I just spent a couple weeks in Vitoria and wanted to put down what I figured out while it’s fresh. Thanks to International Playboy and Roosh as most of my info is just an elaboration of what they have already said.
When to (not) Go
Don’t go right after Carnaval. I repeat, DO NOT GO AFTER CARNAVAL. We spent the two weeks after Carnaval in Vitoria and that was our biggest mistake. A lot of people were still on vacation, the university wasn’t back in session, and one of the three clubs was not even open. InternationalPlayboy recommended the summer window (December-Carnaval) and I can confirm that people I knew in SP did come here to go to the beach at that time. Regardless, the two weeks after Carnaval are definitely not the time to come.
Where to Stay
Hotel Formule 1 (Praia do Canto) – We stayed here for 2 nights while we were apartment hunting. It’s $R99/night and for another $R3/day you can buy a wireless internet access card that works great. The rooms are small, but they have a room where you can get a twin bed that lofts over the queen, so if you're travelling with a friend it's pretty cheap. It’s a good location, easy walking distance to O Triangulo and all the main clubs. There are some hotels in better locations, but I think this one is the best value and still puts you close enough to the action. Also, staff was very helpful. Gave us recommendations on how/where to find an apartment.
If you want to stay long term and get an apartment, I recommend looking at the classifieds in the paper. You’ll have to speak Portuguese to call/negotiate, but prices in the paper were much cheaper than what I found on the Internet. If you google “alugar apartamento temporada vitoria” you can find some online classifieds and sites that have apartments as well.
We stayed in the southern half of Praia do Canto which was fine. I never felt in danger. It was walking distance to all the nightlife locations and a beach where they had some basic workout equipment. I think Jardim da Penha would be good too, it’s close to the Praia de Camburi beach with a nice sidewalk to check out. Jardim da Penha is also right next to the University, so potentially a better spot for day gaming when the University is in session. It’s a longish walk (half an hour) or a quick taxi ride to Praia do Canto.
Nightlife
I found the nightlife in Vitoria to be really limited when I was there. The main problem is that almost all the places to go out are “barzinhos,” little bars with lots of tables where you sit around with your friends. It’s great if you want to hang out with friends, but the logistics for approaching aren’t very good. If you like that the two main places to look are O Triangulo (Praia do Canto neighborhood, Juaquim Lírio and João da cruz) and Rua da Lama (Jardim da Penha neighborhood, actual name of the street is Av. Anísio Fernandes Coelho. It’s the section of the street closest to UFES, the university).
There are 3 clubs in Vitoría. Royal Club, São Firmino, and Casa Club. I did hear about the places in Guarapari (a beach town about 45 minutes South of Vitoria, but I didn’t go so I won’t comment. It is apparently a huge tourist destination for people in Espirito Santo and Minas Gerais.). All three clubs are in the Praia do Canto neighborhood, 1 in O Triangulo, and the other two further south.
Royal Club – Unfortunately this place was closed the entire time I was in town. It was supposed to have a big reopening on a Thursday that we were going to hit up but they canceled it. It was recommended by a lot of the girls I talked to in the other two clubs though, so it’s probably worth looking into.
Casa Club – Only went here one night and was not impressed. A lot of older women (not the hot kind) and not a very good ratio. Most of the girls seemed to hang out in the VIP area though so if you go, I’d think about getting a VIP wristband. One of the girls I talked to though said I had picked a bad night. She said Saturdays were usually the best.
Sao Firmino – Went here a few times and found it to be the best of the available options. Get your name on the list and get there before 11 though. With your name on the list and arriving before 11pm, consumption (consumção) is R$60, otherwise it’s a R$100. As to how to get your name on the list, you have to call the club and ask because they have no option to do it on the website that I could find. Another reason to get there early is that girls drink free until from 10pm midnight so the ratio is fantastic early and slowly declines as the night progresses. I liked logistics here as well, especially for solo game. There is a huge bar where you can easily post-up and have the girls come to you when they order drinks. Best night is Friday.
Day Game
The only place I found good for day game was the “Shopping Vitoria.” It’s a big modern mall in the SE corner of the city, right before the bridge to Vila Velha. Girls were friendly, but I can’t say much more because my day game sucks and trying to Ramble in Portuguese only exacerbates that.
Girls
Disclaimer: If you don’t speak Portuguese, I’m not sure I would come here. I came with my friend who speaks absolutely no Portuguese and he had a miserable time. We were planning on staying a month, but we’re headed back to Rio after two weeks because he couldn’t find hardly anyone that spoke English.
The girls overall were hot, but I’m not sure they were that much hotter than the rest of Brazil. Now given, I came at a bad time of the year. But considering the clubs had a R$70-100 consumação, I didn’t find the quality any better than SP. I also didn’t find the girls overly friendly or as interested in my Gringo status as Rio or SP. One of the things I’ve taken for granted being in Brazil for the last 8 months is that I haven’t had to build attraction. In my experience as a gringo, the attraction is either there at the start or it ain’t coming (at least for me, but I can’t say my game is super-tight). Here I had to work a lot harder to build attraction.
The main difference in girls here was the much more reserved/conservative feel. InternationalPlayboy mentioned this is the kind of place you would want to go to find a wife, not rack up notches. I think that’s a very accurate way of putting it. I did one Day 2 with a girl here and she was very much in that vain. Very sweet, very cute. The kind of girl you want to get in a relationship, not someone you are going to bang on the first night.
Touristy Shit
Shopping Vitoria – nice mall, see Day Game section for location
Convento da Penha – Old monastery on a hill that offers a nice view of the city
Beaches – the beaches by Praia do Canto and Jardim da Penha are nice for walking, but I was told not to swim there. They are trying to clean up the pollution and I didn’t really want to risk it. The beaches in Vila Velha are the nicest and only a short bus ride away from Vitoria.
When to (not) Go
Don’t go right after Carnaval. I repeat, DO NOT GO AFTER CARNAVAL. We spent the two weeks after Carnaval in Vitoria and that was our biggest mistake. A lot of people were still on vacation, the university wasn’t back in session, and one of the three clubs was not even open. InternationalPlayboy recommended the summer window (December-Carnaval) and I can confirm that people I knew in SP did come here to go to the beach at that time. Regardless, the two weeks after Carnaval are definitely not the time to come.
Where to Stay
Hotel Formule 1 (Praia do Canto) – We stayed here for 2 nights while we were apartment hunting. It’s $R99/night and for another $R3/day you can buy a wireless internet access card that works great. The rooms are small, but they have a room where you can get a twin bed that lofts over the queen, so if you're travelling with a friend it's pretty cheap. It’s a good location, easy walking distance to O Triangulo and all the main clubs. There are some hotels in better locations, but I think this one is the best value and still puts you close enough to the action. Also, staff was very helpful. Gave us recommendations on how/where to find an apartment.
If you want to stay long term and get an apartment, I recommend looking at the classifieds in the paper. You’ll have to speak Portuguese to call/negotiate, but prices in the paper were much cheaper than what I found on the Internet. If you google “alugar apartamento temporada vitoria” you can find some online classifieds and sites that have apartments as well.
We stayed in the southern half of Praia do Canto which was fine. I never felt in danger. It was walking distance to all the nightlife locations and a beach where they had some basic workout equipment. I think Jardim da Penha would be good too, it’s close to the Praia de Camburi beach with a nice sidewalk to check out. Jardim da Penha is also right next to the University, so potentially a better spot for day gaming when the University is in session. It’s a longish walk (half an hour) or a quick taxi ride to Praia do Canto.
Nightlife
I found the nightlife in Vitoria to be really limited when I was there. The main problem is that almost all the places to go out are “barzinhos,” little bars with lots of tables where you sit around with your friends. It’s great if you want to hang out with friends, but the logistics for approaching aren’t very good. If you like that the two main places to look are O Triangulo (Praia do Canto neighborhood, Juaquim Lírio and João da cruz) and Rua da Lama (Jardim da Penha neighborhood, actual name of the street is Av. Anísio Fernandes Coelho. It’s the section of the street closest to UFES, the university).
There are 3 clubs in Vitoría. Royal Club, São Firmino, and Casa Club. I did hear about the places in Guarapari (a beach town about 45 minutes South of Vitoria, but I didn’t go so I won’t comment. It is apparently a huge tourist destination for people in Espirito Santo and Minas Gerais.). All three clubs are in the Praia do Canto neighborhood, 1 in O Triangulo, and the other two further south.
Royal Club – Unfortunately this place was closed the entire time I was in town. It was supposed to have a big reopening on a Thursday that we were going to hit up but they canceled it. It was recommended by a lot of the girls I talked to in the other two clubs though, so it’s probably worth looking into.
Casa Club – Only went here one night and was not impressed. A lot of older women (not the hot kind) and not a very good ratio. Most of the girls seemed to hang out in the VIP area though so if you go, I’d think about getting a VIP wristband. One of the girls I talked to though said I had picked a bad night. She said Saturdays were usually the best.
Sao Firmino – Went here a few times and found it to be the best of the available options. Get your name on the list and get there before 11 though. With your name on the list and arriving before 11pm, consumption (consumção) is R$60, otherwise it’s a R$100. As to how to get your name on the list, you have to call the club and ask because they have no option to do it on the website that I could find. Another reason to get there early is that girls drink free until from 10pm midnight so the ratio is fantastic early and slowly declines as the night progresses. I liked logistics here as well, especially for solo game. There is a huge bar where you can easily post-up and have the girls come to you when they order drinks. Best night is Friday.
Day Game
The only place I found good for day game was the “Shopping Vitoria.” It’s a big modern mall in the SE corner of the city, right before the bridge to Vila Velha. Girls were friendly, but I can’t say much more because my day game sucks and trying to Ramble in Portuguese only exacerbates that.
Girls
Disclaimer: If you don’t speak Portuguese, I’m not sure I would come here. I came with my friend who speaks absolutely no Portuguese and he had a miserable time. We were planning on staying a month, but we’re headed back to Rio after two weeks because he couldn’t find hardly anyone that spoke English.
The girls overall were hot, but I’m not sure they were that much hotter than the rest of Brazil. Now given, I came at a bad time of the year. But considering the clubs had a R$70-100 consumação, I didn’t find the quality any better than SP. I also didn’t find the girls overly friendly or as interested in my Gringo status as Rio or SP. One of the things I’ve taken for granted being in Brazil for the last 8 months is that I haven’t had to build attraction. In my experience as a gringo, the attraction is either there at the start or it ain’t coming (at least for me, but I can’t say my game is super-tight). Here I had to work a lot harder to build attraction.
The main difference in girls here was the much more reserved/conservative feel. InternationalPlayboy mentioned this is the kind of place you would want to go to find a wife, not rack up notches. I think that’s a very accurate way of putting it. I did one Day 2 with a girl here and she was very much in that vain. Very sweet, very cute. The kind of girl you want to get in a relationship, not someone you are going to bang on the first night.
Touristy Shit
Shopping Vitoria – nice mall, see Day Game section for location
Convento da Penha – Old monastery on a hill that offers a nice view of the city
Beaches – the beaches by Praia do Canto and Jardim da Penha are nice for walking, but I was told not to swim there. They are trying to clean up the pollution and I didn’t really want to risk it. The beaches in Vila Velha are the nicest and only a short bus ride away from Vitoria.