We often ask ourselves – do we want to come back to this place? The answer for Sao Miguel Do Gostoso is – Yes! Yes! Yes! Find out why by reading this blog post. We visited Sao Miguel Do Gostoso because PWA windusurfer Kauli Seadi had established a centre here. If it is good enough for him, it definitely good enough for us.

Overall and climate

Read about how I review the spots -> here!

The best season for windsurfing is from July to February, with, according to The world kite and windsurfing guide, average windspeeds of 20 knots. We visited Sao Miguel Do Gostoso in December. It was windy every day. We used sails from 4.2 to 5.3. The wind came around 10 am and normally dropped after 3 pm.

In the small bay you have a nice flat water spot. We really enjoyed it. Alexander learned to do the flaka(!) here. I was practicing the gybe. The most flat was at low tide, but the freestylers where going on all day long. You have some chop and waves a little bit further out.

Going from low to high tides you will have waves, especially from October to February (north swell).  I sailed waves for the first time here. It was really fun and nothing scary (i.e. sharp reefs) to be afraid of. In the afternoon at high tides, there were nice waves at Kauli’s place. Good for surf and SUP, when the wind dropped.

The climate is warm, warm, warm all around the year. No wetsuit is needed, but remember a rash guard for the sun!

How to get to Sao Miguel Do Gostoso?

Sao Miguel Do Gostoso is located on the north coast of Brazil between the cities Fortaleza and Natal. The best is to fly to Natal, which is 112 km from Sao Miguel Do Gostoso. The distance to Fortaleza is 514 km.

We traveled from Europe. We found that the best was to travel with the charter company Arkefly from Schiphol, Amsterdam. They fly direct to Natal, but there was only one flight per week. Another possibility was via main European cities to Sao Paulo. We found that this took longer time and was more expensive. Our pousada arranged a taxi from Natal to Sao Miguel Do Gostoso. We brought a huge windsurf bag, but that was no problem. We paid 160 BRL (app. 42 Euros). The drive was 1,5 hours long.

Sao Miguel Do Gostoso is not a large town. We walked between the town centre and the centres. It is possible to rent a beach buggy. If you travel with kids, I would recommend it. For day trips, we rented a car in Sao Miguel Do Gostoso.

Gear rental

There are three centres, Dr Wind (RRD and SUPs), Escola Gostoso (Fanatic and North Sails, surf boards and SUPs) and Kauli Seadi (JP and Hot Sails/Neil Pryde and SUPs).

Dr Wind and Escola Gostoso are a located the furthest from the town (20 minutes walk along the beach), but closest to the reef and flat area. You can see the little bay on the photo to the right. Kauli Seadis center is closer to the town (10 minutes walk). It has smaller waves at high tides just in front of it.

I rented my gear from Escola Gostoso. Alexander rented storage here, since he brought his own gear. The most important for us was a centre close to the flat spot. The windsurf rental at Escola Gostoso was quite new, with great gear and not so crowded as Dr. Wind. I could always pick the board and sail I wanted. The centre was mainly for kiting, so I would advice to check in advance if they still have windsurf rental.

All rental places had lessons for both windsurf and kite, and Kauli Seadi also has SUP lessons.

You find more information her: Escola Gostoso, Club Kauli Seadi and Dr. Wind

Where to stay?

There are many nice pousadas in Sao Miguel Do Gostoso. You find possibilities from cheap to more expensive. Not many pousadas have webpages in English or online booking. I sent e-mails to five preferred pousadas and booked directly. You will have to pay 50 % in advance. Below you find links to some of the pages I checked out.

Pousadas in San Miguel do Gostoso, Ferias Brasil and Trip Advisor

There is also a camping here. The contact information is kalangosclub@hotmail.com

We were her for two weeks, and stayed at two different pousadas. First we stayed at So Alegria. We can highly recommend it. Beach front, nice rooms, good breakfast, very nice staff (a few English speaking (direct or via Google translate)), swimming pool and good location in the center of the town.

The second week, we stayed at Mi Secreto. This is a truly fantastic and romantic pousada with beach front and next to Dr Wind and Escola Gostoso. We had a room with sea view and watched the sunrise/sunset every day. A true a “peace in your soul” experience. Mi Secreto is also good for families with its large lawn, pools and location close location to the centers.

Where to eat?

Sao Miguel Do Gostoso has many good and special restaurants. This was really a great surprise to us! Good eating increases the romance score ;)! We tried them all. I specially recommend:

• Genesis, anything on the menu
• Tuk Tuk, anything on the menu
• Spaco Mix, yummy pizza
• Jardim de Serdio, go Mexican
• Dr Wind, a perfect lunch with a acai bowl or a tuna salad
• J. Sparrows, try the honey marinated shrimp salad for lunch

In Brazil, it may take a while from ordering to getting the food. We starved the first evening, waiting and waiting. For the following evenings, we went out 30 minutes earlier (often just before 8 pm, since Brazilians go out at 8pm), and had a nice drink before dinner. This is Brazilian style! After the first week, we also had caipirinhas for dinner.

Other things to do?

We only rented a car for one day. On our day trip we visited Barra de Punau. You can rent a cayak and paddle up a small river Rio Punau, rent ATV, enjoy play activities for kids or have lunch. I did not find any good webpage for this place. Ask at the tourist information in Sao Miguel Do Gostoso or at your pousada. I did however find this YouTube video, Barra de Punau. This place is very popular, so expect it to be crowded.

We also visited the town of Touros and a nice beach called Praia do Tourinhos west of Sao Miguel Do Gostoso. You can also go horseback riding on the beach in Sao Miguel Do Gostoso. The locals play football all the time, everywhere! I understand, why Brazil is the best football nation in the world.

Everyday after windsurf I did yoga at Espaço Hara. I will write a blog post about this special place in a few days, Yoga in Sao Miguel Do Gostoso!

Check out http://www.saomigueldogostosobrasil.com/english/english.htm. Here you find some information in English.

I would recommend to buy a good map of the area before you go there, if you plan to do more than windsurf. It is hard to find out where places of interest are located. You will only get bad copies of maps, and most cars do not have a navigation system.

Final words!

We really enjoyed Sao Miguel do Gostoso. We will definitely go back, when our boys are a bit older. For me, this was one of the best places I have windsurfed.

Have a nice trip!

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Hang loose!

Cecilia 🙂

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