Fernando de Noronha: what’s so interesting about this island and what can I do while in there? Well, you came to the right place! On this list I will be guiding you through what to do in Fernando de Noronha, Brazil. From sunset watching to hiking, snorkeling and scuba diving, read our selected 10 things to do on this beautiful Island.

Probably the most popular attraction in Noronha, Ilha Tour is something I would highly recommend to do on your first day on the island, regardless of if you have a limited time to stay or not.

This is a whole day tour on a 4×4 around the island, covering about 80% of what the island has to offer, including short periods of time to appreciate each place, so you get the chance to see as much as possible. You will be taken to some places with an interesting history, swim in most of the beaches you will visit, snorkel in some others, and there will also be a stop for lunch at a restaurant. The visit generally includes the following attractions: Projeto Tamar, Leão Beach, Morro Dois Irmãos viewpoint, Sancho Beach, Shark Museum, Caeira Beach, São Pedro Chapel, Cacimba do Padre Beach, Pig’s Bay, São Pedro do Boldró Fort and a sunset watch at one of the points on this list. The order of stops can be slightly different depending on the weather and the company that you do the tour with.

Most agencies offer hotel pick-up and drop-off.

I did my Ilha Tour with Noronha Passeios and absolutely loved it. They did the opposite route of other agencies so we wouldn’t be surrounded by other groups, and most times, we were the only group on each site (it was also low season, but there were many more groups doing Ilha Tour on that day). The route was well thought out, the guide was very friendly and exceptional, and I can only say good things about them! We watched the sunset at Cacimba do Padre Beach and they offered to take me to a shop before my hostel since I was a bit away from the centre. Initially, I chose them exactly because they had a discounted package where I paid R$530 for both Ilha Tour and Boat Tour (will explain below on this post) instead of R$570 (paid individually), and I am really happy that I did.

Go for a swim and relax in one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

There are 14 beaches on the island, all different and magical, and I am sure you will want to revisit them more than once. Some have strict rules on equipment use, and some may only be visited during low time.

To help you choose the beaches you want to spend more time in, I have put together a Guide to Fernando de Noronha Beaches.

You can’t visit Fernando de Noronha without doing what the island offers the best: swimming, scuba diving, free diving, snorkeling. The sea life in Fernando de Noronha is amazing, and you can expect to see sharks, turtles, lots of different fishes and even rays.

The blue crystal waters of the island are one of the best to dive in and are so clear, that you might be able to spot sealife even without submerging.

Fernando de Noronha is also the perfect place to do diving for the first time, so if you have been waiting for an opportunity to start, then this could be it. And don’t worry if you don’t have diving or snorkeling equipment with you, as you can order all sorts of equipment at different spots on the island.

The best places on the island for snorkeling are (marked in green on the map above):

• Porto de Santo Antonio Beach – for calm waters, sealife diversity and underwater debris of a shipwreck
• Sancho Beach – one of the most popular snorkeling destinations on the island
• Atalaia Beach – very well preserved tide pool, where you can see beautiful reefs and certain species you generally don’t get to see anywhere else on the island, such as octopus and moray eels
• Pigs Bay Beach – good for snorkeling only on low tide and dangerous on high tide. Because of its rocks, you get to see many crabs
• Sudeste Beach – best snorkeling location to spot turtles and baby sharks

Boat Tour is another must do activity, especially if you like dolphins. You can get really close to them, and see different sites of the island from the sea. There is no guarantee that they will show up during your tour, but the probability is high (over 90%). This is because males gather around the boat to attract visitors and get their attention, protecting the female and their babies.

The boat tour often includes about 1h stop for diving (on our tour, we stopped at Sancho Beach).

You will also visit other attractions such as Ponta da Sapata and Rugido do Leão cave, a cave where roaring-like sounds can be heard as the sea waves hit the walls of the cave.

You can expect the tour to take about 3 to 4 hours and they generally depart in the morning, from Santo Antonio Harbour.

Prices will vary according to the duration of the tour and the agency you book yours with. As I mentioned above, I did mine with Noronha Passeios, as I bought a combined package that included Ilha Tour.

A hike, in a beach destination? Yes, you heard me well, a hike. If you have read my guide to Fernando de Noronha beaches, you already know that Atalaia Beach can only be reached via a short or long hike, but that isn’t the only place you need to hike to get to. There are a few other tide pools such as Morro de Fora and Enseada dos Abreus, where you will be rewarded with the beauty of nature, after a bit of a walk to get there. But trust me, they will all be worth it.

I wrote a guide on all hikes and tide pools available on the island to help you better understand what they offer and decide which ones to do on THIS post.

Sunset watching is one of the top things to do in Fernando de Noronha. You can watch the sunset from many places on the island, but the most popular ones are Nossa Senhora dos Remédios Fort and São Pedro do Boldró Fort. I only had two days on the island and the first day was cloudy, so only got the chance to experience one sunset in my Ilha Tour, which was admired from Cacimba do Padre Beach, and it was beauuuuutiful!

Projeto Tamar has different projects to protect the sea life and the environment on the island. They often provide free talks at night, and you can be up close when they feed and do checkups on the turtles.

When visiting the ICMBio centre to book your trails and get your card (I explain all about this in THIS post), you should also visit the Projeto Tamar (right next to it), and inform yourself about their activities, so you can plan your trip and include some of these in your itinerary if you would like.

Fernando de Noronha used to have a NAVE Tour, a great option for those who don’t want/can’t swim or are with kids. This was a boat with a wide amplifier lens located at the bottom, from where you could see the sea life. This tour is no longer available, but there is now a new boat, named NAVI, bigger and more modern, also offering sub-aquatic vision, and a better service. Unfortunately, their site is only available in Portuguese, but nothing that Google Translate can’t fix.

Canoeing will give you a different perspective of the island, while you enjoy this wonderful water activity. You have 90% chance to be close to many dolphins, especially on the early morning tours. The tour starts at the harbour, and in most cases, there will be one or more stops to enjoy snorkeling.

Why not try something different? Interesting and effortless, speedy snorkeling? Planasub is an activity where you hold on to a board that is pushed by a speedboat, while you observe the sea life with your snorkeling equipment. Tours depart from the harbour.

Hope you enjoyed this list and had plenty of good ideas on how to spend your days in Fernando de Noronha! Have a wonderful day and week ❤

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