Natal
Brazil
Sand dunes on both sides of the city, and a beach with a dune at the end of it
Photo by Pedro Menezes on Unsplash
Photos by Pedro Menezes, Pedro Menezes, Gabriel Fabiano and Filipe Sizilio on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Brazil
September to February
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 349mm in Jun
Where it is
5.88°S, 35.17°W Open in Google Maps
Things to do
Several days- Look at the Morro do Careca rather than climb it — it has been closed to walkers since 1997 to slow its erosion
- Ride the Genipabu dunes in a licensed buggy, and say whether you want it "com emoção"
- Snorkel the reef pools at Maracajaú at low tide
- Walk round Forte dos Reis Magos at the river mouth
- See the Cajueiro de Pirangi, a single tree the size of a wood
- Eat ginga com tapioca at Redinha
Natal travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Brazil
Good valueCards are taken almost everywhere, including by the buggy operators and the barracas; Pix needs a Brazilian bank account, so a visitor is on cards and a little cash. Change money at a shopping centre câmbio, not at the airport, and carry small notes for coconuts, beach chairs and tips.
ATMs & cards
Banco do Brasil, Bradesco, Itaú and Santander machines inside branches or shopping centres — Midway Mall and Natal Shopping are the easy ones — in daylight. Avoid street kiosks along Ponta Negra at night. Decline the machine's conversion, and withdraw before going down to Pipa or out to the dunes.
Avoid these
- street kiosks along Ponta Negra at night
Use these instead
- Banco do Brasil
- Bradesco
- Itaú
- Santander
Use machines inside shopping centres, and withdraw before a day in the dunes or a stay in Pipa.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of Brazil
Reasonably safePonta Negra's seafront is where visitors stay and is comfortable by day and into the evening; the streets behind it and the city centre want an app car after dark. Carry one card and a little cash on the beach, and book dune trips through a licensed operator — the unlicensed buggies are where the accidents are.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (6 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
- Ponta Negra — the seafront
- Areia Preta
- Via Costeira — the hotel strip between Ponta Negra and the centre
Worth more attention
- Ponta Negra — the streets back from the seafront after dark — an app car rather than a walk
- Centro, Natal — after the shops shut
- Buggy trips with unlicensed drivers, and anyone in the dunes without a seatbelt
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa Brazil visa rules
No visa neededup to 90 days
Other passports
e-Visa requiredup to 90 days$80
Brazil reintroduced visas for these three nationalities. It is an e-visa applied for online.
Visa required in advance
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of Brazil
Good but costlyRequired to enter
- Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Yellow fever — recommended for most of Brazil including the area around Rio
- Hepatitis A
- Typhoid
- Tetanus up to date
Getting treated
Public emergency care (SUS) is free to everyone including foreigners, but is crowded and slow. Private hospitals in Rio and São Paulo are excellent and expect insurance or payment up front.
Dengue, zika and chikungunya are all present and mosquito-borne — repellent matters. Yellow fever vaccination should be given at least 10 days before arrival.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodCarne de sol with macaxeira and manteiga de garrafa, the bottled clarified butter, is the state dish. Shrimp is the local catch and turns up in everything, and ginga com tapioca — small fried fish in a tapioca wrap — is eaten at Redinha, across the river.
Travel tipsGetting around
Workable- UberWorks here
- 99Works here
- inDriveWorks here
- BoltNot here
99 the Brazilian one, often cheaper
- Against a taxi
- Cheaper than a taxi and, in the big cities, the default for everybody.
Some favela and periphery addresses will not be accepted by drivers at night; that is a driver safety decision, not a fare one.
Time zone and your working day
America/Fortaleza — 1 hour ahead of you
7 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–16:00 your time, 10:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 08:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 08:00–16:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for Brazil, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
Portuguese (Brazilian)
- HelloOi / Oláoy / o-LA
- PleasePor favorpor fa-VOR
- Thank youObrigado / Obrigadao-bree-GA-doo / -da
- Yes / NoSim / Nãoseeng / nowng
4 more phrases
- Excuse meCom licençakong lee-SEN-sa
- How much is it?Quanto custa?KWAN-too KOOS-ta
- The bill, pleaseA conta, por favora KON-ta
- Cheers!Saúde!sa-OO-djee
Softer and more open than European Portuguese, and the de sounds like "dje".
Travel tipsReligion
Catholic and Evangelical
The largest Catholic population in the world, with a fast-growing Evangelical share and Afro-Brazilian traditions such as Candomblé and Umbanda practised alongside.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Greet with a kiss on each cheek between women, or a woman and a man; a handshake between men
- Expect physical closeness in conversation — standing back reads as cold
- Arrive late to social invitations; on time is genuinely early
- Learn a few words of Portuguese, and never open in Spanish
Don't
- Do not make the OK sign with finger and thumb — it is obscene here
- Do not walk with a phone visible in the street
- Do not wear obvious jewellery or watches on the beach or in the city
- Do not call Brazilians Hispanic or assume they speak Spanish
Where to stay in Natal
No Holistay rentals in Natal yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Natal on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into São Gonçalo do Amarante NAT
50 minfrom the airport· 25 km as the crow flies
50 min to Ponta Negra.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
