Fernando de Noronha Marine National Park

The marine national park, created in 1988 and UNESCO-listed in 2001, covers most of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago and its surrounding waters, 350 km off Brazil's northeastern shoulder. Volcanic spires and clear tropical Atlantic water make it Brazil's premier diving: resident spinner dolphins in the hundreds, lemon and reef sharks cruising boulder fields, big green turtles, and endemic fish like the Noronha wrasse, with visibility that routinely exceeds 25 m. ICMBio manages the park alongside a separate environmental protection area covering the inhabited part of the island, and visitor caps keep the whole archipelago deliberately under-touristed relative to demand.

The rules that bind divers

Visitors pay two separate charges: the island's daily environmental preservation tax, which scales with length of stay, and the park entry ticket, valid for ten days, required for park beaches and boat activities. Diving runs only through licensed operators; fishing, spearfishing, and collecting are banned inside the park, and boats use moorings at established sites. Baía dos Golfinhos, the dolphins' resting bay, is closed to swimmers and vessels, with viewing from the clifftop only. Turtle-nesting beaches close seasonally at night, gloves and touching are prohibited on dives, and daily visitor numbers to the island itself are capped by flight and lodging controls.

Fees & permits: Daily environmental preservation tax (rises with stay length) plus a ten-day park entry ticket, both payable online or on island; dive fares are separate.