Santo André is a little known place 25 km from Porto Seguro

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Praia de Santo André em Santa Cruz Cabrália
Praia de Santo André

Santo André is a quiet village in the south of Bahia, with creative people, native forest and beautiful beaches as far as the eye can see, receiving the blessings of the patron saint of fishermen who gave it its name.

It is a cove with a stretch facing the sea and another towards the João de Tiba River, which can be accessed by ferry from Santa Cruz Cabrália.

An interesting walk in a setting of calm waters, mangroves and coconut trees.

Santo André  is a place still little known 25 km north of Porto Seguro, in the Santo Antonio Environmental Protection Area.

Santo André is a village in Santa Cruz Cabrália. It is a place of natural scenery, of native forest, with mangrove regions, where different species coexist in perfect harmony.

Vista aérea de Cabrália até Santo André
Vista aérea de Cabrália até Santo André

Tranquillity and peace are feelings incorporated into local life. Santo André is still today a rustic fishing village which is changing with the recent development of tourism in the region.

With the many mangrove areas located on this beach, tourists can learn the differences between crabs, siris, aratus.

This quiet village of creative people, native forest and beautiful beaches as far as the eye can see, receives the blessings of the patron saint of fishermen who gave it its name.

It is a cove with a stretch facing the sea and another towards the João de Tiba river, which can be accessed by ferry from Santa Cruz Cabrália.

An interesting walk in a setting of calm waters, mangroves and coconut trees. The ideal destination for those who like peace and nature.

Video about Santo André

See the map of Porto Seguro beaches

Centrinho de Santo André

Map of the Discovery Coast in Bahia
Map of the Discovery Coast in Bahia

The Vila de Santo André is small only in number of inhabitants. Its area spreads for a few kilometers along the coast: no one seems to want to live far from the water.

The center – if it can be called that – is located by the river, overlooking a mangrove that takes on magical colors at dusk.

The beach itself starts further north. The right-hand corner has huts that welcome tourists who come to spend the day with wooden chairs and the shade of almond trees.

Further along are the most charming spots: the Victor Hugo guesthouse, with its marble-topped tables, and the Casapraia restaurant, easily recognizable by its beachside tents.

The left corner, where a natural pool appears at low tide, is known as Praia das Tartarugas (Turtle Beach); there is Fazenda Amendoeira, a beach club that hosted the most popular New Year’s Eve party in Bahia last year.

The locals were born in various places around the world – and each visitor who arrives risks becoming one of them.

Santo André da Bahia is part of that very rare species of beach that manages to get better as time goes by, immune to threats to its tranquillity.

Two years ago, the village was alarmed to learn that CVC, synonymous with mass tourism and strongly identified with Porto Seguro, would take control of the Costa Brasilis resort.

The mega-operator came in and didn’t change the profile of the place, just took advantage of the resort to offer a different product in its portfolio.

Although quiet, Santo André da Bahia is not a place to stay overnight in the hostel. Spend a week there and you’ll be able to dine at different restaurants all the time – and you’ll still be missing something to try.

The ‘locals’ usually hit Santana’s, where an Italian prepares good homemade pasta, some served in papillotte. On the riverfront, Floridita has sophisticated dishes such as a seafood stew with vegetables sealed in a crust of pasta – the seafood just right, the vegetables al dente.

At Casapraia the menu is worth a trip around the world – the recipes were collected during trips by the owners and their friends.

Even if you don’t dine in, you’re likely to stop by at some point in the evening: Casapraia serves as a warm-up or after-party to any night out; often, it’s right there, like the movie screenings on Tuesdays or the live music parties on Saturdays.

Moving on. When you want to walk around during the day, don’t cross João de Tiba. Head north.

Praia Guaiú - Santa Cruz de Cabrália
Praia Guaiú

Praia do Guaiú, 3 km from the village, is wild in its measure: it has a little river, a coconut grove and a beautiful restaurant on the corner of the river and the sea, run by the talented Maria Nilza (ask for any moqueca or octopus rice).

Forty minutes later, the asphalt ends in Belmonte, a town with centuries-old mansions on the banks of the Jequitinhonha.

From there, at high tide, you can set off on a boat that zig-zags through the narrow channels of the estuary, passing through the most beautiful mangrove swamp in Bahia.

Ask to stop at Barra do Peso, an islet with river and sea beaches. If you have time, continue to Canavieiras, on the other bank of the Jequitinhonha, owner of an even more beautiful house than Belmonte.

mapa da Costa do Descobrimento na Bahia
map of the Discovery Coast in Bahia

Beaches of Santo André in Santa Cruz Cabrália 

1. Santo André Beach

Located in the village itself. It is a cove, with part of the beach facing the river and another towards the sea.

Santo André Beach - Santa Cruz de Cabrália
Santo André Beach

The tranquility of the waters at the mouth of the river, protected by more than a kilometer of reefs, provides the practice of water sports.

Some restaurants offer as an attraction a wooden walkway over the mangrove that allows the visitor to contact one of the main ecosystems of the region.

This is the closest beach to the Boqueirão reef, where fishing with a reel or net is practiced in the open sea. The waters are warm, green and calm.

As they are very deep waters, it is recommended to be cautious when bathing.

2. Jacumã Beach

Praia de Jacumã - Santo André - Bahia
Praia de Jacumã

Good for swimming and hiking. At the southern end, in the shade of a coconut grove, Bahian women offer acarajé, batapá and unmissable shrimp dumplings.

There you will also find iced coconut and excellent local fruit shakes. The word Jacumã means, in the Tupi language, ‘indigenous paddle-shaped’.

3. Itacimirim or Tartarugas Beach

Itacimirim Beach - Santa Cruz de Cabrália
Itacimirim Beach

It has clear sands and some stretches with rock formations and mangroves. The waters are calm, due to the coastal reef of Itacimirim, which forms natural pools at low tide.

The place is good for swimming, fishing, hiking and horseback riding.

4. Conchas Beach

Deserted and little known. It is accessed by a trail through the mangrove starting from the beach of the turtles. At shallow tide, natural pools form on the coastal reef where you can appreciate marine species of good variety.

It should be noted that the stones are very slippery and colorful, it is necessary to walk with extreme caution. On this beach are found quantity of interesting and small colorful shells, typical of the region and used to make curtains.

Praia da Ponta de Santo Antônio
Praia da Ponta de Santo Antônio

Praias do Litoral Norte beyond the Santo Antonio river bridge

1. Ponta de Santo Antonio Beach

Another deserted beach, suitable for swimming, fishing, hiking and boat trips. The sandbanks are beautiful in the mareia raza where It is at the height of the mouth of the Santo Antonio River.

2. Bobocas or Dolphins Beach

Two beach huts are the only infrastructure options on this almost deserted beach, populated only by extensive coconut groves. Because it is a shallow and very wide beach and great for landing ultralights.

It is close to the mouth of the Santo Antonio River and is good for walking. In the shallow sea you can find countless souvenirs of the seabed.

3. Guaiú Beach

In front of the village of the same name, it has warm and calm waters, protected by the Angaba and Araripe reefs.

O rio Guaiú desaguando no mar ne praia de Guaiú em Cabrália – BA
O rio Guaiú desaguando no mar ne praia de Guaiú em Cabrália – BA
Praia de Guaiú em Cabrália
Praia de Guaiú em Cabrália

It is good for walking and swimming, even at high tide. The beach is cut by rock formations, has coconut groves and a lighthouse. The mouth of the Guaiú River is a great place for pitu fishing and freshwater bathing.

Mogiquiçaba Beach - Belmonte - Bahia
Mogiquiçaba Beach

The access is made from the village of Guaiú, by a dirt road.

4. Mogiquiçaba Beach – (municipality of Belmonte)

The beach is good for walking and swimming at all tides. It is favorable for reel and net fishing (hake, dogfish and stingray are the most caught fish), for windsurfing and surfing and for horseback riding.

Santa Cruz de Cabrália e a foz do Rio João de Tiba
Santa Cruz de Cabrália and the mouth of the João de Tiba River

South coast beaches by ferry across the João de Tiba River

1. Arakakaí Beach

It is protected by a line of coral reefs, forming a natural breakwater, which provides milder waves and good training for water sports such as surfing, windsurfing and bodyboarding.

The cove has dangerous reefs at the mouth of the João de Tiba River.

2. Lençóis Beach

A beach with deep waters, it was baptized with this name due to the immense waves similar to ‘sheets in the wind’, caused by the rough sea.

wind’, caused by the rough sea.

3. Mutarí Beach

Beach of natural and bucolic beauty. On its shore flows the historic Mutarí River, used by the Portuguese to wash their clothes and supply the ships.

4. Coroa Vermelha Beach

Very visited, this cove is the main historical site of the municipality, located in an indigenous area, where the celebration of the First Mass in Brazil took place.

The beach is shallow, with reefs, coarse white sand. With calm waves, it favors boat trips and the practice of sports, such as banana-jet, windsurfing, jet skiing and kayaking.

Coroa Vermelha em Cabrália na Bahia
Coroa Vermelha em Cabrália na Bahia

At low tide it is possible to walk on Coroa Vermelha, a giant sandbank that invades the sea for dozens of meters to the reef of Ponta da Coroa Vermelha, and glimpse the landscape from sea to land.

Bahia.ws is the largest tourism and travel guide for Bahia and Salvador.

Tourism and Travel Guide of Santo André in Santa Cruz Cabrália BA

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