It was a long weekend here in Brazil so early Friday morning I coaxed the little one and all of our baggage into a taxi and headed to the airport to meet the Hubs who had just flown in from Mexico.  We jumped on a quick three hour flight and landed in the northeast of Brazil in Natal.  We had heard this was a popular vacation destination for the Portuguese and decided it would be cool to check out.

After a much longer drive from the airport than I anticipated (we stayed in pria de pipa just outside of the city of Natal), we ended us at the gorgeous Oka de Mata resort.

Our room opened up onto a large balcony overlooking the tranquil azure ocean.  The entire place oozed with tranquility and relaxation, well except from that couple with the baby….

Pria de Pipa is actually quite high from the sea as there are massive sand dunes separating the main land from the beaches.  Our first full day, we decided to walk down to the beach and actually realized that we had no clue where we were going.  Eventually we figured it out and landed on a warm stretch of sand. 

The beaches in Natal are full of warm do inviting turquoise water because it is so far north in Brazil. The Hubs and I took turns going for a swim while the other watched the little monster. Every time we switched off, we felt lucky the other person had come back at all because the water was so inviting and the sun so warm, we could have each stayed in all day.

Even the little guy enjoyed his beach time.  It seems like he has become about 10% less interested in eating sand, which I will declare as a huge improvement. 

At one particular beach I went standup paddle boarding and came within 15 feet of a dolphin. It was so amazing to watch them swoop in and out of the water. I wished I had remembered my GoPro but poor planning and the sheer amount of things required to travel with a baby prevented it from making its way with us. 

It’s funny because I feel like in many parts of the world, when you go on beach vacations there are tons of fancy restaurants and people get dressed up for dinner but in Brazil, it is the exact opposite.  Everything is incredibly casual and it is completely acceptable to show up at restaurants in your swimmers!

So far this has been my favorite beach vacation in Brazil. While Juquehy and Ilhabela both were beautiful. Natal beaches are far more pristine.  

Readers, what is your favorite beach in the world? Do you prefer beach casual or dressed up?