Things to do
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Insólito Boutique Hotel
A hotel on the slope above Praia da Ferradura where each room was given to a different Brazilian artist or designer to finish, with a pool cut into the hillside. The upper rooms look straight down the length of the bay.
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Praia Azeda
Reached only on foot over the rocks from Praia dos Ossos or by boat from the harbour, a short strip of pale sand where the water stays glassy through the morning. Azedinha, smaller again, sits around the next outcrop, and neither cove has road access or parking of any kind.
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Praia da Ferradura
A horseshoe bay almost closed by its own headlands, which leaves the water flat and shallow a long way out. It is the beach for paddleboards and small children, and the sunset is watched from the rocks at the northern point.
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Praia da Tartaruga
A quiet bay on the north coast backed by low green hills, with calm water and a row of kiosks under the trees. The schooner trips out of the town harbour stop here for the swimming, which is the easiest way to arrive.
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Praia de Geribá
Two kilometres of open sand on the ocean side of the peninsula, the one beach here with real surf and the one that fills first at the weekend. The eastern corner at Ferradurinha is calmer and better for swimming, and the beach bars along the strip stay open late in season.
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Praia dos Ossos
Named for the whale bones left on it by the shore whaling that began here in 1730, and the oldest part of the settlement. The Sant'Ana chapel of 1740 stands on the rise above it, and the seafront path runs to the Bardot statue.
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Praia João Fernandes
A sheltered cove on the northeast shore with clear water over rock at either end, which makes it the best snorkelling on the peninsula. Boats and kayaks run from here to the smaller Praia João Fernandinho next door, and the sand narrows sharply at high tide.
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Rua das Pedras
The cobbled pedestrian street running the length of the old fishing village and continuing along the water as the Orla Bardot, now the shopping and evening promenade. It is closed to cars and does not fill until after dark, which is when the restaurants, galleries and bars along it open.
