5 Best Sights in Salvador and the Bahia Coast, Brazil

Named in honor of a Spanish galleon that sank off the coast in 1535, this postcard-perfect deserted beach fringed in coconut palms offers good snorkeling (take your own masks) in calm crystalline waters framed in coral reefs. Access is by boat from Velha Boipeba, Boca da Barra, or nearby Moreré. Bring your own water as there are no beach vendors. Amenities: none. Best for: snorkeling; swimming; walking.

The closest beach to Boipeba's small town, Velha Boipeba, is also the island's busiest, dotted with pousadas and beachfront restaurants serving Bahian seafood and ice-cold beer. Although the turquoise waters are calm enough for swimming, they get rougher when the tide comes in, swallowing most of the sand and making sunbathing a challenge. Where the sea joins with the Rio do Inferno is one of the island's best spots for watching the sunset. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: sunset; walking.

Those looking to fall even farther off the grid should head straight for Moreré, Boipeba’s second village, set on the beach and accessible only by boat ride or a 45-minute tractor trip through the jungle from the main town square of Velha Boipeba. Moreré’s insular fishing community of 250 inhabitants is now balanced by an interesting mix of expats, who run many of the pousadas and simple restaurants and have injected a welcome level of sophistication into the area. The real draw of Moreré is the beauty of the surrounding nature and the island’s spectacular beaches—so remote that even during high season, you won’t have to share them with more than a few other souls. The beach here varies dramatically with the tide—at high tide, its crystalline waters make for great swimming and form natural pools among the rocks.

A 40-minute walk along the sand from Boca da Barra, following the jungle track after Praia Tassimirim, is the immense curved Bay of Cueira, a favorite for local soccer matches and for families to spend the day. A smattering of restaurants, including Guido’s lobster shack, serve lunch and ice-cold coconuts. Amenities: food and drink; toilets. Best for: swimming; walking.

A 20-minute walk along a lovely trail that winds between the forest and the beach from Moreré, this deserted beach’s long stretch of golden sand is a favorite with families due to the calm waters and natural pools that form at midtide. Make sure you bring your own water and seek shade beneath a coconut palm. Amenities: none. Best for: surfing; swimming; walking.