Our friend and experienced diver Gabriel went to Noronha and sent us a handful of underwater pictures. Thrilling stuff.

Fernando de Noronha ranks at the top of our 10 must-see places in Brazil and also at our top 10 Brazilian beaches. A brilliant destination, both underwater and above it. Our main entry for Noronha is destination: Fernando de Noronha.

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Fernando de Noronha conjures up images of idylic beaches and awesome underwater landscapes. Few people associate the Brazilian paradise to other interesting aspects of tourism in the country, such as history. And while you wander around the Vila dos Remédios you will hopefully come across the beautifully restored church of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios (built on 1772).

If you want to see more photos of Fernando de Noronha check out our Flickr album.

If you want more information on the destination, have a look at our blog post destination: Fernando de Noronha.

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Beautiful Fernando de Noronha, in its never-ending reach for the tourist’s pocket, is preparing a new fee to be demanded from all tourists arriving to the island from the end of February 2011.

What with the care of the National Park gone to a private company (the same company that takes care of the Iguaçu National Park), it is time for all arrivals in the island to pay R$130 (Brazilians will only pay half of that amount). That amount of money will grant you access to the national park for a maximum of 10 days – and no, you won’t pay a cent less if your stay in the island is shorter than 10 days. This fee will have to be paid on top of the already hefty preservation tax paid to the government of the state of Pernambuco.

From what we saw in our visits to the island, the park was well managed up until now. But hey, the new company will install walkways and viewpoints… does Noronha need Iguaçu-style elevated walkways? Will an idyllic paradise turn into yet another Disney-style “eco” destination?

The dream of a low-cost trip to Noronha is more distant than ever before (five days in Noronha for R$900 total – how we did it). And better-off foreign tourists will one day reach an unavoidable conclusion: there are many other beautiful paradises across the globe that can be reached for a fraction of the money Noronha costs. Offering plenty more confort too!

News sources: Jornal do Turismo and Panrotas.

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destination: Fernando de Noronha
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Fernando de Noronha photo album in Flickr
detailed map of Fernando de Noronha

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We’ve always maintained that nothing could be more departed from sustainable tourism than exploring a natural paradise such as Fernando de Noronha in a buggy. The authorities have identified carbon emissions from the fleet of ancient buggies in the island as one of the main threats to the environmental balance of the archipelago.

This blog post wants to highlight another worrying aspect of buggies in Noronha: they are a serious threat to your personal health. Two accidents involving buggies in less that one week have cost the lifes of two people in the island (Acidente com buggy em Fernando de Noronha mata uma pessoa, Turista de São Paulo morre ao capotar com buggy em Fernando de Noronha).

On a buggy your body is far more exposed to serious damage than in any other kind of vehicle. On top of that, driving a buggy in Noronha is a high-risk activity due to:

• the fact that buggies are hired without a driver. Unless you are an experienced buggy driver you will have in front of you a beast that is driven quite differently from the vehicle you’re used to.
• the existence of accident-prone steep dirt tracks and a narrow road with speeding vehicles.
• most buggies rented to tourists in Noronha are in a precarious state of maintenance. We’ve heard plenty of stories of tourists who had mechanical problems with the buggies they hired.

If you are renting a buggy while in Noronha, watch out for all of this.
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RELATED POSTS:
Fernando de Noronha
five days in Noronha for R$900 total – how we did it
pay your tax online… not!

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1. The situation

As many of you are aware, the state of Pernambuco, administratively responsible for the idyllic Fernando de Noronha, charges a hefty environmental tax to all tourists arriving in the island.

On the island’s official website several sections announce that you can save time on arrival to the island by “prepaying your environmental tax online”.

But the truth is that when the foreign tourist piously believes that statement and fills online all his personal details, it finds out that to complete the payment of the tax he needs to print a form and take it to a Brazilian bank – in person!

2. Our comment

Fernando de Noronha is one of the most expensive and exclusive tourist destinations in Brazil. It receives a substantial amount of foreign tourists with a high purchasing power (the kind of tourist the Ministry of Tourism is fond of) and charges them an expensive environmental tax. To force foreigners to pay that tax at a Brazilian bank simply denies them the chance of paying the tax previous to their arrival in the island.

3. Our solution

Considering the vast amount of money collected through the environmental tax by the State of Pernambuco, there is no reason why an online credit card payment system shouldn’t be in place.

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destination: Fernando de Noronha

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How cheap can a trip to Fernando de Noronha get? Our friend Daniel assumed the challenge and has just returned from five days at paradise. The total cost of the trip: R$900. Here’s how he did it.

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1. Expense: plane ticket

Money spent: R$23.75

How he did it: the only low-cost alternative of reaching Noronha is the plane. Membership of a frequent flier program is a must, whether it is Gol’s Smiles) or Tam’s Fidelidade). There is no reason why you shouldn’t be a member of both programs (they are free).

With enough credit on your account, you can issue a return ticket to Noronha paying only the airport tax associated to your flight (in Daniel’s case, R$23.75).

With 20,000 Fidelidade points or 20,000 Smiles miles you can issue a return flight to Fernando de Noronha from any airport served by the airlines in South America. Daniel issued a Belém-São Paulo-Recife-Noronha and a return Noronha-Recife-São Paulo. But he have checked TAM’s system and found the chance of issuing Buenos Aires-Noronha flights under the same conditions.

You need luck. Quite a lot of it. Availability doesn’t come easy. In actual fact, most of the time you simply won’t find seats to Noronha. Daniel tried unsuccesfully for two months until one day seats became available once again. He issued his tickets a month in advance. There were plenty of dates available.

Persistence is key. You need to keep accessing the airline system. Do not give up if you don’t find what you’re looking for. The more flexible your dates are, the higher the chances you will find something that fulfills your needs.

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2. Expense: environmental tax

Money spent: R$152.96.

How he did it: Noronha’s environmental tax is the only non-negotiable expense of the trip. Its value is fixed and must be paid by all tourists arriving on the island.

The money paid by Daniel corresponds to a four-night stay in Noronha.

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3. Expense: accommodation

Money spent: R$480.00.

How he did it: four nights accommodation, single occupancy, breakfast included, for R$120 the night on a pousada on the Vila dos Remedios. It is one of the cheapest accommodation options on the island though while searching for a pousada Daniel came across another establishment charging R$90 for a room with no hot water. At hotels and pousadas in Fernando de Noronha you have a full listing of accommodation on the island so you can carry out your own searches.

We feel that for a low-cost trip, a location on the Vila dos Remédios is ideal: you can walk to three beaches, the island’s bus runs through it, and there is a supermarket and several food outlets.

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4. Expense: food and transportation

Money spent: R$184.00.

How he did it – food: if you want to keep your budget under control, a low-cost tripper to Noronha can’t afford to dine at a restaurant. So it is supermarket time, it is cheese and ham sandwiches and the occasional hot snack.

Carrying your food with you has an additional vantage in Noronha. Most beaches are virgin with no food outlets nearby. Having your food with you means you won’t have to interrupt your visit to the beaches to go somewhere where you can be served food.

If you want to take your budget to the limit, you can bring your canned food from the continent.

How he did it – transportation: for a start, forget buggies exist. They’re expensive, they pollute beyond belief, they’re uncomfortable and, above all, they are unneccesary in Noronha, a small island with a public transportation system taking you everywhere. You will never have to walk more than 25 minutes to reach a beach in Noronha. A very small price to pay. The bus costs R$3.10 and Daniel never waited more than 10 minutes for it. Tell the driver where you’re heading and he’ll kindly let you know where to get off the bus.

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5. Expense: life jacket and flipper hire

Money spent: R$60.00.

Noronha and diving go hand in hand. Half of the natural wonders of Noronha are found below the sea level. Diving is expensive but snorkelling isn’t and Noronha offers a bewildering choice of options for fans of snorkelling.

If you have your own mask and snorkel (Daniel did) you only need to get hold of a pair of flippers. They are a far more essential item than you’d think. As Daniel went to Noronha on his own he thought it would be wise to have a life jacket on too. Not a good idea to go snorkeling on your own without the support of a life jacket.

There are several locations in Noronha where you can hire your diving gear.

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6. Total:

plane ticket: R$23.75
environmental tax: R$152.96
accommodation: R$480.00
food and transportation: R$184.00
life jacket and flipper hire: R$60.00

grand total: R$900.71

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7. What you can and cannot do within that budget

You can:

• enjoy the most beautiful beaches in Brazil.
• snorkel to exhaustion in the Brazilian diving paradise.
• walk along the historic centre of the island and visit the forts and outlooks.
• attend the environmental lectures every evening at the Projeto Tamar

You cannot:

• snorkel at the natural pools at Atalia beach. You can add it to your trip for an additional R$30.
• take the boat trip around half of the island.
• any other activity where you have to pay – in Noronha they are very few of them.

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8. Informacion on Fernando de Noronha at the Brazil Travel Blog

Fernando de Noronha is simply our favourite destination in Brazil and for that reason you’ll find quite a lot of information on the blog. Our main entry is destination: Fernando de Noronha.

All the photos and the video illustrating this blog post where taken by Daniel during this low-cost trip to Noronha.

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destination: Fernando de Noronha
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What would be the ideal place for a honeymoon in Brazil? When people ask me this question I always have one place in mind: the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. However, I go to great lengths to emphasize that my choice depends upon one crucial fact: whether you are a nature lover or not. If nature is not really your thing and you’d rather spend your time indoors, then go somewhere else and feel no guilt for your choice.

In Fernando de Noronha luxury comes in the form of pristine virgin beaches of crystal-clear waters and abundant wildlife. There are a few top pousadas on the island where you’ll be able to find luxury of a material kind, but you can expect to pay there double what you would pay at an equivalent hotel in the continent. We have devoted an entire blog post to Noronha: destination: Fernando de Noronha where you will find out more about the island. Have a look at our best of Noronha album at Flickr if you need to make up your mind.

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Aquasub (also known as planasub) is a novelty entertainment you will hear about if you head to Fernando de Noronha. It is basically snorkelling while towed by a boat. To gain estability, you make use of a resin board that allows you to move up and down, left and right. Put your mask and snorkel, wear a life jacket if you wish, and jump into the water.

Although it would appear from the boat that it moves at a really slow speed, once you are in the water you will realize you need strong arms to keep holding the board steadily while moving. If the sea is calm providing good visibility, chances are you will have some beautiful encounters of the underwater kind. If you are very very lucky dolphins might come across your way.

The information we have on the archipelago is at the entry destination Fernando de Noronha.

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The best things in life are free, to a point. To reach the most beautiful beach in Brazil, Sancho bay at the Fernando de Noronha archipelago you either take a boat and approach the beach from the sea or face the two sets of staircases inside a crack on the cliff and go down the beach that way. The following video shows the way down the cliff. Flip-flops/thongs are not a great idea, by the way. A secure foot goes a long way granting you security as you descend through the stairs.

To the administration of the archipelago: it would be nice if a minute fraction of the money collected through the environmental tax was used to mantain the staircase in pristine order.

Our main post on Noronha is destination: Fernando de Noronha.

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We came back from our recent trip to Noronha with a huge collection of photos that can be seen at our Flickr album Fernando de Noronha. Here’s a small selection:

Praia do Sancho

Baia dos Porcos

Sunset from the Boldró fort

Vila dos Remédios and Fortress

Praia da Conceição

Baia do Sueste and its turtles

Atalaia natural pool

Beautiful birds

The colours of paradise

And quite a few more things.

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