Pipa is a nice village two hours by bus from Natal in the district of Rio Grande do Norte. It’s one of the cleanest places I visited in Brazil and they do everything to keep the town and beaches clean.

I arrived there pretty tired from the night bus I took from Fortaleza to Natal. I don’t know if I can ever learn how to sleep in buses. I directly continued to Pipa because I had no idea what I should do in a City like Natal. If somebody knows, please write in the comments what I missed out.

After a bus ride with a bus driver talking constantly on the phone, I finally arrived safely in Pipa.

The town is pretty long and it’s reasonable to hop on one of the vans for 2 R$ especially when you have a backpack with you. I stayed in Pipa Hostel. It was a reasonable solution but maybe you can find a better place because there are small things missing. For example, there’s not enough space to hang your laundry or no toaster to make “misto quente” in the morning. But the stuff is very friendly and the location is pretty close to the center. The best thing about the hostel is definitely the friends I made there. 

(Thanks Diana for the photo ;-))

You have access to many beaches in the region. The closest around the town are the central beach which is actually not very nice. But if you go left and follow the beach in the low tide you can reach the dolphin beach.

I think it’s the most beautiful beach and you actually can go swimming with dolphins. Unfortunately, I could not take pictures as I don’t carry any zoom lens with me and I also don’t have a waterproof camera. You can still find a lot of pictures on Google. The guys also mix very good drinks with fresh fruits for good prices.

It’s better to leave the beach before the high tide comes. This is always about three hours later than the low tide. Otherwise, you have to walk these stones covered by the sea…

Another nice beach is called “Praia do Amor”. It is located in the west of the town. The beach is nice and has many possibilities to lay your deck chairs or normal chairs. The waves are strong and it is ideal for surfing. However, for a bad swimmer, this beach could be dangerous as many people drowned there. So it’s not the place to learn swimming here.

Furthermore, you can go by one of the vans to Madeiro Beach. In my opinion, it is the best place to learn how to surf and enjoy the waves.

Everywhere in Brazil, you can find cheap food at some buffets where you get rice, beans, meat, and salad. Sure you cannot eat this all the time. I also liked a lot the self-service açai place located on the main road a bit further from the police military on the beach side. A full pot of açai equals a normal meal. In addition, you can get great food in one of the Italian Restaurants. Just keep an eye on the prices. They can differ enormously!

Besides beach activities, you also can go for quad driving in the dunes if you are into this kind of activity. In some dunes, you also can see very nice sunsets. For example the one a little bit further from Praia Madeira.

The nightlife is nothing special in Pipa. There are two places to go which open late. One is called OZ Music Bar the other I can’t remember the name but it’s just over the street.

Well, that’s all my experience in Pipa. If you know other good places or things to do around Pipa please write a comment.