Natal Things to Do

The cleanest urban beaches in Natal
Via Costeira is the 10 km highway which goes from Praia dos Artistas to Ponta Negra. There are about ten high category hotels on one side, and a nature reserve Parque das Dunas,on the other.
Differently from Ponta Negra and Praia do Meio, there is no sewage running on the sand; also, because few people (basically, only the guests of the hotels) go to these beaches, very little garbage is thrown out, and the hotel staff cleans it often.
If you are staying at one of the Via Costeira hotels, then going to these beaches is just a natural option.
However, even if you are not a guest, you can use part of the structure of the hotels to enjoy the beaches. Always remember this: the beach is public property, whereas the hotel is private property; the hotel can't stop anyone from going to the beach; the hotels could prevent you from using their premises, but it is not to their benefit to do so. Usually, you can leave your car at the parking loot; use the restaurants for water/drinks or to have a full meal; use the external showers to wash the salt.

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.

One week of carnival is not enough for many Brazilians.
Almost every big city tries to capitalize on that fact and organize an off-season carnival. Fortaleza has Fortal, Recife has Recifolia, Brasilia (a city famous not just for not having carnival, but also for not having any other means of having fun) has Candango; Natal has Carnatal.
Carnatal takes place sometime in early November. It has happened in the streets around Machadao (traffic around the stadium changes radically during Carnatal days), but every year a discussion arises about the convenience of moving the party somewhere else (people who live around that area claim they pay too much tax and are unhappy with all the noise that Carnatal makes).
While in Rio it's difficult (though possible) for foreigners to participate directly of the parades (most tourists just watch alegories passing by), in Carnatal participation is the norm.
There are several "blocos", which consistly basicly of a famous band playing music very loudly on the top of a big adapted truck; the truck moves slowly along the streets, and the members of the block are allowed to follow it, singing, dancing and enjoying themselves (plenty of drinking, flerting, hugging, kissing). A membership costs around R$100, and you are identified by a characteristic t-shirt, called abada; only people wearing abadas can follow the block.
You can also just watch the blocks; either you pay a small fee to be allowed in the cabines mounted around the Carnatal streets, or just wander around for free.

The fortress was built in 1,598, using wood, stones, sand and whale oil; it was the first bulding in Natal. The designer, Gaspar de Samperes, adopted the conventional design for a maritime fortress: a five corners stars.
In 12th December 1,633, the fortress was taken over by the Dutch, who stayed until January of 1,654, when the Portuguese, helped by the indians, regained the place.

Museum of natural science and anthropoly, maintained by the Federal University.
Diversified expositions: fossils found in the region; scheletons of several animals: whale, elephant, lion, etc; artwork from indians and afro-brazilians; pieces of historic relevance.

pOI AL RITORNO SIAMO ANCHE ANDATI AD UNA LAGUNA DI ACQUA DOLCE, A FARE IL BAGNO, CHE BELLA CHE ERA, C'ERA LA TERRA ROSSA IN QUESTA LAGOA, CIOE' IN QUESTO LAGO, E ANDAVA SFUMANDO AL LILLA E POI AL BLU MAN MANO CHE L'ACQUA SI FACEVA PIU' PROFONDA.

POI ANDAVAMO A 10 CM DALLA FINE DI ALCUNI DIRUPI ROCCIOSI, IO AVEVO PAURA CHE I FRENI NON ANDASSERO E CHE SAREI PRECIPITATA GIU' DALLA SCARPATA!!WOWW CHE EMOZIONE! SONO SOPRAVVISSUTAAAAA YUUUUUUUHUUUUUU! IHIHIH

CARISSIMI AMICI MIEI,

VI RINGRAZIO UN SACCO DEL CALORE CHE MI FATE SENTIRE.
SONO A NATAL ANCHE ORA, E' LA MIA ULTIMA SERA QUI, E MI DISPIACE MOLTO RIPARTIRE DOMANI. OGGI COME VI AVEVO PREANNUNCIATO HO FATTO LA GITA COL BUGGY, E' STATO INCREDIBILE, AVEVO L'ADRENALINA A TREMILA, ERO CON DUE RAGAZZE BRASILIANE DENTRO,E NON POTEVO DIRE CHE VOLEVO LA GITA SENZA EMOZIONE, SENNO' MI AVREBBERO ESURPATO IL TITOLO DI BRASILIANA DOC IHIH