Expeditions, you can expect roughly 10–20% of your nights to fall into this category, depending on the route and season.
II. Rustic
Rustic accommodations are our simple, human-built shelters — the in-between spaces between tents and more polished inns.
Think: wattle-and-daub houses, habitable refuges, village homes, and small rural residences: humble, streamlined places that protect us from the elements and give us the peace of mind to get ready for the next day. Many are homestays or family houses; others are outposts on the edge of the backcountry.
Rustic does not mean poorly kept or devoid of charm, though it’s true these nights will usually feel more exotic — and less comfortable — than your digs back home. Rooms often share bathrooms (if this is a concern, we should talk about it before your trip), and breakfast is simple. If portions ever feel meager, we’ll have extra food on hand.
These places tend to be disproportionately memorable, and many of our own favorite nights fall into this band.
On Journeys and Expeditions, expect around 15–30% of your nights in rustic accommodations.
III. Everyday Stays
This is our broadest category of stay — and for most travelers, the band where they’ll spend the most nights.
Here we’re talking about small hotels, simple pousadas (inns), and modest private homes. Always locally owned, these establishments are usually family-run, with décor that ranges from strikingly utilitarian to quietly charming. Bathrooms alternate between shared and private.
Café da manhã (breakfast) is often simple and homemade: a few kinds of fruit and biscuits, coffee, juice, and local cheese, sometimes with locally raised eggs or other treats in the mix. By the second morning you’re usually on a first-name basis with whoever’s pouring your coffee or baking the cakes — the kind of quiet, everyday hospitality that makes a place feel like part of your own story.
Everyday does not mean generic. Many of these places are in captivating settings — perched on hillsides, tucked into historic streets, or nestled unassumingly between mountains. Some of our very favorite stays — and favorite hosts — in the Espinhaço live in this band.
On Journeys and Expeditions, expect roughly 20–35% of your nights to be in Everyday Stays
IV. Boutique
Boutique places are defined as much by their personality and care as by the rooms themselves.
Most are pousadas with a strong sense of authorship: someone’s lifelong dream project, decorated and run accordingly. A few are small hotels or private homes that feel like they’ve been tuned over years of hosting. We often think of these as the kinds of places an upper-middle-class Brazilian family might book for a holiday or romantic escape.
Breakfast is a point of pride and can range from an elevated continental offering to a full-on Minas feast: local fruits and cheeses, house-made sweets and pastries, locally raised eggs, fresh juices, and strong coffee.
On Journeys and Expeditions, boutique accommodations usually make up 10–20% of our nights.
V. Special Stays
This is the most luxurious band we use on our trips, defined more by price and polish than by any formal star rating.
High-end pousadas, stately colonial homes, and resorts (of which the Espinhaço has but a handful) all fall here. Many have historical value or standout locations, plus the friendly service, user-friendly amenities, and dining options you’d expect from a pricier stay. As always, we favor establishments that Brazilian travelers themselves choose when they want to treat themselves. You won’t find international chains here.
Even so, it’s important to be honest: very few of these places would qualify as a “4-star hotel” in an international capital. They’re luxurious within the context of the Espinhaço, not in comparison to global city hotels.
On Journeys and Expeditions, deluxe nights typically account for around 20–25% of our accommodations.
If you’d like to see what’s on the table at the places we stay,
[See What We Eat →]