Baía do Sancho
Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil
Baía do Sancho is the beach most people picture when they imagine Fernando de Noronha, a cove cut into cliffs off the Brazilian coast, part of Pernambuco's marine national park. You reach it either by boat or by climbing down a metal stairway wedged into a crack in the rock, and either way the water below is clear enough to see the reef fish from the ledge above.
Even people who live on Noronha still call this the best beach on the island, but between the park fees and the crowd at the stairway during peak season, it's not a spot anyone has entirely to themselves anymore.
How we score beachesGo early, before the day boats arrive and the stairway gets a line. The descent is narrow and can back up fast once tour groups start climbing down together.
There's no road to Sancho. Most visitors walk from the park entrance to a clifftop viewpoint, then take the stairway down, or arrive by schooner tour that lands right on the sand. Either way, you'll need a ticket for the Marine National Park plus the island's daily environmental preservation tax, both paid on arrival at the airport.
The stairway through the rock crack is steep and narrow, not workable for strollers or anyone unsteady on a ladder-like descent. Boat arrivals skip the stairs entirely and land straight on the sand.
December through March brings the biggest swells of the year, good for the surf crowd but rougher for the stairway landing and swimming close to the cliffs. Calmer seas and easier snorkeling tend to show up outside that window.
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