Natal & surroundings

Natal

In total, Rio Grande do Norte has 66 beautiful beaches on its coastline, the first being Baía Formosa, which borders Paraíba, and the last being Timbau, which borders the state of Ceará.

But we're going to talk about the beautiful city of Natal, the capital of Rio Grande do Norte, which has several beautiful beaches on and around its shores, and we're going to highlight some of these beauties, some of these unforgettable beaches.

Restaurant

○ Casa do Matuto

A very special restaurant with a very special theme, where the waiters work all day as cangaceiros and make the stay very pleasant and fun. Armed with their fish knives, their clothes and their leather hats, they serve each guest in a very entertaining way, which makes a visit to this restaurant even more memorable, not to mention the delicious typical northeastern cuisine and the special drinks.

Av. Pres. Café Filho, 700 - Praia dos Artistas, Natal - RN, 59010-000

Beach

○ Praia do Forte e Forte dos Reis Magos

The Forte dos Reis Magos is an ancient fortress built in the shape of a star at the end of the sixteenth century. Its construction began in 1598 on January 6, which was the inspiration for its name, in honor of the Magi who are commemorated on this date. It was inaugurated on December 25, 1599, and was the city's initial landmark, giving its name to this beautiful city.

Today the fort is open to visitors and has become a popular tourist attraction for visitors to the city. Recently renovated, the latest works have ensured a secure parking lot, a walkway that offers beautiful views up to the fort's gates, and guaranteed accessibility for all visitors. In 2013, administration passed to the National Artistic and Historical Heritage Institute - IPHAN.

This Fort gives its name to this beautiful beach, where it forms a beautiful cove when the tide goes out. It is one of the most popular beaches for bathing among the elderly and children, due to the protection created by the rocks of the reef on one side and the stone walkway that leads up to the Fort on the other.

○ Praia do Meio / Praia dos Artistas

At all times we are also approached by artisans, showing us and trying to sell us their art and lots of beachwear and sunscreen.

Praia dos Artistas: Despite being a beautiful beach, you need to be very careful when taking a dip there. With its clear waters, but full of rocks, it can be a bit dangerous for diving.

It is also home to many restaurants and party houses, as well as the famous Praia dos Artistas Handicraft Center, considered one of the largest handicraft centers in Natal. It has a small market where you can find all kinds of products produced in the state, and there are also restaurants and juice bars that give the place an extra appeal.

○ Ponta Negra

One of the most famous postcards in Natal, and the most popular place for tourists to stay. With its unparalleled beauty and close proximity to everything, with a wide range of local stores, restaurants, services, nightclubs, craft fairs, tourist centers and shopping malls, this is truly one of the most famous places in Natal.

The main tourist attraction is the "Morro do Careca", a very high dune with vegetation on both sides. Today it is forbidden to climb it, the sands are lowered to ensure that no one climbs it, and the park rangers are on duty 24 hours a day.

All along the waterfront there are several restaurants offering the best of Northeastern cuisine.

○ Praia Redinha

The first is Praia da Redinha, next to the mouth of the Potengi River, a fishing village full of history, right under the Newton Navarro Bridge, where we find the traditional "ginga com tapioca", a delicacy much sought after by tourists, consisting of small, crispy fried fish served inside a tapioca, a food made from cassava gum,

In this location there are two churches of Our Lady of the Annunciation, one of which was built by the fishermen in 1922, in white and facing the sea, and in 1954 the vacationers built the stone church on the beach, the only one in Brazil built with stones taken from the sea.

There is a belvedere that gives us a privileged view of both the beach and the flow of the River Potengi, and from a unique angle we can see the Forte dos Reis Magos.

Other beaches, places, destinations

Extremóz

(Distance to Natal 25,0 km)

○ Praia de Barra do Rio

In addition to being beautiful, this beach has some advantages that make its landscape unforgettable. Located in the municipality of Extremóz, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, at the mouth of the Ceará Mirim River, it is the beach next to Praia de Genipabú.

The ferry crossing of the Ceará Mirim River is made by local Buguis, the attraction is part of the tours offered by this service. At low tide, several natural pools are formed in its clear and calm waters, very suitable for children and the elderly, and the landscape is mesmerizing.

○ Praia de Pitangui

With a great variety of local commerce and a generous range of bars and restaurants it becomes an option for all budgets, the small town offering supermarkets, churches, fishmongers, restaurants and other services in an accessible way.
Another popular local attraction is Pitangui Lagoon with a very well constructed structure, in addition to restaurants and kiosks, clean bathrooms and instagrammable scenery, clear and calm water, water toys for the kids.

○ Praia de Santa Rita

(Extremóz / Distance to Natal 12,5 km) Santa Rita beach is located in the northern region of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, in the municipality of Extremoz, between the beaches of Redinha Nova and Genipabú.

In its 2.5 km extension, with a semi-deserted coast and an emerald sea, we find ruins, fishing villages and some residences, in addition to restaurants.
Not only is this beach the route to one of the Rio Grande's most iconic postcard views to the north, the Dunas de Genipabú, where the famous dromedaries atop the dunes in an armed structure for photos and walks still provide incredible photos at sunset.
The town has a mini market, handicraft shops, coconut water and pastries, restaurants and churches, it is served by a single bus route, which is very complicated for visitors due to the lack of vehicles, making schedules very difficult. unpredictable. But for those arriving by car, there is a large parking lot, and many tourists go by buggi as it is part of the tour routes.
By the sea we find a wide variety of restaurants with the most varied prices and of course the predominant menu is seafood, although you can find all kinds of dishes including sun-dried meat in bottle butter with cassava, a special food of the place, a very wide variety of Typical fruit drinks, delicious juices, cold beer and coconut water galore and at a very small price.
This beach also has several natural pools that are very popular with bathers, especially children, very clear and calm waters with a tremendously inviting temperature.

○ Redinha Nova by night

Redinha Nova/ Extremoz

○ A lost place

One of the most beautiful beaches in the northern region, where the Natal Aquarium is located and semi deserted, this beach is part of the Bugres itineraries that take tourists from Natal along the entire coastline of Rio Grande do Norte, to the border with the state of Ceará, a beach that precedes Santa Rita beach and Genipabu and its famous dunes, this is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful.

There are few buildings along the shore, but due to the movement of the dunes in some places we find houses completely covered by the sand. Among the few buildings on the shore of this beach, we find a themed restaurant with a swimming pool and live music.

Kate Surf Point, which colors the skies and the athletes literally fly over the water along the entire length of this beach, which is also very popular with surfers.

There's an old ruin in the middle of the coconut grove that's an enchanting backdrop for beautiful photos, and its sands, both at dawn and dusk, are a spectacle of images, worthy of remembering a walk soaking your feet in the emerald waters of Redinha Nova beach.

Ceará Mirim

(Distance to Natal 34,0 km)

○ Praia de Muriú

(Ceará Mirim) It is a beach in the north of the state, with warm and calm waters, very suitable for swimming, even for children, also surrounded by reefs. In this place there is no concentration of commerce, only a large restaurant where the drivers of the Buggui tours take the tourists, and some street vendor stalls, which ends up making life a little difficult for those who go there to spend the day, although this restaurant although it is well structured, it cannot be called a place where anyone can pay, and this makes staying there all day quite unfeasible unless you bring the necessary food and drink.

All along the shore we can find real mansions in the foot-in-the-sand style, which end up illustrating beautiful photos for visitors to this beach, in addition to the spectacle of the waves hitting the reefs.

Nísia Floresta

(Distance to Natal 39,0 km)

○ Point Arituba / Lagoa de Arituba

(Nísia Floresta) Restaurant / Lake

Point Arituba: Rua Aguas Belas, R. Praia de Tabatinga, 4, Nísia Floresta - RN, 59164-000, Brasilien

Pipa and beaches in the surrounding

(Distance to Natal 84,5 km)

○ Pipa

○ Beach

Galinhos

(Distance to Natal 160.0 km)

○ Galinhos Beach Lighthouse

Our rating

Travel at "almost" every season (except between March and July / rainy season) and a stay of several days is recommended. Especially the surroundings of Natal, for example around Extremóz, offer many beautiful beaches.

★★★★★

Our star rating

Remark:
Winkler & Cabral & Project Globetrotter are the old labels of the photos, from the beginning of 2024 they will only be labeled "J.Winkler - Art my way".