Boa Viagem Beach
Boa Viagem Beach
4
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Monday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
About
This upscale waterfront area, with tall buildings, hotels and great restaurants, has an excellent beach and a lively nightlife.
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions

4.0
8,094 reviews
Excellent
2,747
Very good
3,231
Average
1,792
Poor
241
Terrible
83

vitorbabrazil
Salvador, BA9,236 contributions
Sep 2020
Being the most famous beach in Recife and in the area where most hotels are, this is the place to be when here!
The very present signage about sharks and tides is no joke, it's there for a reason, so DO NOT cross the reefs by any reason whatsoever, nor go for a swim in high tide!
Due to the skyscrapers, the beach gets shaded around 3pm in most parts, which doesn't prevent one from still enjoying it, bearing the tide in mind.
During this covid times, it is mandatory to keep the mask on while on the beach, though nobody does it! Vendors must have it on anyway and there is control.
Speaking of them, use your judgement to decide what to consume from them in terms of food for the sake of your intestines!
The use of beach chairs and parasol at no cost is conditioned to ordering something, or else it costs 5-10 reais per person.
Along the promenade there are public toilets but don't expect them to be impeccably clean; ask the caretaker for toilet paper if needed.
Any time day or night don't show off belongings like jewellery or smartphones, nor do you take valuables in a wallet for a walk, there are many pickpockets around.
Other than that, enjoy the place to be in Recife!!
Written September 6, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

vitorbabrazil
Salvador, BA9,236 contributions
May 2021
Let me start by reminding visitors that access to the beach is not allowed on weekends due to the pandemic!
This very long promenade is quite safe and pleasant to walk along day or night, obviously with extra care in later hour.
Kiosks offering drinks and bites, public toilets and training/sports equipment can be found along the many kilometres, all marked on the pavement for jogging references.
The bike lane is unfortunately never respected and one should watch for two-wheeled pickpockets.
Free wifi doesn't work as promoted.
Written June 5, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SadhanaRakesh
Recife, PE1,399 contributions
Jul 2011 • Couples
A fantastic beach to enjoy round the year with cost effective vacation rental houses available on the beach. One can enjoy the Brazilian Grill in restaurants till almost midtnight. Enjoy the Brazilian Drinks made from liquor out of Sugar Cane and lemon juice. The way this drink is prepared is worth watching.

Boa Viagem beach in Recife is one of the most famous urban beaches in Brazil. Visitors get enchanted by the sandy beache with warm green waters and also by the complete infrastructure of hotels, restaurants and services which surrounds it.

Walk with safety precautions in the inner roads.
Do not keep much valuables in possission while walking in inner roads.
Go to enjoy nearby beaches and Olinda - the old village construction and culture.
A cost effective & joyful vacation trip to Brazil - a must choice of all ages.
Written August 4, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Michael880
Recife, PE8 contributions
Sep 2012 • Business
Boa viagem is a nice place for a holiday and has many tourist maps to help us tourists but I found one called "FREEMAPS". It was free and seems to be in quite a few hotels, its interesting as you can see it online and all the shops and restaurants advertising can be seen in 360º, which is great for us to see whats in store for us the other end.

Hope that helps
Written October 5, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Vincent M
New Orleans, LA2,213 contributions
Jun 2015 • Solo
Praia Boa Viagem is a beautiful 7-mile stretch of white sand beach, protected from strong surf and rip tides by offshore reefs: recifes in Portuguese, hence the name of the city. This is an interesting beach, one that definitely changes its character. So, with deference, here's a primer on the dynamics of Boa Viagem and how they will affect what you see and do here.

The beach runs North-South and the SE trade winds blow in from the tropical waters of the South Atlantic. The beach is signigicantly narrower in some parts than others. Immediately W of the beach is a rip-rap barrier to prevent shore erosion and scouring. Immediately W of that is a wide boardwalk, a bike path, Av. Boa Viagem (4 lanes all Northbound), and a solid phalanx of high-rise hotels, condos and apartment houses. All of the above facts strongly affect the character of this beach. So do the tides, which act like the wild card in the deck. They're variable you see. Contrary to what some TA reviewers have complained about, high tide at Boa Viagem is NOT always at noon. Or any other time, either here or anywhere else on Earth. Higher high tide on Bia Viagem today, 10-06-15, was at 10:22 am; tomorrow it will be at 11:36; a week from today it will be at 4:26pm, almost sunset; that's the way tides work. If you want to spend time here, I strongly recommend you check the tide tables for Recife (you can google them online) because tides at this beach are VERY important.

I rate this beach Excellent. The beach community might be better in Miami or Phuket or Kuta-Bali. I'm just rating beach itself. Different folks go to beaches for different reasons. Hopefully these observations will help you get the most out of your time here.

1. Every day the sun rises in the east, the direction of the ocean, and head west, the direction of that very close solid row of high-rises that I mentioned above. You get a break In summer because of DST, but invariably, by early afternoon some
stretches of the beach will be in shade. By mid-afternoon, most will be; by late afternoon, all will be. So, if you want to work in your tan, don't come here at 3 in the afternoon! Get here in the morning, the earlier the better. Plus which, it's cooler.

2. What if you don't care about a tan, but you would like to check out beautiful Brasileiras in floss bikinis. Guess what? For the same reason I told you that to get a tan you have to come in the morning, so do they! They won't be there in the late afternoon, perhaps singly, but not en masse. Or their tee shirts and shorts will be back on.

3. When it's high tide, because of the narrowness of the beach, in some stretches of Boa Viagem there will be very little beach between sea and rip-rap. In a few stretches, the waves will go all the way to the rocks--zero sandy beach. At such times, beach goers are forced to cluster together. So if there's a high tide at noon, finding the stretch of beach where the locals are all clustered will pinpoint where you want to work on you tan or check out other beach goers. Assuming you're an attractive young lady from Calgary, Canberra or Copenhagen, eager to get a Brazilian bikini and make new friends, the same dynamics hold.

4. As the sun is setting , the beach is in shade, but the sky to the west, on a clear day will become more dramatic as the clouds are hit with sunlight from the west, and the lower the sun, the more spectacular the clouds to the east. Further, the waters of the Atlantic will reflect the softer, more pastel colors of the clouds, so not only is the skyscape more beautiful, but so is the seascape. And, a bonus, the high-rises jutting east at the north and south ends of the beach will be more dramatic, for the same reason the Grand Canyon is at sunset. So if your interest is the sheer beauty of the beach, or getting great photos of natural beauty (as opposed to Brasileiras), late afternoon is the best time to go.

5. At low tide, the reefs are exposed. Is the sea more dramatic when they are? I think so, but it all depends. For sure though, you should check out the beach both at high tide and low, because the difference is remarkable. Most of the great beaches I've been to don't have exposed reefs. You won't find them at Malibu, DaNang, or Bondi.

6. So low tide - high tide: which is better for swimming? Should you swim at Boa Viagem at all? You'll likely hear a lot people talking bull about it. The bad bit is that invariably the very next word they say after "bull" is "shark". Where I come from, when locals want to go to the beach, we drive over to the Florida Panhandle. Even though the Panhandle does have shark attacks, lots of people swim there. Hundreds of thousands of people will be flocking to the Jersey Shore this year; but the Shore was the scene of one of the worst multiple shark attack episodes in history, and the villains were bull sharks. The locals agree that you are much safer swimming inside the reef than outside it, which might make sense. I've also heard that you're safer at low tide than high. I question that. Bull sharks, unlike tiger or great white, are quite comfortable in shallow water, and even fresh water. The reefs don't appear to be an unbroken barrier. Do folks go in the water? Yes. Did I go in the water? Yes, where others were also in it. Did I stay long? No. Should you go in the water? I've spent a lot of years around the sea, and I certainly wouldn't criticize anyone who preferred not to. One thing is absolutely certain: you're a lot less likely to get attacked by a bull shark 20 feet from the water than 20 feet into the water.

Some of the most beautiful beaches in the world have sharks. Others have deadly jellies, barracuda, or other nasties. It's not a pity about the sharks. The Atlantic is the sea after all. It's a pity the government doesn't put up shark nets a la Hong Kong. Where those nets are in place, Hong Kong hasn't had a shark fatality in 20 years. Giving Brazilians an absolutely safe place to swim on Boa Viagem would be worth the investment. The technology is there.
Written June 10, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Vanessa P
Calgary, Canada1,394 contributions
Oct 2013 • Family
This is a well know place for shark attacks. I would never swing or let one of my families swing in this beach (Praia de Boa Viagem). The local story is that Fishermen working at a local docks used to clean fish and dump its insides in the ocean. The offal were food for sharks once while swimming there. However, the number of sharks started to grown as food was easy and abundant. The sharks then started to reproduced and make that place their house. Nowadays, you find warnings all over the shore. Also, the many buildings that were built along the shore are cutting the natural wave of wind disturbing and changing the environment. Still a beautiful place. But it is sad that we were at a hotel in front of the beach and we could not swim.
Written September 2, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

10071stevep
Orange, CA168 contributions
Feb 2019 • Couples
Aesthetically, this is the nicest beach I have ever seen. However, as others have chronicled, sharks may provide buzz-kill for actually using the beach. If you are in Recife on a nice day, certainly worth a stroll.
Written February 20, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TomSonntag
New York, NY209 contributions
Jan 2016 • Couples
Ok, for English speaking folks beat means a clean, quiet maybe exotic stretch of sand to lie down and enjoy. Boa Viagem is a joke. I would not call it a beach. It's a 20 feet (at best) wide stretch of wet sand, next to a three lane highway, 2 blocks from a canal of open raw sewage. Yes, it is a city beach but to think that international tourists will take a 10+!hour flight for this is a joke. If you are stuck in Recife for whatever reason, take a walk. Otherwise, don't pack your bags.
And please can someone show those folks in Brazil a gorgeous city beach like Honolulu, Brisbane, or Miami. Now we are taking
Written January 4, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Vakantie77
Hoorn, The Netherlands450 contributions
Dec 2014
We visited this beach at the end of our holiday. It was great for relaxing but for Brazil the beach is not very beatiful. The skyline is quite ugly. From 3.30 pm there is no sun at the beach anymore because of the high buildings. Nearby Recife there are much greater beaches.
Written November 19, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

AthensBulldawg
Athens GA1,010 contributions
Feb 2014 • Couples
This beach adjoins a trendy neighborhood and has a nice board walk along which people stroll. The area appears relatively safe during the day time and several public and private patrol vehicles were observed during the short period (ca. 45 minutes) we stopped here. The beach and walk appear to be a popular place to bring visiting tourists.

Note: the public bathrooms were locked when we were there.

DANGER: The beach itself has signs warning of sharks, so swimming is not advised, except in little pools which remain when the tide goes out, preventing the sharks from coming near.

Tip: If you come on a tour bus, you are likely to be given a chit for a coconut, with the top chopped off and a straw inserted for the liquid ("milk") within. Not my favorite, nor did the preparation look completely sanitary. The vendor, however, was happy to accept the chit in exchange for a bottled fruit drink; we tried the local one, Skinka (what a name!), and liked it very much. So, if you don't care for coconut milk, feel free to ask to trade.
Written April 10, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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