Brazil's Best Kept Secret: Fernando de Noronha

Brazil's Best Kept Secret: Fernando de Noronha

If you're like most people, you've never heard of Fernando de Noronha. The beautiful archipelago is made up of 11 square miles of volcanic rock and 20 smaller islands. This beautiful equatorial paradise is reminiscent of the movie The Beach, except you probably won't find Leonardo Dicaprio here. Located 220 miles from Brazil's northeastern coast, Fernando de Noronha was named after a 16th-century Portuguese noble man who may have never actually set foot on the island. Today the island is a getaway Brazil's wealthy, and is an intensely protected eco-wonderland.

Swimming with sunscreen is, in places, forbidden to protect the delicate ecosystem. This protects island's beaches, surrounded with warm and unspoiled emerald water where dolphins and turtles play. People claim that even the sharks are friendly in Fernando de Noronha.

The islands remoteness and exclusiveness keep prices high and on par with the pricier parts of Sao Paulo. You may notice many trendy honeymooners alongside tropic-hardened biologists, revealing the island's split personality. Much of the food is flown in, many of the hotel's "bungalows" are more of 5-star suites, and the island's most common form of transportation is on dune buggies. While not the most eco-friendly option, it is practice given the rough roads. Fernando de Noronha's identity crisis is obvious in the luxury vs. green struggle the island faces.

If you want to confirm or deny the rumored friendliness of the local sharks, take a boat trip to the island's small harbor to snorkel around the unbelievably beautiful Baia do Sancho. En route you may pass rock formations, flying fish, barracuda, and turtles. Other nature highlights include the walking route to Baia do Sancho, which involves climbing two ladders on a sheer cliff-face. Away from the beaches, prison ruins offer a hint of life on Noronha before the modern era. Gypsies in 1739 and capoeira fighters in 1890 were incarcerated, unaware that their living hell would one day become an upscale eco-destination.

To get to this secretive island, travelers can fly from Sao Paulo to Recife, before continuing over the Atlantic and onto an airstrip surrounded by lush greenery. When you look out the window over the outrageously attractive landscape, your travel stresses will be immediately eradicated. After you pay the Environmental Protection Tax at the airport, you will be on your way into tropical paradise.

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