Foot on sand in the Northeast

Discovered by hippies in the 1970s, Trancoso was for many years a small village by the seashore. In the last decade, the place had a great growth. Today, it houses lodges and resorts in addition to designer shops and fancy restaurants. Trancoso is close to Porto Seguro (40 km away), which helped increase the visitors flow.

However, with all the changes, the place did not lose its charm: the main square, called Quadrado still does not have street lighting. Cars are prohibited from circulation in downtown and some of its beaches are only accessible on foot.

For example: Rio da Barra Beach, 5 km from Trancoso. We highly recommend to visit it because the place is surrounded by cliffs and natural pools and it has a river that flows into the sea. If you feel hungry, do not worry because there is a nice restaurant.

Another must-see beach is Praia do Espelho. At 22 km from the downtown, is more easily accessible by car. Quiet and greenish sea is notably beautiful at low tide when natural pools and coral formations are revealed. You can find nice bars and restaurants.

Itacaré, another heaven near Ilhéus and 400 km from Trancoso, housed many cocoa farms until the 1960s, when a plague has been decimated the plantations of the region. The place, surrounded by nature and water, has become a popular destination since the paved road arrival.

Prainha de Itacaré is accessible with a hired local guide which takes you to a small paradise hidden in the greenery. Its beautiful symmetrical cove with two hills bordering the strip of sand is the postcard of the city. It has good waves for surfing and a small shack that sells some coconut water, drinks and fruits. It is a place to spend the whole day.

However, if you want to visit other places, you cannot miss Itacarezinho Beach. Long and practically deserted, is accessible by car or by 30 minutes track. Its wide strip of sand is the spawning spot for sea turtles. And its strong waves attract surfers. It has nice infrastructure: restaurants and tables almost at seaside.

After taking a plane from Ilhéus to Fortaleza, Ceará, it is time to take the road and move on for 35 km until Caucaia where Cumbuco Beach is.

One of the postcards of Ceará is the worldwide reference of kitesurfing due to its perfect conditions for practicing. But it offers much more than this: land activities you can choose a buggy, quadricycle or horse ride; water activities, you can have a rafting ride.

Its warm sea and fantastic visual is perfect to rest. Its high dunes invite you to an esquibunda ride (the person slides down the dunes with a wood board at high speed). Its restaurants offer local delicacies freshly cooked on the spot.

Nearby Cumbuco Beach is Lagamar do Cauípe (Cauípe Lagoon), an environmental protection area formed by the mouth of the Cauípe River. It is great for buggy ride, kitesurfing and windsurfing practice and watching the encounter of freshwater with seawater, surrounded by numerous species of birds and fishes.

Canoa Quebrada village and Aracati, another nook discovered by hippies in the 1960s (as well as by French moviemaker of Nouvelle Vague), changed a quiet fishing village into a busy tourist destination, a most-visited tourist attraction in the world. Canoa Quebrada Village and Aracati are 190 km from Caucaia. The foreign presence is so strong that there is a street called Broadway due to its many bars, restaurants and show houses.

Despite the change, Canoa Quebrada Beach retains its charms. Fishermen's rafts still cross the greenish sea, bringing substantial food cooked on site. Colorful sand cliffs at seaside still delight visitors. If you want to rest, the best time is during the low season (from December to March), when the small village welcomed visitors from around the world.