Fernando de Noronha – Not just Brazil’s version of the Galapagos but paradise on earth

I’ve visited a lot of places in this world & seen a lot of things. So I feel somewhat secure when concluding that Fernando de Noronha goes down as one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Fernando de Noronha is an archipelago of 21 islands, the largest one of which (only 7 square miles) is the only one inhabited with a population of 5k, located 350km offshore from the NE Brazilian coast. The island is home to the most postcard perfect & largely deserted beaches as well as protected marine life as most of the island falls within the boundaries of the national park. There’s a sea-turtle sanctuary & it’s the world’s best place to see spinner dolphins. It’s known as home to Brazil’s best beaches, diving & surfing. And it’s unforgettable. It’s only been open to tourism since 1988 & it doesn’t overwhelm now as access is limited to 2 small flights a day. No new construction is allowed on its beaches, there are restrictions on vehicles, no condos or hotel chains are allowed, no beach vendors are allowed. So for this reason, pousadas are the only lodging option & there aren’t any pousadas on the beaches. Rather, they’re concentrated in the tiny town center.

To enjoy this paradise certainly comes at a cost. They charge you an environmental preservation fee based on the number of days you’re visiting & they also charge you to access the National Park attractions – probably half of the beaches are included as well as any access to the gorgeous aqua-hued sea (i.e. diving). And generally, prices for everything else are on the expensive side.

For someone who loves to dive, there was no way I was missing out on the best dive spot in Brazil. While I didn’t dive in the Galapagos due to my head & chest cold, the snorkeling was sic & of course that’s my first comparison to Fernando de Noronha.

The Galapagos is a LOT bigger – much bigger islands & far more inhabitants.
The Galapagos has been open to tourism for much longer (mid-60s) vs. late 80s for Fernando de Noronha which means the industry & the marketing is far more developed in the Galapagos & far more people visit. There’s a quick blurb in my travel books about Fernando but word of mouth by Brazilians & then subsequent online research is really what propelled me to visit. Fernando felt much smaller to me & very welcoming. There aren’t very many people that live there & by the end of the week, I was constantly running into people I’d met (& some I’d forgotten I’d met) at the pousada, on hikes, at the beaches & at the island’s best dive shop.
My sense is there’s a lot more cool marine life to see in the Galapagos than Fernando. While in Fernando, I dove with 30+ spinner dolphins (awesome!!!), sharks, rays, turtles & eels, while the Galapagos added to that giant manta rays, hammerheads, sea lions, penguins, giant turtles, marine lizards, etc. Beyond that, I was blessed in the Galapagos to see SCHOOLS of marine life whereas in Fernando, excepting the spinner dolphins, the marine life was usually one-off. Add to that the vast wildlife in the Galapagos, including land lizards, tortoises & all the birds, & there’s no comparison.
The marine life in the Galapagos is also very snorkel-friendly. I saw crazy creatures all without diving. No dive I’ve ever done can possibly compare to multiple snorkel trips I enjoyed in the Galapagos. While I had luck when snorkeling in Fernando as I saw sharks, rays & turtles, people I told of this seemed a bit incredulous so I suspect it’s far more rare in Fernando to be able to enjoy the marine life without diving.
However, Fernando de Noronha takes the prize for beaches. Hands down, no question. It has the most stunning beaches in the lushest of landscapes & the most perfect aqua blue water.

So bottom line… I loved them both for different reasons. In the Galapagos, you feel like you’re on a nature tour & it’s constantly paying off in huge dividends. In Fernando de Noronha, it feels like an untouched island paradise accompanied by awesome marine life & feels very small & homey. Which I love. So I’ll return to both. Hopefully sooner than later.

View from atop an old fort near the town center of a couple gorgeous beaches & the island’s “primary rock” which definitely resembles a large phallic symbol

Praia do Meio – the closest beach to my pousada in the center of town; maybe a 10-min walk over cobbled streets & dirt paths

Praia do Conceicao – just past Meio & flanked on one end by the penis rock. I watched many a sunsets here which often coincided with low tide when snorkeling was especially good.

Praia do Leao – what a beauty! I went there a couple times, which involved a 10min local bus then a 15min walk, & there was never another soul there. I’m sure they call in Lion beach bc the waves are fierce, probably scaring away folks.

Baia do Sueste – gorgeous beach, islands, snorkeling & mirantes. Ran into a 2m shark in 2m of water & followed that beauty for 10min as he kept going shallow hunting. I lost him in 1m of water as he was kicking up sand. I couldn’t believe how shallow he was for how big he was. Awesome.

One of my fave days was spent hiking from beach to beach during low tide over & across rocks & through forest, snorkeling & swimming at each beach, then hitting the next. Started early at 8am with the lowest tide as I didn’t want to get stranded on the first 3. Hiked 5 beaches, then into Baia do Porcos for some really amazing views & finally a long hike to Baia do Sancho & it’s beach, which is ranked the number one beach in the world by more than one publication, finishing at Baia do Golphinos. It was a LONG day as I didn’t return til 6 & spent exactly zero time laying around relaxing on any beach.

Praia do Sancho – this beach is within the national park so there are quite a few really nice trails leading to one gorgeous viewpoint after another. Only after I knocked out all of those did I realize the only way to access the actual beach was via 2 massive construction ladders1 after another, slipped inside a crevice in the massive stone cliffs backing the beach. The crevices are son arrow, it doesn’t fit a small backpack but no worries bc they also provide a rope for you to first lower you bag before descending on these ladders from hell. Oh & I didn’t mention there’s rushing waterfalls around you in this deep dark crevice so you must take care to not slip on these massive metal ladders. After the ladders, there are probably 200 big stone steps to get you the rest of the way down. I was at the top listening to this explanation from the park ranger & finally figuring out why there’s no one actually on the beach below. I think most people come to take photos, then decline to descent bc it’s somewhat insane. But of course I did it. And it was amazing. There were maybe 10 other people hiding out in shade on this massive beach that’s the BEST beach in the world. Crazy. To top it off, it also had great snorkeling as I came across 3 turtles hanging out & eating & proceeded to follow those goofballs around for a good hour.

I spent a lot of time diving here which made me a really happy girl. But bc I don’t have a GoPro, I have no documentation of the 30+ dolphins who swam with us underwater 5mins into the 2nd dive (!!!!!), sharks, rays, turtles, moray eels, etc. i considered buying a GoPro before my trip to primarily use for diving but decided against it. I am always so relaxed on a dive – chilled out, zoned out & just focusing on exploring what’s in front of me. I thought perhaps constantly taking photos or videos would alter my zen-like experience. Although one of my fave videos of this trip was one my friend Malene took of the shark den we explored in the Galapagos. I still watch that every so often & giggle with glee. Still considering.

Galapagos – Otra vez

If doing the Galapagos again in the future, I’d recommend the following:

Definitely book a cruise. 5 nights is probably the right number for me before I go stir crazy. I highly recommend the Nemo III as we all agreed it was the best, most comfortable boat out there (much of it due to the extra width of the catamaran). Ideally the cruise leaves straight from Baltra after landing at its airport. That way you can avoid hitting Santa Cruz more than once as the cruise will most likely stop at Puerto Ayora to see the giant tortoises & Charles Darwin Research Center. With the exception of one cool street that transforms from nothing during the day to a thriving cheap fresh seafood scene at night as tables & chairs crowd the street, we found Puerto Ayora to be stifling hot & offering little more than shopping, a shitload of tourists (relatively speaking bc it’s still a little city with less than 10k population) & day trips from the main port. Hopefully with the cruise, you can knock out some far off islands that are not accessible by Santa Cruz daytrips. Few cruises include Genovesa & that was important to us & turns out we had one of the most incredible snorkeling experiences ever in Darwin Bay.

Definitely visit Isabela. Even if you’re lucky enough to visit Isabela & Fernandina on the cruise, head back to Isabela to stay on the island. It’s an easy 2hr boat ride from Puerto Ayora & worth it.

Consider flying out of the airport in San Cristobal, accessible via boat from Puerto Ayora as well. Or stay in Puerto Ayora if you want to knock out other day trips. Gina & I spent a couple days here before the cruise & enjoyed the hike to Tortuga Bay on day 1 where we saw a gorgeous beach, a bunch of marine iguanas & swam with our first sea lion & marine iguana as well as a day trip to Santa Fe Island where we saw our first blue footed boobies, I realized birds were really cool too, we snorkeled with sea lions & watched jumping manta rays. I certainly don’t mean to be negative about Puerto Ayora; rather, my preference is overwhelmingly in favor of Isabela.

I inexplicably caught a head cold in the Galapagos so unfortunately was unable to dive. While disappointed at first, I then saw such incredible marine life snorkeling (& freediving) that I felt as if I wasn’t missing out too much. However, next time I will dive. And the best dive trips are run out of Puerto Ayora as well as one out of San Cristobal.
The Galapagos isn’t for everyone. And it’s expensive so it eliminates most of the backpacking crowd. You need to be really into exploring nature & marine, bird & wildlife in an environment that’s been highly protected & regulated since the 1960s. Due to the regulations, a naturalist guide is required to do just about everything on the islands. Two exceptions are the hike to Tortuga Bay in Puerto Ayora & the amazing snorkeling on Isabela in Concha de Perla. As a result of these protections, the wildlife doesn’t seem to feel threatened & are oftentimes quite curious & playful. It made us wonder how much better the world would be if everywhere had the same common sense environmental protections. I found it to be absolutely amazing & this is one place where I know I’ll return within 5 years.

Galapagos – Isabela island

The second half of our trip involved escaping Santa Cruz (& the island’s biggest city of Puerto Ayora) in favor of hanging on Isabela, the largest island with 5 active volcanoes but limited population & a tiny little sand-road capital town of Puerto Villamil. It seems many people visit the island on cruises but don’t stay overnight & those who do, only stay a night or 2. We fell in love with the place, enjoyed some insane day trips (snorkeling & an active crater volcano), snorkeled daily at the magical Concha de Perla, celebrated carnival & even had our own local go-to restaurant.

The sweet little town of Puerto Villamil

Our first snorkeling experience at Concha de Perla, a little lagoon-like atmosphere bordered by lava rocks, featuring these cool tunnel formations good for exploring & reached by walking through mangroves.

Playful penguin

https://youtu.be/10pfRMcl5Co

5hr hike to top of Sierra Negra, an active crater volcano

Malene, a cool ass chick from Denmark we met on the boat, hung with us for awhile on Isabela & for this incredible snorkeling trip to Las Tuneles which included a first stop at this dope place containing quite a surprise.

We dove down to a shark den filled with white tipped reef sharks. OMFG it was amazing!!!

Please take the time to watch this 10 second video of the shark den. Trust me, it’s worth it.

https://youtu.be/i57FA33hzbY

The biggest sea turtles I’ve ever seen. And lots of them.

This one was as long as me & its head was as big as me. Yes that’s me.

We saw a couple massive eagle rays in a tunnel as well as the large white tipped shark below

Blue-footed booby showing off. We were lucky enough to watch 2 blue-footed boonies perform their mating dance.

Relaxing at happy hour after an amazing day of snorkeling

We rented bikes & hiked uphill to a nice lookout point over Isabela

We were finally able to see flamingos. We had tried a couple other times to see them in their typical habitat but they were a no show.

Isabela’s carnival celebration started the Saturday before Ash Wednesday & continued for 4 days. Lots of body paint, spray cans full of foamy body paint, water balloons, loud music, salsa, drinks & food til the early morning hours.

On our second snorkeling trip to Concha de Perla, among several other types of marine life, we swam real close to penguins. For once, they weren’t darting every which way being their elusive selves. Rather, they were floating much like ducks in a group of 3 & floated right up next to us. K, G&I had our masks half out of the water silently watching when after about 3 minutes, G asks “What are those?”. Trying not to drown due to laughter, I quickly responded “they’re penguins!”. It was first & only time of trip where those little guys weren’t zipping past us so it was real nice (& unusual) to get a real close look.

On our last snorkeling outing to Concha de Perla on our last day on Isabela, K&I came upon the little dock after a tour group had just arrived. People everywhere. We both silently cursed as we assumed we wouldn’t have the same amazing experiences given all the people. Boy were we wrong. After about 15 minutes, a young male sea lion slid into the lagoon from the lava rocks in low tide & slipped in right under me. Of course we attempted to follow him but clearly he was pretty quick. We guessed right & followed him into the mangrove tunnels where not only did we find him, he proceeded to swim & play with us for the next 15-20mins. He’d come swimming quickly right at me, making this intense eye contact & then within 4-6 inches of my mask, he’d quickly dart away. He was doing spins & twirls & flips, swimming all around us, darting every which way. He was rolling on the sea floor, then tried to pick up shells & other debris before he blew a big bubble that came directly up towards me. I reached out my hand & popped it & he seemed to respond kindly as he proceeded to continue blowing multiple bubbles at us. He’d disappear for a minute & then we’d think the games were over & K&I would celebrate with high-fives, when all of a sudden, he’d appear out of nowhere to seemingly surprise us & the games would start all over again. It was the most amazing magical experience being so up close & personal to this little guy. We kept our space, respected his, let him take the lead, & weren’t frantically moving about sticking cameras in his face to get the best shot. Perhaps it’s ridiculous but I think he responded to that. Eventually it had to end. But by this time, we considered him a friend so we nicknamed him “Jugue”, short for “jugueton” which means “playful” in Spanish. I love Jugue.

Galapagos – Cruise aboard Nemo III

The girls & I decided it was a must to get on a boat as part of our 1.5 week visit to the Galapagos in order to visit islands inaccessible via day trips from the main island of Santa Cruz. Because the cruises can be quite expensive & we wanted a nice boat with a limited number of passengers, we decided to roll the dice & wait to book a last minute deal for a reduced price given it was low season. Gina & I had success while basking in the sun in Montanita & booked us a cruise aboard the Nemo III, a gorgeous catamaran with a capacity of only 15 passengers, a phenomenal crew, amazing food & an informed, energetic naturalist guide Sara. What was out of our control were the fellow passengers but we were thankfully blessed with the best group of people who were fun, laid back, interesting, excited to explore & embracing of our goofiness… so much so, the group ended up endearingly calling us “the weirdos”. This was perhaps due to the fact that we were always overly excited to discuss, witness, document on video & laugh while rehashing later many fascinating yet normal parts of nature including mating rituals of various species, failed attempted mating rituals of giant tortoises, & odd bathroom behavior of land iguanas, penguins & golden rays. It’s all a part of nature so why not embrace it?