Salvador’s Best Beaches
Praia Farol da Barra
Salvador has beaches for everybody. There are sandy beaches and pebbly beaches. There are beaches for surfing and beaches with benches of rock just offshore that break the waves and leave the beaches calm. My favorites were the beaches with giant tide pools that people use as heated swimming pools. The black rock absorbs the sun and leaves the pools even warmer than the already warm ocean.
Praia Farol da Barra
One of the most popular beaches in Salvador, Praia Farol da Barra has soft sand and low waves. The big rollers from the Atlantic are broken by benches of rock that serve as a reef and protect the beach.
On the point, below the Farol da BarraI (farol means lighthouse), are a series of tide pools that are warm and calm at low tide. (below)
Praia da Pedra Alta (High Rock Beach) has slabs of rock that are only covered at high tide. It’s north of Farol da Barra but before you get to Rio Vermelho. (below)
Praia da Gamboa
The heart of Salvador is built right to the water’s edge. Only a few, small beaches remain, like pebbly Praia da Gamboa. The houses crowded behind are the “comunidade” of Gamboa, one of the poorest neighborhoods with the best views of the sea. Gamboa is famous for the restaurant Bar da Monica.
Praia Farol de Itapuã
North of the city, Praia Farol de Itapuã is near the neighborhood of Itapuã and the Itapuã lighthouse. It’s another great beach at low tide but even at high tide there are some pools protected by the rocks farther out.
Farol de Itapuã
One of the many working lighthouses in Salvador, Farol de Itapuã is on the northern edge of the beach with the same name.
Praia da Jaguaribe
My favorite beach, Jaguaribe, is north of the city and has several surf schools. Shoutout to Freddy at AD Surf for getting me on my feet in the first lesson. By the end of my fourth lesson I started to call myself a surfer.
Praia da Penha
The south side of Salvador has numerous ports and is the best place to buy fresh fish and look at boats.
The view from Praia da Pedra Alta south towards Morro da Christo in the center of the photo and Farol da Barra on the horizon. (below)
