Centro-Oeste
4 placesBonito MS
Brazil's top ecotourism town — clear-water rivers for snorkeling, waterfall hikes and caves, all run through a tightly organized, conservation-minded booking system.
Read the full guide →Chapada dos Veadeiros GO
A highland national park of dramatic canyons and waterfalls, usually based from the small town of Alto Paraíso — good for hiking, hot-air ballooning and wildlife watching.
Pantanal MS / MT
The world's largest tropical wetland and Brazil's best destination for spotting wildlife in the open — jaguars, caimans and hundreds of bird species, mostly seen by boat or on horseback.
Pirenópolis GO
A small colonial town with cobblestone streets and waterfalls nearby — a popular weekend escape for residents of Brasília, a few hours away.
Nordeste
21 placesChapada Diamantina BA
A national park of canyons and waterfalls based around the town of Lençóis — one of Brazil's most consistently top-rated destinations for hiking and nature.
Read the full guide →Fernando de Noronha PE
A protected volcanic archipelago widely considered Brazil's most beautiful island destination, with Baía do Sancho and Baía dos Porcos among its standout beaches.
Read the full guide →João Pessoa PB
Paraíba's capital, with a relaxed beachfront promenade, natural pools at low tide, and some of the Nordeste's best regional food — without the higher prices of bigger beach cities.
São Miguel do Gostoso RN
A small, low-key beach town with long, quiet stretches of sand — a good pick for travelers who want fewer crowds than nearby Natal or Pipa.
Boipeba BA
A quiet island neighbor to Morro de São Paulo, south of Salvador, with nearly-deserted beaches and a slower pace — still relatively under the radar for foreign visitors.
São Miguel dos Milagres AL
A small, simple beach town on Alagoas's "Brazilian Caribbean" coast — best for travelers who want calm water and coconut palms over nightlife.
Jericoacoara CE
A sand-street village inside a national park, known for sunset dunes and some of Brazil's best kitesurfing conditions.
Read the full guide →Península de Maraú (Barra Grande) BA
A harder-to-reach peninsula that stays quieter as a result, with natural pools and nearby beaches like Taipu de Fora.
Maceió AL
Alagoas's compact, walkable capital, with a beachfront promenade, good seafood, and raft trips to natural pools from Praia de Pajuçara.
Praia da Pipa RN
A cliff-lined stretch of beaches with a livelier village center than most Nordeste beach towns — known for dolphin sightings at Baía dos Golfinhos.
Porto de Galinhas PE
One of Brazil's most popular beach destinations, with warm, reef-calmed natural pools and a well-developed range of hotels and resorts for every budget.
Read the full guide →Lençóis Maranhenses MA
White sand dunes filled with rainwater lagoons, forming one of Brazil's most surreal landscapes — accessed via Barreirinhas or Atins.
Read the full guide →Itacaré BA
A rainforest-backed surf town in southern Bahia, with well-preserved beaches ranging from calm to wave-heavy, depending which you pick.
Arraial d'Ajuda BA
Part of the Porto Seguro area, striking a middle ground between the busier main town and quieter nearby villages — good food and shopping without full resort scale.
Morro de São Paulo BA
A short boat trip from Salvador, lively during peak season and much quieter outside it — best visited at low tide when its natural pools are exposed.
Tamandaré PE
A low-key southern Pernambuco town best known for Praia dos Carneiros, regularly ranked among Brazil's most beautiful beaches.
Maragogi AL
Known as part of the "Brazilian Caribbean" coastline, with natural pools best visited by boat at low tide on a clear day.
Aracaju SE
Sergipe's capital, blending small-city pace with a proper beachfront promenade — also a base for day trips to the São Francisco River canyons.
Praia do Forte BA
A resort-friendly beach town north of Salvador, home to the well-known Projeto Tamar sea turtle conservation project.
Caraíva BA
A car-free, barefoot-pace village that stays quiet thanks to slightly harder access — a base for reaching the more remote Praia do Espelho and Corumbau.
Natal RN
Rio Grande do Norte's capital, with golden dunes meeting the city at Ponta Negra beach and easy buggy trips to nearby coastal lagoons.
Norte
3 placesJalapão TO
A remote adventure destination in the cerrado (Brazilian savanna), known for fervedouros — natural springs so strong they push swimmers gently upward — plus sand dunes and waterfalls. Access generally requires a 4x4 and a guide.
Alter do Chão PA
A small Amazon river-beach village, sometimes called the "Caribbean of the Amazon" — freshwater beaches on the Tapajós River surrounded by rainforest, reachable from Santarém.
Manaus AM
The main gateway to the Amazon rainforest, home to the ornate Amazon Theatre and the famous "meeting of the waters," where the Rio Negro and Solimões flow side by side without mixing.
Read the full guide →Sudeste
13 placesMinas Gerais
Ouro Preto MG
A UNESCO-listed former gold-mining town with baroque churches and steep colonial streets, from Brazil's 18th-century gold rush era.
Read the full guide →Tiradentes MG
A well-preserved colonial town near Ouro Preto, smaller and quieter, known for its steam train, artisan shops and colonial-era architecture.
Diamantina MG
Another UNESCO-listed colonial mining town, set higher in the mountains than Ouro Preto, with a quieter, less touristed feel.
Belo Horizonte MG
Minas Gerais's capital, known nationally for its food scene — traditional Minas cuisine, bars (botecos) and a lively weekend restaurant culture.
Poços de Caldas MG
A mountain spa town built around natural thermal springs — a popular, affordable relaxation getaway rather than a beach or hiking destination.
Inhotim MG
An open-air contemporary art museum and botanical garden near Belo Horizonte — one of Latin America's largest, combining large-scale art installations with landscaped grounds.
Rio de Janeiro (state)
Petrópolis RJ
A mountain town that once served as Brazil's imperial summer capital, with palaces, museums and noticeably cooler weather than the coast, a short drive from Rio.
Visconde de Mauá RJ
A mountain village on the Rio–Minas Gerais border, popular for waterfalls, trout restaurants and a cooler climate — a quieter alternative to Rio's beaches.
Paraty RJ
A preserved colonial port town between Rio and São Paulo, with car-free cobblestone streets and boat access to nearby islands and beaches.
Read the full guide →Ilha Grande RJ
A largely car-free island off the Rio coast, former home to a notorious prison, now known for clear-water beaches and jungle hiking trails.
São Paulo (state)
Holambra SP
A small town founded by Dutch immigrants, known for its flower farms and windmill-dotted, tulip-festival aesthetic — an unusual sight this far into Brazil.
Campos do Jordão SP
Brazil's best-known mountain town for cold-weather tourism, with chalet-style architecture, wine and chocolate shops, and a winter festival scene.
Olímpia SP
A water-park resort town in inland São Paulo state, built almost entirely around family-friendly water park hotels — a strong pick if traveling with kids.
Brotas SP
An adventure-sports town centered on river rafting, canyoning and rappelling, popular with São Paulo residents for weekend trips.
Sul
10 placesSerra Gaúcha
Gramado RS
A mountain town with a European alpine aesthetic, chocolate shops, and elaborate Christmas lighting during the Natal Luz festival.
Read the full guide →Canela RS
Gramado's quieter neighboring town, known for the Caracol waterfall and canyon-adjacent nature parks, often visited as a day trip from Gramado.
Bento Gonçalves RS
The center of Brazil's main wine region, Vale dos Vinhedos, with Italian-immigrant heritage, vineyard tours and tastings.
Cambará do Sul RS
Base town for two dramatic canyon national parks (Aparados da Serra and Serra Geral) — deep, cliff-lined canyons often compared to a smaller-scale Grand Canyon.
Santa Catarina
Florianópolis SC
An island city with over 40 beaches, from calm family bays to serious surf breaks.
Read the full guide →Blumenau SC
A city built on German immigrant heritage, best known for hosting Brazil's largest Oktoberfest celebration each October.
Pomerode SC
Considered Brazil's "most German" town — half-timbered architecture and Pomeranian dialect still spoken by some residents.
Urubici SC
A mountain town that gets colder than almost anywhere else in Brazil, occasionally seeing frost or light snow — a novelty trip for many Brazilian travelers.
Paraná
Foz do Iguaçu PR
Home to the Brazilian side of Iguaçu Falls, one of the world's largest waterfall systems, on the border with Argentina.
Read the full guide →Curitiba PR
Paraná's capital, often cited as a model of Brazilian urban planning — well-organized public transit, extensive parks and a walkable downtown.