South Beach Tours - Búzios, Pirangi, Tibau, Pipa

Tour usually includes:
- pick up at the hotel in Natal
- driving along Rota do Sol until the first beach, Cotovelo; because Ponta Negra is in the southern part of Natal, the first beach to the south (Cotovelo) is much closer than the first beach to the north (Redinha). On the way to the south, you will pass in front of the Rocket Launch Center of Barreira do Inferno.
- visiting the beaches of Pirangi; stop to visit the largest cashew tree in the world; it´s possible to take a tour to the Parrachos of Pirangi, but this is subject to the table of tides.
- from Natal to Cotovelo, the shore line is protected by the Brazilian Air Force (access to the beach is prohibited); only after Cotovelo, will the buggy drive along the beach
- visiting the beach of Búzios; driving up the dunes to watch the lagoons of Búzios; it is also possible to take a "with or without emotion" tour around the mobile dunes of Búzios (but notice that the dunes of Jenipabu are much higher than those in Búzios)
- visiting the beach of Tabatinga, including brief visits to the Lagoon of Arituba and to the Dolphins Bay
- on the way to Tibau, visiting beaches of Camurupim, Barreta, Malembá and Guaraíra; depending on hour of day, visiting the Cave of Hollow Stone; depending on the season of the year, it´s possible to see traces of marine turtles which come to the beaches to lay their eggs
- getting across the Lagoon Guaraíra, to reach Tibau do Sul
- visiting beaches of Cacimbinha, Ponta do Madeiro, do Canto and reaching the beach of Pipa; tour around the village of Pipa; having lunch at Pipa; returning to Natal.

Near Baía Formosa

Pipa is about 85 km north of Natal; notice, however, that the several detours taken to visit attractions (for example, Lagoon of Arituba and tour around Pipa) and to access better points of viewing easily stretch the total distance to more than 100 km. Duration of tour depends on how much time is spent on each place. A typical tour takes from 9am to 3pm.

Most tours starting in Natal finish in Pipa. It is possible to extend the tour further south, as far as Sagi, near the border with Paraíba, which is only 20 km south of Pipa.
What commonly happens is people to fall in love with Pipa and take one or two (or more) days to visit the city, and from there take a tour to the nearby beaches.

Going to the south from Pipa, the tour includes:
- beaches of Praia do Amor, Praia das Cancelas, Praia das Minas, Sibaúma (actually, the buggy follows a path on the top of falesias; this not only to have a better view of the beaches, but also because some areas are visited by turtles, and are protected by environment laws)
- taking a boat to get across river Curumataú, reaching Barra do Cunhaú
- visiting beaches of Santa Cruz das Areias and Baía Formosa
- visiting beach of Sagi, last beach before the border with the State of Paraíba; in Sagi, there are two optional visits. Tours leaving from Tibau usually include a visit to Mata da Estrela, a large portion of nearly untouched Atlantic Forest; inside this forest, it´s possible to swim at the Coca-Cola Lagoon, named so after the color of the water. At the very border with Paraíba, one can take a boat tour along the mangroves, another ecossystem typical of the region.

Tours which come from Natal to Sagi usually return via BR-101, to save time. Tours from Pipa to Sagi return along the beach. However, like almost everything else, this is up to conversation between the driver and the passengers.



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visitors since April 5th 2005