Rio Grande do Norte

The state

Rio Grande do Norte occupies the northeastern corner of Brazil, where the coast turns west. The eastern shore around Natal is a sequence of dunes, lagoons, reefs and red cliffs, while the northern coast is windswept and lined with salt pans, and most of the interior is semi-arid sertão. Natal, founded on Christmas Day 1599 beside the star-shaped Forte dos Reis Magos, is known as the City of the Sun, and the state played a strategic role in the Second World War as an Allied air base linking South America with West Africa. Local culture draws on fishing villages, sertão cattle traditions and the Catholic heritage of the Martyrs of Cunhaú and Uruaçu, canonised in 2017.

For agencies the state offers a compact, easy-to-operate beach product. Buggy excursions over the Genipabu dunes, the cliffs and dolphin bay of Pipa, and the kite and windsurf coast of São Miguel do Gostoso combine well with Natal's hotel base, while inland Mossoró and the Seridó add heritage and June festival content. Natal's airport, about 25 km from the city at São Gonçalo do Amarante, handles domestic hubs and a small number of international routes. It is well suited to FIT, families, incentive groups and conventions, with the drier months the preferred window.