Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
DRINKING AND NIGHTLIFE
CITY CENTRE
★
12.30pm-2am, Sun 4pm-midnight.
Decky Bar
Av Engenheiro Roberto Freire 9100
T
84 3219 2471.
Always packed bar and club venue,
with live bands every night (rock, MPB) but so-so food.
Cover mostly R$5-10, R$20 on Sat.
Wed-Sat
5pm-late.
Hemingway Bar
Rua Francisco Gurgel 9125
T
82 3219
0113.
Small, chilled-out modern spot overlooking the
ocean on the middle of the promenade, perfect for
caipirinhas
and cold beers
. Daily 9am-9pm.
Rastapé
Rua Aristides Porpino Filho 2198
T
84 3219
0181,
W
rastapecasadeforro.com.br.
This ”
casa de forró
”
features live regional
forró
bands every Wed, Fri and Sat in
a rustic, barn-like space.
Wed, Fri & Sat 10pm-4am.
Taverna Pub
Rua Manoel Augusto Bezerra de Araújo
500
T
84 3236 3696,
W
tavernapub.com.br.
Travellers'
favourite for a few beers (it's below the Lua Cheia Youth
Hostal), in a faux medieval castle with theme nights and
live bands.
Mon-Sat 10am-4pm.
Forró com o Turista
Centro de Turismo, Rua Aderbal
de Figueiredo 980, Petrópolis
T
84 3211 6218,
W
forrocomturista.com.br.
Every Thurs night the Centro
de Turismo hosts this fun evening of live music
and dance, for locals as much as tourists. The emphasis
here is on participation, so don't expect to sit quietly in a
corner (professionals mingle with the crowd to add
encouragement). Arrive around 7pm if you want to eat at
Marenosso first (see p.295). Entry R$25; you can call to be
picked up from and dropped off at your hotel for another
R$25.
Thurs 10pm-2am.
PONTE NEGRA
★
Botequim Ta Na Hora
Rua Francisco Gurgel 47
T
84 2010 0034.
Best place to drink and listen to music
(
forró
, pop rock,
axé
and
sertanejo
) in Ponta Negra, a
smart Rio-style place that also serves decent steaks and
seafood.
Tues-Thurs 6pm-1am, Fri 6pm-2am, Sat
DIRECTORY
Internet
In the Vilarte mall in Ponta Negra (Av Engenheiro
Roberto Freire 2107) there's the small phone.com internet
café (daily 10am-9pm; R$6/hr).
Money and exchange
The branch of
Banco do Brasil at
Av Rio Branco 510, Cidade Alta, has ATMs, but note that all
banks have security checks in Natal and can be
jam-packed depending on the time of day and week. HSBC
ATMs are the best bet for international credit cards - the
branch nearest the centre is at Av Prudente de Morais 3346
(Mon-Fri 10am-4pm).
Post o
ce
The main branches are at Rua Princesa Isabel
711 and Av Rio Branco 538, both in the city centre.
4
Praia da Pipa and around
Increasingly a popular target for independent travellers,
PRAIA DA PIPA
(“Kite Beach”)
is set in truly idyllic surroundings some 80km south of Ponta Negra, with crystal-clear
lagoons, pristine beaches, dolphins regularly swimming near the shore and a wealth of
appealing
pousadas
and bars. The main action takes place on 1.5km-long Praia da Pipa
itself, with smaller
Praia do Amor
around the headland to the east best for surfing
(rental boards are R$60/day). A short walk to the west lies cliff-lined
Baía dos Golfinhos
- where the dolphins come in most mornings - and beyond that
Praia Madeiro
, a
popular spot for beginner surfers.
Santuário Ecológico de Pipa
Praia da Pipa-Tibau do Sul Hwy (2km from town) • Daily 8am-5pm • R$10 •
T
84 3201 2007
he
Santuário Ecológico de Pipa
is a small section of preserved coastline - the Chácara
do Madeira - above the Baía dos Golfinhos and Praia Madeiro, laced with sixteen fairly
easy and short trails that afford a chance to spot local wildlife (birds, snakes, saguis
monkeys and the smelly white-eared opossum, or
timbu
). For the best views of the
ocean, make for the Passeio do Peroba (300m), which follows the cliffs above the
beaches, while the Caminho do Jacú (200m) snakes up to the reserve's highest point,
80m above sea level.
Southern beaches
Some 8km south of Praia da Pipa, and an hour from Natal by bus, the
Barra da Cunhaú
beach is breathtakingly beautiful, with many kilometres of white sands bordered by red
sandstone cliffs, natural pools at low tide and usually almost completely deserted - it's
