Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Editor's Picks
Editor's PicksTravel

Exploring Brazil’s Tropical Islands

By | Published on September 5, 2012 | Updated on June 12, 2013 7:07 PM EDT
CommentsComments (0) Add as a preferred source on Google i

Swaying palm trees, powdery white sands and aquamarine seas: Brazil‘s enchanting tropical islands do a mighty fine imitation of paradise lost.

And if swaying in a hammock while sipping a caipirinha doesn’t appeal, these ilhas offer adventure aplenty – from surfing and wildlife watching to diving in pristine coral reefs and scrambling up rainforest-covered peaks.

Fernando de Noronha

Some 350km east of Natal, off Brazil’s northeast coast, this archipelago has picture-perfect beaches and eco-friendly resorts. Noronha boasts Brazil’s best diving – truly world class with warm seas, abundant marine life and excellent visibility (up to 40m). You can also go horseback riding, take dolphin-spotting boat trips or simply soak up rays on a gorgeous beach against a backdrop of the island’s dramatic rock formations.

Although prices are higher here, the payoff is that you won’t have to share that bit of paradise with the teeming masses. Visitor numbers are limited, keeping the islands blissfully uncrowded year-round. Gol (www.voegol.com.br) and Trip Airlines (www.voetrip.com.br) have daily flights between the island and Recife, with onward connections to São Paulo.

Morro de São Paulo

A two-hour catamaran ride from Salvador, this laid-back island village is a perfect place to unwind after a few days in the spirited Afro-Brazilian capital of Bahia. There are no cars on the island, just sandy lanes, seafront pousadas (guesthouses), candle-lit restaurants and a handful of open-air nightspots.

The beachfronts here are calm and ideal for swimming, and by night adroit barmen whip up fresh fruit caipirinhas right on the sands. Don’t miss a boat trip around the island, which stops at offshore reefs, the historic village of Cairu, and a floating restaurant famed for its oysters…

Read more: Lonely Planet

Subscribe To The ABS Newsletter — Get our stories in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Latest from Atlanta Black Star

Back to top