Moreré beach
Pools and reefs.
Otávio Nogueira from Fortaleza, BR — CC BY 2.0 · Gabriel Scapin de Oliveira from Brasil — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Matthijs Strietman from Cambridge, United Kingdom — CC BY 2.0 · Gabriel Scapin de Oliveira from Brasil — CC BY-SA 2.0
Boipeba Island, south of Tinharé in the Cairu archipelago, is a quieter neighbour of Morro de São Paulo: 88 km² of beaches, Atlantic Forest, palms, coral reefs and mangroves, with about 3,000 people in four villages, Velha Boipeba, São Sebastião, Moreré and Monte Alegre. Its name comes from the Tupi mboipeba, 'flat snake'. Portuguese Jesuits settled it in 1537, making it one of the oldest settlements in Bahia, and Velha Boipeba keeps streets more than three centuries old and the historic Church of the Divino Espírito Santo. Cars are banned except ambulances; goods move by tractor, mule cart and wheelbarrow. Its beaches include Boca da Barra, Tassimirim, Cueira, Moreré and Bainema, and in 2013 TripAdvisor users voted it the second most beautiful island in South America after Easter Island. Speedboats leave Valença, Torrinhas and Graciosa (about R$63 each way, around 1 h 10 from Valença), and there are flights from Salvador.
Pools and reefs.
Centuries-old streets.
Tractors and mule carts.
Cairu archipelago, south of Tinharé Island, Bahia
By speedboat from Valença, Torrinhas or Graciosa, about R$63 each way, or by plane from Salvador; cars are banned on the island.