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Photo by Maiara Boaz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Best time to visit São Luís
Brazil · Latin America
All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.
The year in São Luís
Tap a month for its page
- JanJSão Luís in January: avoid
- FebFSão Luís in February: avoid
- MarMSão Luís in March: avoid
- AprASão Luís in April: avoid
- MayMSão Luís in May: avoid
- JunJSão Luís in June: ok
- JulJSão Luís in July: ok, busy
- AugASão Luís in August: ok, busy
- SepSSão Luís in September: ok
- OctOSão Luís in October: sweet spot
- NovNSão Luís in November: sweet spot
- DecDSão Luís in December: ok
- Sweet spot
- Good
- OK
- Avoid
- Busy
Dry season: Jul–Nov, 6 or fewer rainy days a month.
Plan this trip
Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too.
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Flights from
Flights
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Book with the airline
Where to stay
Book direct
Luxury
Things to do
Car hire
Travel insurance
Check whether your bank card or home insurance already covers this trip.
If the trip needs a visa, the travel agent or visa centre usually sells the cover it asks for.
Mobile data (eSIM)
Your own plan's EU roaming may already cover this.
Renting a pocket Wi-Fi is the other common way to stay connected.
These are sites people in book with. Each opens in a new tab, on the site's own pages.
Things to do in São Luís
- Casa das Minas Afro-Brazilian temple in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil
- Catedral de São Luís Cathedral in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil
- Teatro Arthur Azevedo Theatre in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil
- Museu do Reggae do Maranhão Museum dedicated to reggae in the state of Maranhão
- Praça João Lisboa Square in São Luis, Brazil
- Igreja de São Pantaleão Church in São Luís, Brazil
- Capela de São José da Quinta das Laranjeiras Church in São Luís, Brazil
Tours and tickets in São Luís
Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too. Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you; most pay nothing, and what a site pays never decides whether it is listed or where. How we rank
Sights and their lines from Wikivoyage, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, and Wikidata; in order of how often each one's Wikipedia article was read on phones in the last 12 months.
Month by month
| Month | Max °C | Rain days | Humidity | Sun h/day | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30° | 16d | 83% | 9.8h | avoid | monsoon: 16 rainy days, 262mm |
| Feb | 29° | 21d | 87% | 8.7h | avoid | monsoon: 21 rainy days, 366mm |
| Mar | 29° | 26d | 88% | 8.5h | avoid | monsoon: 26 rainy days, 497mm |
| Apr | 29° | 24d | 88% | 9.0h | avoid | monsoon: 24 rainy days, 421mm |
| May | 30° | 17d | 86% | 10.3h | avoid | monsoon: 17 rainy days, 257mm |
| Jun | 30° | 9d | 84% | 11.4h | ok | 30C max, 9 rainy days |
| Jul | 30° | 5d | 82% | 11.6h | okbusy | busier than usual |
| Aug | 31° | 2d | 78% | 11.9h | okbusy | busier than usual |
| Sep | 32° | 1d | 75% | 11.8h | ok | 32C max, 1 rainy day |
| Oct | 32° | 1d | 74% | 11.6h | sweet spot | 32C max, 1 rainy day |
| Nov | 32° | 4d | 75% | 11.2h | sweet spot | 32C max, 4 rainy days |
| Dec | 31° | 7d | 78% | 10.5h | ok | 31C max, 7 rainy days |
Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.
Weather read at the old town, 10 km from the airport (SLZ): ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.
A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.
How busy it gets
Then and now
São Luís's April days now average 29.3°C, 1.3°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 11 of 12 months are clearly warmer.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–90 | 28.4° | 28.0° | 27.9° | 28.0° | 28.6° | 28.9° | 29.2° | 30.3° | 30.8° | 30.9° | 31.2° | 30.0° |
| 2017–26 | 29.6° | 29.0° | 28.8° | 29.3° | 29.9° | 30.0° | 30.2° | 31.0° | 31.8° | 31.7° | 31.5° | 31.0° |
| Change | +1.2° | +1.1° | +1.0° | +1.3° | +1.2° | +1.1° | +1.1° | +0.7° | +0.9° | +0.8° | +0.3° | +1.1° |
The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.
Getting there
How far São Luís is depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.
- from Rio de Janeiro
- from Sao Paulo
- from Bogota
- from Lima
- from Buenos Aires
- from Santiago
- from Miami
- from Fort Lauderdale
Open in Rome2rio for every way from to São Luís, flying or not.
Before you go
Type C plugs at 127 / 220 V. Drives on the right. The currency is the Brazilian real. UK Foreign Office: avoid all but essential travel to parts. Global Affairs Canada: Exercise a high degree of caution (with regional advisories). US State Department: Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution. Everything for Brazil: cost of living, languages, emergency numbers and health.
Being there
On arrival
- Paying — Most businesses take cards, and in big cities cash is used less and less. Locals pay by Pix, which needs a Brazilian bank account or CPF.
- UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
- Tipping — A 10% service charge is usually on the restaurant bill, so nothing more is needed; taxi drivers do not expect a tip, though people may round up.
Getting around São Luís
- Apps — Rides: 99, inDrive, Uber. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: WhatsApp.
São Luís' public transit system is composed by a network of buses. A single ride ticket costs R$ 2.70 and a multiple ride ticket costs R$ 3.10 (2018). More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on São Luís, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Help
- Emergency — police 190 or 911 · ambulance 192 · fire 193.
TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.
Your embassy — : how to reach your embassy or consulate abroad. A guess from your city, : a city is not a passport.
Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 7 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.
Sources (28)
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/brazil/getting-help
- travel.gc.ca/destinations/brazil
- uber.com/global/en/cities/sao-paulo
- indrive.com/pt-br/city-rides
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Brazil
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/S%C3%A3o_Paulo
- metro.sp.gov.br/sua-viagem/turismetro
- metrocptm.com.br/pagamento-por-aproximacao-chega-a-todas-as-catracas-do-metro-de-sp
- onibusetransporte.com/2026/09/16/metro-de-sao-paulo-pagamento-aproximacao-credito-debito-autopass
- altarendablog.com.br/2026/09/30/visa-libera-pagamento-por-aproximacao-em-todas-as-catracas-do-metro-sp-nas-linhas-1-2-3-e-15
- dgabc.com.br/Noticia/4346348/metro-amplia-pagamento-por-aproximacao-para-catracas-em-quatro-linhas
- metrocptm.com.br/guia-do-metro-de-sao-paulo-em-2026-linhas-operacao-e-como-usar-o-sistema
- infobip.com/blog/whatsapp-statistics
- soax.com/research/most-popular-messaging-apps
- developers.google.com/maps/coverage
- apple.com/ios/feature-availability
- metrorio.com.br/como-pagar/meios-e-tarifas
- metrorio.com.br/Como-Pagar/pagamento-por-aproximacao
- jae.com.br/faq/duvidas-gerais
- jae.com.br/faq/cartao-jae-4
- jae.com.br/faq/app-jae-2
- jae.com.br/faq/maquina-de-auto-atendimento-jae-atm
- trilhos.motiva.com.br/vltrio/guia-de-uso
- trilhos.motiva.com.br/vltrio/linha-1---azul/santos-dumont
- riogaleao.com/passageiros/como-chegar-e-sair/brt
- diariodotransporte.com.br/2026/06/10/rio-de-janeiro-oficializa-fim-do-recebimento-de-dinheiro-em-onibus-da-capital-a-partir-de-28-de-junho
- pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2286608
- rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/AnnualReport/PDFs/09PAYMENT290526C6588B796E664822A2BD0DEB6452CAD4.PDF
São Luís in pictures
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Ridiculopathy, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
What São Luís is like
São Luís is the capital of the Brazilian state of Maranhão. It's known for its colonial Historical Center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is a common stopover for visiting the stunning Lençóis Maranhenses. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth seeing
- São Luís's Historical Center. The city's main attraction. Founded in 1612 by the French, it has been gradually expanded until the 20th century, incorporating mostly Portuguese architecture adapted to the local climate. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth doing
- São Luís' urban beaches do not match the beauty of those found in other Northeastern capital cities, such as Maceió or Natal, neither are known for their cleanness. More on Wikivoyage
- Getting in
- Bus station some 8 km southeast of the center, close to the airport in Avenida dos Franceses 5073 - right north of the intersection with Rua Tres. More on Wikivoyage
- Staying safe
- São Luís is safe enough by Brazilian standards, although roaming the empty streets of the Historical Center at night should be avoided. More on Wikivoyage
- Staying healthy
- As elsewhere in Brazil, some beaches in São Luís are not suitable for bathing, and conditions can change from day to day. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on São Luís, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.
Around São Luís
Also in Brazil
- Belém best Jul, Sep, Oct
- Florianópolis best Mar, Apr, Jul
- Fortaleza best Jul, Sep, Oct
- Ilha Grande best May, Jul, Sep
- Lençóis Maranhenses best Sep, Oct, Nov
- Manaus best Jul, Sep, Oct
- Natal best Aug, Sep, Oct
- Recife best Jan, Feb, Oct
- Rio de Janeiro best Mar, May, Sep
- Salvador best Sep, Oct, Nov
- Sao Paulo best May, Aug, Sep
Nearby
- Barbados Barbados · 2,433 km
- Grenada Grenada · 2,518 km
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · 2,555 km
- Saint Lucia Saint Lucia · 2,605 km
Kind of place
São Luís is in Brazil, Latin America. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.
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