Tulip Inn Potengi

ATM & Banks in Brazil

by MikeAtSea

Brazil offers a number of banks, unfortunately not all accept international cards. In a number of cases I was not able to draw money at all, even though the bank should have accepted the card or the ATM was simply broken.
If you arrive in Brazil during carnival you will find all banks closed and hardly any foreign exchanges open. What makes matters worse that some shops during this time do not accept foreign currency.
This was my experience during carnival 2007 where I could not get Brazilian currency and could at some points not pay, even in tourist shops!!

Praia Shopping

by madvex

This is a smaller mall just off the Via Costaria and within walking distance from Ponta Negra beach.

With a nice, large outisde eating area and tons of food to choose from, this is great place to do some light shopping and otherwise just kind of hang out and relax for a change of scene.

While not a huge place, this single floor mall has alot of nice little shops and, as always, great prices and food.

Lots of buffet style restaurants and mostly open air make this a nice place to walk around, eat and shop during the day.

Ponta Negra Beach

by Alless

This is certainly the most famous tourist spot in Natal.
The village of Ponta Negra is a few square kilometers large. It used to be home for fishers and other working people; around early 1990's, the tourism businesses began to take ove the area; a few years ago, foreigner investors (notably Italians, Portuguese and other Europeans) started to pour money into the area, and tourism oriented businesses flourished.
Today, there are men at work all around the village. Medium and small hotels and flats are being built everywhere (there is no free space for bigger hotels). Houses are being refurbished and adapted to become restaurants, shops, etc. There are few slots of real estate left (naturally, prices are rising).
However, if the hotels and flats are spread all over, most of the fun happens at the beach strip.
Ponta Negra beach is about 4 km long. In the south end is Morro do Careca, the most famous landmark of Natal. Walking northwards, one first sees about 2km of av. Erivan Franca, crowded with bars, restaurants, hotels, party houses, small shopping galleries, etc; then, the avenue ends, and the next 2km have just a walk way, lined with small hotels and some small snack barrows.
It's not hard to see why this is the hot spot in Natal.
Morro do Careca is a combination of sea, mountain, dunes and green. Climbing the hill is forbidden, but many people don't care; the gay guides repeatedly mention the lateral trails of the hill as a good meeting point. The avenue sideways is where most fun happens. That stretch is always crowded with tourists, both Brazilian and foreigners. It's not luxurious or posh, but it's cosy and clean. The sun is almost always shining, but it's always accompanied by a refresing wind. It's always busy with people of all walks of life, but everybody respects each other.

Trip to the North

by YellowFire

"Natal"

This city of 607,000, located on the northeastern tip of Brazil, is best known for its beaches. I think the two nicest are Ponta Negra and Praia Maio. Negra is a relatively deserted stretch of sand dunes south of town (except on weekends, when the dunes are hopping with crowds), and Maio is a broad beach in town protected by a reef and the star-shaped 16th-century Fortaleza dos Reis Magos (Fort of the Magi). The lighthouse of Mae Luiza affords great views of Natal and the surrounding beaches. Because of its distance from other major areas, Natal isn't visited by many tourists. Plan three nights there if you're a beach lover; otherwise, one night will be plenty. 1,290 mi/2,075 km north of Rio de Janeiro.