Natal Trips & Tours

Travel and Leisure Worlds Best Awards for number 1 tour operator in the world 2024 and number 2 tour operator in the world 2025

We're one of the World's Best Tour Operators!

Named three years running in Travel+Leisure World's Best, including No.1 in 2024

Natal

A city by the sea where that Brazilian zest for life is never far from reach.

The bustling capital of Rio Grande do Norte in northeastern Brazil, much of life in Natal (aka the ‘City of the Sun’) is centred around the sugary, golden coast. Grab your flip flops and head for Ponta Negra, Natal’s most loved beach, for sunbathing, swimming and sunset views over Morro do Careca dune, and then enjoy a well-earned evening of music and delicious seafood. Even greater thrills await on a buggy or swaying camel ride over the sprawling Genipabu Dunes, where you may even find a hidden lagoon to splash in. Get your fill of history in one of the vibrant markets of the old town or at the Fortress of the Three Kings, an enigmatic star-shaped fort built on the beach to defend against pirates and invaders. And just when you’re beginning to get a feel for Natal, you’ll hear talk of Cajueiro de Pirangi, the world’s largest cashew tree, which spans over 8,000 square metres. Yes really!

Our Experts

Want to chat?

Get advice and suggestions to make this your perfect trip.

or call us on: +1 (646) 542 0667

Meg Yash

Brazil Travel Specialist

Carola Fresno

Brazil Travel Specialist

Kevin Zimmermann

Africa & South America Travel Specialist

Things to do

What to do in Natal

A vibrant coastal city in northeastern Brazil, Natal has something for everyone. Sun yourself on the flaxen sands of Ponta Negra, admire the marine life at the Natal Aquarium or, for a taste of local history, explore the 16th-century ‘Fortress of the Three Kings’. For the adventurous among you, there are buggy and camel rides over the Genipabu Dunes, where you can also stop for a dip in their freshwater lagoons. And in the name of all things curious, you can even pay a visit to the world’s largest cashew tree, Cajueiro de Pirangi.

Open Map

Culture

Why you'll love it

Natal enjoys just-about-perfect weather all year round – what more could you ask from a seaside city?

Off the beaten track

Head north for Maracajaú, a delightful town often referred to as the ‘Brazilian Caribbean’, where you can snorkel or dive from coral reefs amongst the technicolour marine life.

Something to think about

While it may not be as famous as Rio’s Carnival, the ‘Carnatal’ festival takes place in December. It’s one of Brazil’s largest off-season carnivals and promises a more intimate experience of the festivities.

When to go

Best time to visit Natal

Excellent

Good

Mixed

january

Dry Season — one of the best times to visit

Articles

Brazil in the blog

Planning Guides

Best time to visit Brazil

A once in a lifetime adventure awaits you

Reviews

Based on 942 Feefo Reviews

Guest

Trip of a Lifetime

August 2026

10 nights in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda

This truly was a trip of a lifetime, and we wanted to share some of the highlights. The hotels were all amazing, and every single transfer was prompt. We felt so well taken care of throughout our travels. We loved the animals, the game drives, gorilla trekking, and golden monkey trekking, and eating breakfast and lunch out in the bush was such a special touch. We even got to see the Big 5 all in one day, traveling from Lake Nakuru to Masai Mara! A special shoutout to our first driver, Ken. He truly set the tone for what an engaging game drive should be. His knowledge of the animals and nature made every drive memorable.

Joan McCulloch

Amazing experience

August 2026

10 nights in South Africa and Lesotho

They tailored the entire trip to my requirements, communication was superb. There was no pushiness. I will definitely use them again and highly recommend them to anyone considering a trip to southern Africa.

Guest

August 2026

8 nights in South Africa and Zimbabwe

Jenna was fantastic and gave us great advice and recommendations for our homeymoon

Zoey Miller

Exceptional company, exceptional trip

August 2026

6 nights in Argentina

We absolutely love working with Timbuktu for our trips! We are big travelers but we have busy jobs and don’t have time to do hours of research. Timbuktu has a great team of experts who can perfectly plan your trip and present all sorts of options to you so you can have the trip fit your preferences without it being at all difficult or time-consuming. And the partners on the ground do exceptional work as well! We loved our guides all across Argentina and the trip went super smoothly. Carola was our trip planner and we could not have asked for more! She worked with us to craft our perfect itinerary and handled any issues that came up while we were traveling quickly and easily. We are already planning our next trip with Timbuktu!

Guest

July 2026

10 nights in South Africa

Tessa and Timbuktu put together a trip of a lifetime for us. The trip moving through South Africa to 3 different safari lodges required planning to move us from lodge to lodge. Tessa pulled that off the transfers went smoothly, We would highly recommend Tessa and Timbuktu.

Guest

July 2026

9 nights in Peru

Timbuktu has such attention to detail and takes all the worry out of finding a driver or guide or restaurant and hotel recommendations. It is a great company to curate wonderful trips.

Why travel with Timbuktu?

We design tailor-made journeys for travellers who want more than a holiday, from first-time safaris, gorilla treks and multi-generational family adventures to once-in-a-lifetime honeymoons - and everything in between. And here's why so many choose us to plan them.

Tailor-Made Since 2014

We've been crafting one-of-a-kind journeys since 2014 — over 2,500 trips across 40+ countries, each one built from scratch around your interests and dreams.

Specialists Who've Been There

Our team only recommends places they've slept in, eaten in, and happily keep going back to. Condé Nast Traveler named 11 of them Top Travel Specialists in 2026, and Travel+Leisure made three A-List Advisors.

The World's No 1 Tour Operator

Travel+Leisure's readers voted us the World's No.1 Tour Operator in 2024 and No.2 in 2025 — the travel industry's biggest readers' award, judged by people who actually travel.

Every Trip Makes A Difference

$50 from every booking goes to female empowerment, tech education, and conservation projects across the countries we love. We have donated $78,000 so far – and it's going up!

Collaboration Is Key

Your travel specialist is with you the whole way, dreaming up the trip, building the itinerary, checking you in, and answering the 2am question from the other side of the world..