We all have dreamed about the perfect beach paradise where the water is warm and emerald color, with countless palm trees, reef-formed swimming pools, and the best of all, free of crowds. This place exists and is located in São Miguel dos Milagres, in the state of Alagoas.

The state of Alagoas is famous for it’s pristine, long-stretched beaches and tropical waters, but São Miguel dos Milagres stands out from all the beautiful beaches in Alagoas. Part of the magic of São Miguel is because is a hidden paradise, hidden even for Brazilians. That will for sure change in the coming years, if you can you should visit this paradise now while is still untouched by mass tourism. For now, you can walk for miles along the coast and find a half dozen of people enjoying this paradise.

The combination of beauty and tranquilo lifestyle is what makes this place so special. Because of the coral reefs, you will either have a long stretch of natural swimming pools or a quite ocean where you can swim for 3 miles and the water level will still be on your shoulder. Here there is no hurry to leave the beach before the sunset, the water temperature is very pleasant at night as well.

When to go

The Brazilian northeast is a region that it’s recommended pretty much all year around. Like every tropical area, it’s always summer, and you will find only two seasons, which are dry and rain. The raining season is from May to July, but the showers isolated and may last a couple of hours. High season is from December to February, and prices are much higher during this period. September and October are recommended if you are looking for great deals.

 

How to get there

The best way to get to São Miguel dos Milagres is though Maceió airport, from there you can rent a car or hire a private transfer to your hotel. The distance from the airport to the beach is 103 KM (64 miles), around 1h and 45min if you drive on AL-101.

The second option is to fly to Recife and then drive to São Miguel dos Milagres. The ride is almost twice as longer than Maceió, but somewhat a more scenic route, as you will drive along the coastline.

While planning our trip to São Miguel dos Milagres, we debated if you should hire a private transfer or to rent a car. After analyzing the pros and cons of each option, we decided to choose the transfer. The price between both options was the same, so we decided to have the convenience of a local driver, which was in my opinion, the best option. Betô, our driver gave us several tips about the area and even stopped along the way for us the buy a hammock.

Maceió is much smaller airport compared to Recife, a number of flights landing in Recife are almost twice as more in REC. Due to our international flight schedule, we decided to arrive in MCZ but departure from REC. It was a great opportunity to get to see different scenarios during our airport transfer, but I only recommend choosing the longest route if makes sense for your flight schedule.

The highway from Maceió airport to São Miguel dos Milagres is currently undergoing a duplication project, you will bypass several trucks that are working on the road and trucks loaded with sugarcane crops. A small part of the highway (approx 6km) is unpaved, which may cause a little traffic. On the other hand, on your way to Recife, you won’t see as many trucks, but you will pass through some small towns, which requires a low speed.

 

Getting Around

São Miguel dos Milagres is a place to relax, the lifestyle at the city will discourage you from getting in the car every day to do a tour. The magic about this place is that you can choose to do nothing, and not feel guilty about it.

Our pousada had a great infrastructure, there was no need to leave your hotel. But I am an explorer, I like to meet the local shops and restaurants, and it was easy to visit the area by bike or walk along the beach. A bike ride along the shore is a must do in São Miguel dos Milagres, during the low tide, the sand is very firm and great for bikes. Most pousadas offer complimentary bikes for guests, don’t forget to ask your hotel if this service is available before making the reservation.

We chose one day to visit the beaches nearby, and for that, we decided to hire a buggy. Our buggy tour cost R$300 had a duration of 3 hours and pass along Patacho Beach, Lages Beach, Porto das Pedras, and one local craft store. To be honest, there was nothing special about the tour, all beaches are pretty and pretty much the same. The only differential was the idea of riding in a buggy. It’s important to mention that most cities in Brazil you can ride the buggy on the beach, but not in São Miguel dos Milagres. Due to the ecotourism rules, buggies are not allowed in the sand.

Where to stay

São Miguel dos Milagres region has several options for accommodation, and the hotels play a huge roll on your stay, for that reason, I decided to write a separate post about accommodation.

 

Where and what to eat

Most pousadas offer a half board option, where you have breakfast and 1 meal included. The meal can be either lunch or dinner. Usually, dessert and appetizers are not included on the half board. The food at our pousada was great, you barely visit the restaurants nearby. If you decide to explore the area you can choose the local restaurants nearby or make a reservation to dine at one of the hotels. Most pousadas open the doors for the non-guests, as long as the hotel is not fully booked.

Local bar and restaurants are very simple (nothing luxurious). Service is always great, but language barrier will definitely be an issue as most people don’t speak English in the village. For a casual beach front lunch, “Restaurante do Enildo” is great option.

While in Alagoas, you must try some of the local culinary. Like most beaches in Brazil, seafood is always the main ingredient. Here you will also find a lot of seafood but with a little tropical twist, such as fish and coconut, shrimp and mango, octopus and banana puré. Moqueca is a famous dish as well as coalho cheese tapiocas and fresh fruit caipirinhas.

 

Things to do/visit

A nonprofits organization in partnership with the local fisherman offers tours to see the wild manatees reservation. It’s a well-known ecological preservation project in Alagoas. The tours can be scheduled by your pousada, but they also accept walk-ins at their office located in the little downtown.

Just keep in mind that cell phone coverage isn’t great in São Miguel, as the village is quite remote. If you chose to buy a Brazilian SIM Card, the only two operators that work in the village are TIM and Claro. All pousadas offer wifi, but it can be quite slow depending on the time of the day.