Fernando de Noronha is a volcanic archipelago of twenty-one islands about 350 kilometres off the Brazilian northeast, reached by a short flight from Recife or Natal. Most of it is a marine national park, the number of visitors is capped, and it is the most expensive place in Brazil.
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START WITH THE MONEY, BECAUSE IT DECIDES THE TRIP. There are two separate charges beyond flights and accommodation. THE TPA, the environmental preservation tax, is paid per person per day and ESCALATES THE LONGER YOU STAY, so a ten-day trip costs disproportionately more than five days. Separately, the MARINE NATIONAL PARK gives access to most of the famous beaches and is a distinct ticket valid for ten consecutive days. Both can be paid online in advance and the park ticket requires registration. CHECK THE CURRENT RATES RATHER THAN ANY GUIDE, including this one, because they are revised regularly and are not small. Our Brazil travel guide for women covers the country.
THE SECOND THING IS THAT ACCESS IS CAPPED AND THAT IS THE POINT. Daily arrivals are limited to protect the islands, accommodation is mostly small pousadas rather than resorts, and SINGLE-USE PLASTIC IS BANNED: no plastic bottles, straws or bags, and customs-style checks at the airport. Bring a refillable bottle, because you will need one and cannot buy the alternative.
THE THIRD IS THE TWO COASTS, which is the one piece of local geography that changes what you do on any given day. THE MAR DE DENTRO, the inside or Brazil-facing coast, holds Sancho, Porcos and the Baia dos Golfinhos and is calm and swimmable from roughly AUGUST TO DECEMBER. THE MAR DE FORA, the outside, is rougher. From JANUARY TO JULY the swell arrives, the inside coast gets surf, and CACIMBA DO PADRE becomes a serious surf break. Divers want the calm season; surfers want the opposite.
The Beaches, the Park and the Wildlife
A beach reached by a ladder in a rock crevice, two rock brothers, spinner dolphins and nesting turtles.
BAIA DO SANCHO is the one that wins the polls, and getting into it is part of why: you descend a narrow cleft in the cliff by two near-vertical metal ladders, bolted into the rock, and come out on sand under a 70 metre wall. There is a queue in the middle of the day and it is worth the wait. It is inside the marine park.
BAIA DOS PORCOS is the next cove along, small, framed by rock pools at low tide, with DOIS IRMAOS, the Two Brothers, rising offshore. That view is the island's signature. PRAIA DO LEAO is the largest and wildest on the outer coast and is a MAJOR TURTLE NESTING SITE, which means seasonal restrictions and no night access.
BAIA DOS GOLFINHOS holds a resident population of SPINNER DOLPHINS that return each morning to rest. THERE IS A VIEWING PLATFORM AND SWIMMING IS PROHIBITED, which is the right call and is enforced; boat trips view from a distance under rules. PROJETO TAMAR runs the turtle conservation programme and gives free evening talks that are genuinely good.
OUTSIDE THE PARK, PRAIA DA CONCEICAO and PRAIA DO CACHORRO are the accessible everyday beaches near the village, and the PORTO is where the dive boats go from.
THE DIVING IS WORLD-CLASS and is the reason many people come: visibility routinely 30 to 40 metres, turtles, rays, reef sharks, and the wreck of the Corveta Ipiranga at depth for qualified divers. Snorkelling off Porcos and on a boat trip gets most of it without a certificate.
AND THE WALK TO BE HONEST ABOUT: the TRILHA DO ATALAIA and several other park trails require a GUIDE AND A BOOKED TIME SLOT, with daily numbers limited and snorkelling in the Atalaia tide pool strictly timed. Book on arrival or before; people miss it by assuming they can turn up.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
Getting There, and the Mainland
A short flight from two cities, and an hour and twenty minutes back to a very different Brazil.
FLIGHTS GO FROM RECIFE, about an hour and twenty minutes, and from NATAL. There is no ferry. Flights are limited, expensive and occasionally cancelled, and the baggage allowance on the smaller aircraft is worth checking before you pack.
RECIFE is the usual gateway and deserves a night or two rather than a dash through the airport, with Olinda's colonial hill above it; our Recife packing list covers it.
FOR THE REST OF THE NORTHEAST: the Salvador packing list covers Bahia's capital, and in this same batch the Jericoacoara packing list covers the Ceara dunes, which are the other great northeastern beach destination and could not be more different in how they are reached.
Getting around the island: it is about ten kilometres long. BUGGY HIRE IS THE LOCAL NORM and is how most visitors move, though there is also a single bus route along the main road, taxis, and a lot of walking. Buggies are expensive and book out in high season. ROADS ARE NARROW AND THE PARK BEACHES OFTEN NEED A WALK from where you park.
When to Go
August to December for calm water and diving. January to July for surf.
A tropical oceanic climate with a narrow range: 25 to 31C all year, sea between about 26 and 28C, with a wetter season from roughly February to July and a dry one from August to January.
SEPTEMBER TO NOVEMBER IS THE BEST WINDOW. Dry, the inside coast calm, visibility at its best for diving and snorkelling, Sancho and Porcos at their most swimmable, and the turtle season beginning.
DECEMBER TO FEBRUARY brings Brazilian holidays, the highest prices and the fullest pousadas, with the swell arriving towards the end.
MARCH TO JUNE is the wet season: heavier rain, greener islands, lower prices, and the inside coast often rough. Diving visibility drops. This is the cheapest time and the least reliable.
JULY AND AUGUST are the surf shoulder and the start of the dry season, with Cacimba do Padre working for surfers into the earlier part and the water calming later.
AND THE TURTLE AND DOLPHIN CALENDARS matter if they are your reason: turtle nesting runs roughly January to June with hatching through to September and brings beach restrictions, while the spinner dolphins are resident year round and best in the early morning.
Is Fernando de Noronha Safe for Women Travelers
The safest place in Brazil, and the risks are entirely in the water and on the trails.
US State Department travel advisory: the Brazil advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.
UK FCDO travel advice: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/brazil, and read the safety and security page rather than only the landing page, because that is where the substance sits.
UK FCDO: there are no advised-against areas in mainland Brazilian cities, and the one place the FCDO advises against all but essential travel is RIVER TRAVEL ON SPECIFIC AMAZON STRETCHES: along the Amazon west of Codajas and east of Belem do Solimoes in Amazonas State, along any part of the Itaquai or Japura rivers, and along the Rio Negro north or west of Barcelos, because of criminal activity in the border country Brazil shares with Colombia, Peru and Venezuela. NOTE THAT BELEM DO SOLIMOES IS A TOWN IN AMAZONAS AND NOT THE CITY OF BELEM IN PARA, which is 1,500km east and is not named. Four areas have their own sections covering ordinary crime rather than advice against travel: RIO DE JANEIRO, SAO PAULO, BRASILIA, where the FCDO names the central bus station area for theft, and NORTH-EAST BRAZIL, where it names theft from hotel and motel rooms and muggings, and advises using taxis after sunset rather than walking and avoiding quiet or deserted areas.
THIS IS GENUINELY DIFFERENT FROM MAINLAND BRAZIL AND IT IS WORTH SAYING PLAINLY. The island has a few thousand residents, a capped visitor number, no favelas, no organised crime presence and a police post for a community everyone in which knows everyone else. The FCDO's national advice about muggings, arrastoes on city beaches and favelas does not describe this place. A woman alone here is about as safe as anywhere in the Americas, and petty opportunist theft from an unattended bag on a beach is the realistic ceiling of the risk.
THE SEA IS THE ACTUAL DANGER AND IT IS SERIOUS. These are open Atlantic beaches with no shelter for hundreds of kilometres. There are strong currents, the swell season from January to July makes several beaches genuinely hazardous, the rock shelves cut, and LIFEGUARD COVER IS LIMITED. People drown here. Swim where others are swimming, ask locally about the day's conditions rather than yesterday's, and treat an empty beach in swell as closed.
THE LADDERS INTO SANCHO are a real hazard in their own right: two near-vertical metal ladders in a wet rock cleft, with a queue behind you and nothing to be done but go down. Not for anyone unsteady, and not with a bag on one arm.
THE SUN IS THE THIRD. Three degrees south of the equator, reflecting sand and water, and a sea breeze that removes the sensation entirely. There is shade on some beaches and none on others.
THE TRAILS need the booked guide and slot for a reason: tide pools fill, cliffs are undercut, and the Atalaia descent is slippery rock.
Brazil has no reciprocal health agreement with the UK or the United States, so insurance with medical cover and repatriation is essential. Private hospitals in the big cities are genuinely good and expensive and will want payment or an insurance guarantee before treating you; the public SUS system will treat an emergency and is slower and more variable. A farmacia handles minor problems. TAP WATER IS TREATED AND GENERALLY SAFE IN THE MAJOR CITIES including Brasilia, Porto Alegre and Fortaleza, though most Brazilians drink filtered and bottled is universal. DENGUE IS THE REAL HEALTH RISK and Brazil has large annual epidemics, with chikungunya and Zika also present; the mosquito that carries all three bites BY DAY, so repellent is a daytime measure. YELLOW FEVER VACCINATION is recommended for much of the country and some onward countries require a certificate if you have been here, so check before you travel rather than at the border.
ONE MEDICAL POINT THAT MATTERS MORE HERE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THIS BATCH: the island has a small hospital for routine and stabilising care, and ANYTHING SERIOUS MEANS AN AIR TRANSFER TO RECIFE. For divers that includes decompression illness, and THERE IS NO HYPERBARIC CHAMBER ON THE ISLAND. Dive conservatively, leave a long surface interval before your flight, and make sure your insurance covers diving and aeromedical evacuation.
Socially this is relaxed, small and friendly, with a mixed Brazilian and international visitor community. English is spoken by dive operators and some pousadas and not widely otherwise.
The Noronha Packing List
A refillable water bottle, which is mandatory rather than advisable
Single-use plastic is banned on the island and checked at the airport, so an insulated water bottle is not a convenience here, it is the only way to drink water while walking. Bring it in your hand luggage.
Reef-safe sun protection and a rash top
A wide brim sun hat, a long sleeve sun hoodie, and a long sleeved rash top for snorkelling, which is the single best answer on a reef because it protects you and puts nothing in the water. ON SUNSCREEN: this is a marine national park and the sensible choice is a mineral formulation with non-nanoparticle zinc oxide rather than a chemical one. Our affiliate registry holds no sunscreen at all, so that is advice and not a product recommendation, and note that REEF SAFE IS NOT A REGULATED TERM anywhere, so it is a marketing claim rather than a certification and the ingredients list is what to read.
Shoes for rock, ladders and trails
Trainers or light walking shoes for the Atalaia trail and the Sancho ladders, plus something you can wear in water over rock shelves. Our registry holds no uncontested water-shoe entry, so that part is advice with no link attached.
A light layer for boats and evenings
Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron, and a merino wool base layer for women is the right choice on an island with limited laundry and constant salt, because it keeps working rather than holding smell. Mornings on a dive boat and the breeze on the Sancho viewpoint are cooler than the figures suggest.
A dry bag, because almost every day involves a boat
A dry bag. Dive and dolphin boats take spray, buggies have no roof, and the ladders into Sancho are not the place for a shoulder bag.
Your own snorkel and mask if you have them
Rental is available and variable, and a mask that fits your face is worth the suitcase space on an island whose whole purpose is what is under the water.
The small things
A quick dry travel towel, which packs small and matters when everything is wet. Insect repellent for the evenings. CASH IN REAIS, because card acceptance is good at pousadas and patchy at beach kiosks, and cash machines on the island run out. Pay the TPA and park fee online before you fly. And check the baggage allowance on the island flight before you pack.
Essential Resources for Women in Fernando de Noronha
Emergency numbers: 190 police, 192 ambulance, 193 fire. 180 is the national women's helpline, the Central de Atendimento a Mulher. The island is small and the practical response is quick by Brazilian standards.
Tourist police and park authority: the island is administered as a state district of Pernambuco with ICMBio running the marine national park, and park staff rather than police handle most visitor matters, including trail bookings and beach closures. For a crime, 190.
Main hospital or clinic: the Hospital Sao Lucas on the island handles routine and emergency stabilisation. ANYTHING SERIOUS IS AIR-TRANSFERRED TO RECIFE, and THERE IS NO HYPERBARIC CHAMBER ON THE ISLAND, which is the single most important medical fact here for divers. A farmacia covers minor problems and stock is limited, so bring any prescription medication you need rather than expecting to buy it.
Official health authority: the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Insurance with medical cover, DIVING COVER and aeromedical evacuation is essential, because the island hospital stabilises and transfers to Recife and there is no hyperbaric chamber here
US Embassy: the United States Embassy in Brasilia.
Official tourism authority: Visit Brasil, the national tourism board. And with ICMBio, which runs the marine national park, sells the park ticket and books the guided trails and Atalaia slots, plus the island administration for the TPA environmental tax
There are two separate compulsory charges, the per-day TPA environmental tax which escalates with length of stay, and the marine national park ticket. Pay both online in advance and check current rates rather than any guide.
Single-use plastic is banned and checked at the airport. Bring a refillable bottle in your hand luggage.
There is no hyperbaric chamber on the island. Dive conservatively, leave a long interval before flying, and confirm your insurance covers diving and air evacuation.
The guided trails and the Atalaia tide pool need booked time slots with limited daily numbers. Book on arrival at the latest.
Solo women safety assessment: Fernando de Noronha is the safest place in Brazil for a woman travelling alone and it is worth saying plainly that it does not resemble the mainland. The island has a few thousand residents, a capped visitor number, no favelas and no organised crime presence, and the FCDO's national advice about muggings, beach arrastoes and favelas simply does not describe it; opportunist theft from a bag left on a beach is the realistic ceiling of the risk. English is spoken by dive operators and some pousadas and not widely otherwise. THE DANGERS HERE ARE ENTIRELY ENVIRONMENTAL AND THEY ARE SERIOUS. The sea is first: these are open Atlantic beaches with no shelter for hundreds of kilometres, with strong currents, a swell season from January to July that makes several beaches genuinely hazardous, cutting rock shelves and limited lifeguard cover, and people do drown here, so ask locally about the day's conditions and treat an empty beach in swell as closed. The ladders into Baia do Sancho are a hazard in themselves, two near-vertical metal ladders in a wet rock cleft with a queue behind you, unsuitable for anyone unsteady and not to be attempted with a bag on one arm. The sun is third, three degrees off the equator with reflecting sand and water and a breeze that removes the sensation of burning. The booked guides and time slots on the trails exist because tide pools fill and cliffs are undercut. AND THE MEDICAL POSITION MATTERS MOST: the island hospital stabilises and transfers to Recife by air, there is NO HYPERBARIC CHAMBER, and pharmacy stock is limited, so bring your own prescriptions. 180 is the national women's helpline.
Reading On
For the country-level picture, start with the Brazil travel guide for women. The usual gateway is covered in the Recife packing list. For the rest of the northeast, read the Salvador packing list and, in this same batch, the Jericoacoara packing list, which is the other great northeastern beach destination and is reached by driving over dunes rather than by plane. For the capital, the Brasilia packing list. For why merino rather than cotton on an island with constant salt and limited laundry, read the guide to merino wool base layers for women. Every destination we cover is indexed at the travel packing guide for women, and the base layers are at the Roman Trail collection.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
