North Bay Beaches

The beaches of the North Bay run from the north side of the bridges along the Beira Mar Norte road to the traditional fishing villages of Sambaqui and Santo Antônio de Lisboa, some of the earliest Azorean communities on the island. The first beaches are almost hidden by the walking track and do actually disappear at high tides. They are generally calm, usually residential and not likely to be visited by tourists perhaps until the long beach at Praia Comprida or those around Santo Antônio de Lisboa and Sambaqui. Sitting on these beaches and eating cheap seafood at a restaurant housed in one of the traditional village buildings is a good way to waste an afternoon. The coast road curves past these and more rocky beaches until it ends at Praia da Rola. The marshy estuary of Rio Ratones which shelters the nature reserve of the same name prevents the road going any further.