Salinopolis

Salinopolis is where Belem goes on holiday, particularly in July when school breaks and the rain eases. Praia do Atalaia is the main beach and the tidal range here is extreme - the water withdraws hundreds of metres, exposing a vast flat of firm sand that people drive onto and park on, which is the local convention and also a recurring cause of vehicles being caught by the returning tide. Behind the beach are dunes and the Atalaia lookout. Praia do Farol Velho is quieter, and boats run to the sandbank islands offshore. The water is Atlantic but coloured by the Amazon plume, brown rather than blue. Outside July the town empties and much of the beachfront closes.

What you actually see

• An extreme tidal flat - water withdrawing hundreds of metres at Atalaia.
• Cars parked on the sand - the local convention, and its hazard.
• Dunes and the lookout - the ridge behind the main beach.
• Amazon-brown Atlantic - the plume colouring the sea along this coast.

When to go

July for the season, or the drier months to December. Two days.

Honest expectations

In July the town is completely full, loud and expensive; outside it, much is shut. Driving on the beach is genuinely risky as the tide returns fast across the flat. The water is brown and shallow for a long way out. The drive from Belem is four hours.

Nearby

Algodoal is west along the coast; Belem is inland.