praia de ponta negra

Fabulous sandy beach which goes on for miles, so you can walk and walk. Huge expanses of sand when the tide is out - however, when the tide comes in the beach almost disappears in places. There are sun loungers and umbrellas for hire - make sure you ask the price at the beginning, as we found they can vary! There are numerous vendors walking up and down the beach, but none of them bother you if you show you don't want to buy anything. There are also various bars and little restaurants near the beach. The famous dune at the end of the beach - the Morro di Careca - is worth walking up to and certainly worth a few photographs. A really wonderful place for simply relaxing or people watching. Very friendly.

The beach is clean, there are many bars and restaurants where you can grab a drink or eat something. There are also many activities you can practice like stand up boarding, kayak, water sports.The best picture you can take is the one with the famous dune calle "morro di careca" just at the end of the beach.

Ponta Negra is a beautiful beach. Local people sell a variety of food along the main drag and along the beach. There are plenty of restaurants and places to simply relax on a beach chair and have a Caiperina.

Fifteen years ago this place was paradise. I was so disappointed when I came back. Polluted. Crowded. They're trying to save the beach by putting up these boulders as makeshift dunes. Ugly! You can't climb Morro do Careca anymore.

Nice beach. It's more of a beach for surfers. The dunes are pretty. Lots of hotels around. Some restaurants also. There are better beaches nearby.

Great beach, plenty of cheap cafes, restaurants & bars, clean, lots of activity, street vendors weren't aggressive

This is Natal's main beach. You can sit here all day long , what I did , or you can walk it is a very long beach and do your daily gym. The water is gorgeous . They sell everything souvenirs , food biquínis, they rent chairs and umbrelones, you can eat the oysters from Pipa. I love it . It is busy with people but one can read a book and watch the sea . Everything and everybody is here. In the afternoon the surfers take over .

Vibrant area, lovely beach with plenty of bars/restaurants that are excellent for people watching. The 3 bars we visited were excellent value for money, a strong caipirinha was less than £2 in sterling. Vendors selling on the street were not aggressive,and actually very polite when anyone declined to buy something from them

It's a place that draws you in for its beach, but that puts you into the frenzy of the crowds. Having restaurants and other small venues from which to people watch is key. This is the typical tourist beach stretch and that is not necessarily an immediate negative aspect. Rather, it is the human vibe and soul of this place that compliments the natural beauty of the sun, water and sand. Go and experience it.

The natural aspect of this beach was great. Sand, Sun, warm water, the best nature can give. But I visited during the world cup, and it was disorganized, lots of traffic, trash on main street, a lot still left in construction.The beach was full of tourists from US, Ghana, Greece, Japan, Mexico, and there was simply not a bit done to polish it up.I returned during a national holiday, it was packed with locals, vendors, etc. I know it is an Urban city beach, I only wish the locals took better care of it to elevate it to a must see.I also liked the prompt and excellent service of street vendors. You approach a beach chair, and in an instant a vendor is there to offer cold beer and food.Regardless, I had lots of fun and would return, and leave my valuables at home.

After reading many of the reviews below and noting when they were posted I'd say you have to give Ponta Negra another chance. If what is said is true then the authorities have listened. We stayed at the Blue Marlin Apartments right on the beach and Boardwalk. The boardwalk has undergone major restoration and was clean with lots of people taking walks of an evening. The beach was clean and while there were vendors on the beach, they were polite and once you told them that you weren't interested,They left you alone.It seems the area is still undergoing reconstruction in terms of building washrooms and new kiosks for vendors. We commented that in 12 months this will be even better.My only gripe was that there are many apartments for rent but no grocery store unless you take a bus or taxi 20 mins into the city for the closest supermarket. This could be a wise move for an investor in this area!In summary, keep an open mind and note there is always room for improvement, no matter where you are.

Beautiful beach,ponta negra think is the best place to stay in natal, got the sandunes in natal you have the market close by and got smaller beaches close by like pipa

Enjoy the view. Warm waters. Also, you can buy and have it delivered to you drinks and food. Cold beer and good food available for fair and affordable prices! This place is a must to go in Natal.

Most of this beach is accessible only through very steep slopes, and I had to take a taxi to get to a place where access was possible through stairs. It was pretty crowded, and full of umbrellas and chaise longues on hire -- someone materialised as soon as I stepped on the beach and said that I would need to pay 10 reals ($5) for one. Fair enough. The beach was pretty dirty, and of course full of noisy people -- this too was not too unexpected. But possibly the worst feature was that you couldn't be left in peace, there were vendors every 3 seconds trying to sell you something. The food vendors were of course useful because they sold you food at half the rates of the extortionate 'restaurants' nearby (with whom they seemed to have an understanding, see below). So far, not so bad. The sea was rougher than at Camarupim, especially when the tide came in in the early afternoon -- but I was ok with this as well, sunning myself and asking neighbours to look after my belongings when I went for a swim. I caught a glimpse of the 'other' side when I bought a snack from one of the vendors. After I paid the young man who served me the dish at my table, I was surrounded by the others who charged me with NOT paying for my food, and shouting. I replied politely that I had, even pointing at the squirming young man who had taken my money. Of course he denied it completely. And of course his word ruled. A hotel owner came along and said, these guys are clean, I've known them for years. At this point, I said wearily, look I have paid, and will not fuss over 20 reals, I'll pay it again. I handed over the money, but the hotel owner, in order to save his and their faces, said, but I tell you, these guys are clean. So am I, said I wearily. Ah, but I didn't see what happened, said he. Too bad, said I, this incident just ruined my day, but arguing is just going to make it worse, so I hope my paying is the end of it.Moral: don't be like me, don't be trusting, pay any money you have to in front of 3 witnesses. The money was never the issue (I've been diddled of far more in Brazil and elsewhere in the world), but it just added to my impression that Ponta Negra beach is a tourist trap, where the locals are out to trap tourists and will gang up if need be to do so.Advice: go to another less touristy beach, and bliss out.

Rent an umbrella for 5-10 reals for the whole day. People serve tasty alcoholic drinks and an assortment of food for a reasonable price. At first, you don't mind the peddlers trying to sell you art, jewelry, and random souvenirs but after about 5 minutes of constant bombardment you have to go out of your way to ignore them. Looking past the annoying peddlers, the most amazing beach you could ask for. Sit back and sip on your sweet drink while the sun goes to work on your tan. When your done drinking, take out the soccer ball and kick it around with your fellow beach goers. Then jump in the ocean to cool off. The waves are big enough to body surf but small enough not to get destroyed, there were even a few surf boards catching a wave. It's easy to spend the day just relaxing at the beach and taking in the sights, smells, and refreshing sea breeze.