Porto da Lua

Facing a stretch of reef-sheltered sea, Pousada Porto da Lua sits directly on the sand at Praia do Forte, roughly 80 kilometres north of Salvador. Its apartments come with television, direct-dial phone, safe, minibar, desk and air conditioning, and two rooms are built without a sea view, smaller than the rest but each with its own veranda and hammock. The hotel runs two restaurants: one with its floor practically in the sand, the other set back behind glass panels that keep the beach in view. Breakfast and afternoon tea are served daily, with lunch and dinner offered à la carte, and the bar is known locally for its caipirinha. Just offshore lies a natural aquarium of reef pools, where fish can be seen from the pool's edge down to about 3 metres. A researcher named Alfredo Carvalho Filho identified three previously uncatalogued fish species in these waters, work later published in his book on Brazil's coastal fish. The building was fully renovated in 2009, updating comfort while keeping its original tropical form intact. It is a compact stay, and a quiet one. You can hear the sea from the restaurant tables set back from the shore, and reach the reef pools on foot from the beach path outside.