São Miguel dos Milagres and Its Natural Pools

São Miguel dos Milagres beach is located in Alagoas state, along a stretch of coastline just over 20 km long, made up of Barra do Camaragibe, São Miguel dos Milagres, and Porto de Pedras — a perfect destination if you want to escape the crowds.

The beaches here are beautiful, with white sand, shaded by coconut palms, and warm, crystal-clear water with reefs that form natural pools. We’d definitely recommend adding it to your itinerary! Here’s what we’ve got for you:

• Getting there
• Fun facts
• Where to stay
• What to do
• Where to eat

Getting to São Miguel dos Milagres from Praia dos Carneiros

You can approach from either the north or the south — on our trip, we came from the north, heading from Carneiros to São Miguel dos Milagres. Either way, there are two routes from Carneiros: the AL-101 highway, or the Rota Ecológica along the Costa dos Corais.

The Rota Ecológica runs through the Costa dos Corais region, the second-largest coral reef system in the world, spanning roughly 131 km across ten municipalities, eight of them coastal. It stretches from Praia de Japaratinga to Barra de Camaragibe.

Along this route, you’ll take a ferry that only carries 6 cars at a time, though we didn’t hit much of a line, so it was pretty smooth.

It took us about 2 hours and 15 minutes from Praia dos Carneiros, not counting stops, to reach our new hotel. We did stop for an amazing lunch along the way, which we’ll cover in our Maragogi post.

Fun facts about São Miguel dos Milagres

The town got its name after a fisherman found an image of São Miguel Arcanjo (Archangel Michael) in the sea and was cured of a serious health issue. Word spread, and the town became known as São Miguel dos Milagres (“Saint Michael of the Miracles”).

Milagres has some local commerce, but nothing like the organized town center you’ll find in Porto de Galinhas, and it’s not especially picturesque. Even so, this fishing village is worth it purely for the beauty of its warm-water beaches.

The best time of year to visit Alagoas is October through January, to minimize the risk of rain. We got lucky, visiting in early October with nothing but sunshine.

Where to stay in São Miguel dos Milagres

Hotel Ricoco

We stayed at Hotel Ricoco, which is beautiful, with a spacious room and a great pool.

We loved breakfast, with a wide variety, similar to our inn at Praia dos Carneiros, including tapioca and omelets made fresh to order.

Skip the buggy tour through the hotel, though. Unfortunately, we booked it, and our guide was completely unprepared — no explanations, no photos, just driving us from place to place. It was basically an overpriced Uber. Not worth it.

What to do in São Miguel dos Milagres

Natural Pools Tour

We took a tour of the natural pools at Praia do Marceneiro, south of Milagres. You can also book this through the Associação dos Jangadeiros at Praia dos Milagres, but we went with this other beach instead, based on a recommendation from fellow guests.

We arranged it with a raft captain named Tiquinho, who’s incredibly friendly. Since we booked at the last minute, another captain, Edvaldo, ended up taking us instead — also very friendly.

The natural pools here are known as Gameleira — the coral formations are extensive, and the water is completely clear, noticeably bluer than in Pernambuco, though colder too.

Not that the water was cold exactly, but compared to Carneiros, I found the temperature there much more comfortable for swimming.

Price: R$100 for two people. Phone: Tiquinho, +55 82 99336-6301.

Buggy Tour

There are two routes: south toward Milagres, and north toward Porto de Pedras. We chose the second, since we’d already done the southern route for the natural pools.

Honestly, you could just drive yourself. We booked the buggy for the experience, but it wasn’t really worth it for us since we already had a car. The route is short, with no real obstacles like dunes or rough patches, so a regular car with Waze or Google Maps would work just as well.

Praia de Lages

A beautiful spot, home to a restaurant called Sonhos do Patacho, which offers a solid setup for spending the whole day. It’s also a great beach with a swing set up in the sand for some fun photos.

Praia do Patacho

The most famous beach in the Milagres area, popular with celebrities, and home to the best hotels and inns in the region — we found this out just by passing through. If you’re looking for a more exclusive stay, this is actually in the municipality of Porto de Pedras.

Túnel Verde (“Green Tunnel”)

A near-kilometer-long tunnel formed by green trees, beautiful to drive or walk through, located along the Rota Ecológica just past Praia do Patacho.

Mirante Alto do Cruzeiro in São Miguel dos Milagres

A decent lookout point over Praia de São Miguel dos Milagres, worth a quick stop.

Near the lookout, right at the start of the climb, is the Fonte Milagrosa waterfall, though we don’t have photos of it.

Associação do Peixe-Boi (Manatee Association)

• Founded in 2009
• Located in Porto de Pedras
• A joint effort between federal and state prosecutors, an aquatic mammal center, and ICMBio
• Focused on species conservation, since manatees are endangered

We ended up skipping this tour, since it requires a boat that costs R$50 per person. The tour runs about 45 minutes and lets you see manatees in the water, but we were on our way to Maragogi and short on time.

Paróquia Nossa Senhora Mãe do Povo

• Founded between the 17th and 18th centuries
• Part of the Archdiocese of Maceió

You’ll pass by this church on the way between Praia do Marceneiro and Praia de Milagres.

Where to eat in São Miguel dos Milagres

There are several great restaurants here, but given our limited time, we only made it to two.

Corais dos Milagres Restaurante

We picked a beachfront restaurant so we could enjoy the day.

Setting: right on the beach, with seating available behind the row of umbrellas.

Main course: we ordered fried fish fillet with rice, beans, farofa, and vinaigrette, which was surprisingly delicious. Even fried, the fish stayed perfectly light and crisp.

Dessert: we grabbed a regional popsicle from Manga Rosa, chocolate and strawberry, which was decent.

Price: R$160 for the couple, plus drinks.

No Quintal Restaurante

A genuinely wonderful restaurant across the board — setting, service, and especially the food. Everything here was fantastic!!!

Setting: both indoor and outdoor seating, with lots of greenery, including their own herb garden, though parking is limited.

Starters: we ordered two.

Green salad with a tangerine vinaigrette — Andrey expected actual tangerine pieces, but it turned out to be a refreshing dressing instead.

Blue crab pastéis with requeijão cheese, delicious.

Main course: we both ordered the octopus moqueca with banana, cilantro, rice, and beiju farofa — equally delicious.

Dessert: warm guava pastry with cream ice cream.

Price: R$250 for two people, including a cashew-and-lime juice.

Learn more about our trip in Praia dos Carneiros and Porto de Galinhas.