The city of Joao Pessoa stands on the extreme eastern coast of Brazil. It's in the State of Paraiba, and on the renowned BR-11 coastal highway, 75 miles north of Recife and 12 miles south of Natal. The local Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport is five miles to the west. This is a coast that attracts tourists, so there are attractive resorts in both directions. To the north is Lucena and the beautiful wide mouth of the river Mamanguape; to the south is Jacuma and Mirante da Praia de Tambaba, which is sometimes called 'the best beach in Brazil'.
As the easternmost city in the Americas, Joao Pessoa is a good place to hire a car. Then you'll be able to drive to Ponta do Seixas (or Cape Branco) in the south of the city - this is the continent's easternmost point. Tourists often visit the lighthouse and white sand beaches here. Back in the city there's another 12 miles of beachfront to explore, and a host of parks and tree-lined avenues. There are two highly rated arts and cultural centres too. Other highlights include an enormous shopping mall, zoo, craft museum and an Ocean Museum full of remains of shipwrecks from the area.
