Porto de Galinhas, Brazil

Located in the North east corner of Brazil, just south of Recife, there is a wonderful little beach town called porto de galihna (port of chickens). Its just fun to stay in town in one of the little pousadas (guest houses), or go upscale in one of the international resorts. Rent a sand buggie down town and then spend the afternoon roaming the beaches (with a guide). Sit on the beach near the town center and pick up one of the little flat bottom boats and go snorkling on the reefs. When the tide is out, the pools are filled with colorful fish.

Its neat to see that Porto de Galihas has recently made significant improvement to the downtown area by making the main street a pedistrian walking area, along the beach and also the main street into the towns. This has resulted in a series of neat little shops full of interesing beach-wear and local art.

You can rent these houses by the ocean

They are mostly all private houses (this one is), but they are typically all for rent for much of the year, and the owners just use them once in a while. Im not sure how a tourist would arrange staying at a place like this. Maybe some of my brazilian friends could help out with a source for others to use?

Just south of Porto de Galinhas, if you take the sand "buggie" guide far enough, you will reach an area where the river meets the ocean. In this river, where the fresh water mixes with the salt water of the sea, you will find lots of very interesting crabs and sea horses. There is a guide that will take you out on a small canoe and he will dive in and bring back the various critters for you to see. His deal, is...if he doesnt find a sea horse for you, the trip is free. Its fun