When visiting Brazil, the average traveler tends to visit Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and the Amazon. What many miss are the beautiful beaches of Northern Brazil. After a quick stop in Rio, we hopped on a plane to Maceio and drove up to Porto de Galinhas (3 hours away).

While you don’t necessarily need a car to get around the town, it will definitely make your life easier. If driving in a foreign country isn’t your thing though, you could always rent a buggy with a driver for the day and go on your own private tour around the area. Porto de Galinhas is the perfect beach getaway for someone who is truly looking to relax.

Where to Sleep? Kembali Hotel.

I highly recommend staying slightly outside of Porto de Galinhas at one of the hotels on the beach, and Kembali Hotel couldn’t be more perfect! We arrived after dark and were greeted by the receptionist with much enthusiasm and given plenty of information about the area.

There was a security guard there at all times, so we felt completely safe parking our car. Throughout our stay, he also assisted us in grabbing taxis into town and greeted us with a smile each time we walked in the door.

Kembali Hotel is full of color and each floor has its own theme — Navy, Music, and Retro. We were on the top floor and opened our door to a spacious room with a queen-sized bed, chair, couch, table, and en suite bathroom. There was also an extremely large closet with a safe, and a big TV with Netflix.

My absolutely favorite thing about the room though was the balcony with hammock! It was such an amazing view. Book your stay at Kembali Hotel in Porto de Galinhas here. 

After a fantastic sleep (the bed was so comfy), I opened the blinds to our huge balcony overlooking the ocean… what a site to see! You must wake up for sunrise because it’s absolutely breathtaking over the ocean!

Kembali Hotel offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner on site with views of the beach, as well as snacks and drinks throughout the day. Breakfast daily was a highlight – with two buffet tables and an omelet and tapioca station, there was something for everyone.

If you’re craving a savory breakfast, I personally loved the omelet with olives, cheese, and sundried tomatoes – I don’t know what they did but it was SO full of flavor and delicious. If you’re a sweets lover in the morning, the churro cake was to die for. One of the things that made Kembali Hotel stand out from any other hotel I have been to is that the waiters passed around hors d’oeuvres throughout breakfast – it was definitely an added and appreciated touch.

If you’re sticking around for dinner, you’ll find a menu full of options. Be sure you order the salmon ceviche, as it was one of the best I’ve had, and the portions were huge.

Kembali also had a gym facing the ocean (I mean, who wouldn’t want to work out while watching the waves crash)…

And a pool with lounge area if the beach isn’t your thing.

That said, Kembali Hotel is situated directly on the beach, so the #1 thing I’d recommend doing is taking a relaxing stroll down the beach.

During your stay, be sure you do these three things in Porto de Galinhas:

1. The Beach.

Remember, you’re coming up to Porto de Galinhas to soak up the sun. The beaches surrounding Porto de Galinhas are clean and quiet, perfect for relaxation. It’s important to note that this area is closer to the equator, so even though we visited in their autumn, it was sweltering hot (but thankfully not 114 degrees Fahrenheit like last time I visited Brazil!).

I highly recommend walking the beach from your hotel down to Pontal do Cupe in one direction, and into town in the other direction. Muro Alto also came highly suggested, but we went twice and were thoroughly unimpressed both times. Perhaps we went at a bad time. The beach in front of Kembali Hotel was so lovely that there was no reason to go exploring other areas of the beach.

2. The Pedestrian Area.

While I do recommend staying outside of Porto de Galinhas (as seen above), the town itself is absolutely adorable. There are three different pedestrian streets that are filled with vendors, local stores, souvenir shops, and any kind of food you’re looking for. It’s lively and lovely – a quintessential cute beach town. Porto de Galinhas itself is situated on the beach, which is why I highly recommend staying down the road at Kembali Hotel and walking into town.

3. The Seahorses.

About 15 minutes up the road, you’ll find a riverboat tour to see seahorses at Pontal de Maracaipe. We’d never seen a seahorse before so we thought that’d be neat! It wasn’t particularly what we expected, but it was still a cool experience. The mangrove that we boated through was peaceful and beautiful. After approximately ten minutes, we were brought over to an area where the guides snorkeled in shallow water to find us seahorses.

They caught them in open glass containers filled with water so that we could see them, before quickly returning them to their homes. We had a good look at them before continuing on to see some crabs and another small seahorse. The tour as a whole was 45 minutes and about $7 USD per person. Be sure to wear sunblock because the UV index was 12 at 9am!

While we only spent 3 days in Porto de Galinhas, we easily could’ve spent a week or two there! It was a lovely bit of paradise in Northern Brazil that’s a must-see.

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