Fernando de Noronha

Fernando de Noronha sits about 350 kilometres off the northeast Brazilian coast, and the moment the plane descends over its jagged volcanic peaks and improbably turquoise bays, you understand why people rearrange entire itineraries to get here. This is not a casual stopover — it is a genuinely remote Atlantic archipelago that has stayed wild precisely because access is controlled and expensive.

The centrepiece is the Fernando de Noronha National Marine Park, which covers both the surrounding ocean and much of the main island. Baía dos Golfinhos is the standout — each morning, hundreds of spinner dolphins gather in the bay to rest after night feeding, and watching them spiral and leap from the clifftop viewpoint above is the kind of thing you replay in your head for years.

Snorkelling around Praia do Sancho and Baía do Sueste brings you close to hawksbill and green sea turtles drifting through clear water with almost theatrical calm. The underwater visibility regularly exceeds 30 metres, and the colour of the reef life here is richer than anything I have seen on the Brazilian mainland coast.

Access requires a flight from Recife or Natal — roughly 90 minutes — through operators like LATAM or Azul. The island levies a daily environmental preservation fee (Taxa de Preservação Ambiental) that increases the longer you stay, so factor that into your budget from the start. Accommodation is limited and books out months ahead, particularly between December and March when the sea is calmest and visibility is at its peak.

Bring reef-safe sunscreen, a good snorkel set, and light hiking shoes for the island trails; visiting outside peak season in April or May still offers excellent conditions with noticeably thinner crowds.