Fernando de Noronha is a tropical paradise, though its small size and regulated number of tourists per day means that it does not have a strong shopping trade. There are a number of small shops selling local handicraft products made out of local gathered and recycled materials. Other souvenir options include hats, shirts and diving equipment.
Visit the official Handcraft Centre for a unique Fernando de Noronha souvenir!
Our Fernando de Noronha Shopping Guide offers some handy information about shopping in Fernando de Noronha as well as some suggested places to shop. Check out our Brazil Shopping Guide for some general information about shopping in Brazil. See our Fernando de Noronha Restaurant Guide for some great food and dining suggestions.
Fernando de Noronha Shopping Guide
Fernando de Noronha does not offer much in terms of unique shopping. However, if you still want to take back a souvenir then do buy any item that will support the cause of the TAMAR/IBAMA project committed to conserving turtles.
This conservation project has been around since 1980. One of the first tasks it took upon itself was to protect the nesting areas, protect female turtles and their eggs, apart from developing the coastal regions. Having achieved success in these areas, Project TAMAR is now focussing its efforts on two feeding areas where accidental capture of turtles due to artisanal fishing is causing the turtle population to diminish.
Offices and shops in Fernando de Noronha are usually open from 9am or 10am to 6pm from Monday to Friday. On Saturdays establishments are open from 9am or 10 am to 1pm. Consumer items such as films and batteries are easily available at stores. The shopping area in Noronha overflows with tropical fruits such as papaya, passion fruit, pineapple, mangoes and a variety of bananas. There are also handcrafted items available at the markets made for the use of locals rather than tourists. If you want to take home an authentic souvenir then you can buy these items and you also get to help the local economy this way.
Brazil is a good place to shop if you are looking for leather items. Do have a look at the belts, jackets, purses, wallets and shoes on offer here. Clothing is also of very good quality and quite inexpensive. If you're visiting during the Northern Hemisphere winter, it will be summer in Brazil and you'll get a chance to stock up on some good summer styles. The European style of numbering is followed for the sizes such as 36, 38, 40 etc. Sizes are marked as P (pequeno which is small), M (medio which is medium), and G (grande which is large). One item which is popular in the clothes market is clothing related to the Brazilian football team.
Brazil is also known for its jewellery and high quality gem stones. Stores such as H. Stern and Amsterdam Sauer have a great variety of jewellery and gemstones. These two stores have branches all over Brazil, with their flagship store being located in Rio de Janeiro. For towns other than Rio, try the Minas Gerais store. Gemstones that are found in Brazil include diamond, tourmaline, quartz, green gold, topaz, and esperssartita.
The arts and crafts industry in Brazil is interesting and you can purchase various souvenirs to take back home. Ethnic arts and craft items are available in most tourist stores, but it is a different experience to buy products from artisan fairs where artisans themselves come and sell their wares. If you are not able to visit one then another option would be to go to cooperatives such as FUNAI; these offer regional crafts such as painted figures made by the Karaja tribe, ceramic arts which are a speciality of Marajoara and Tapajoara tribes and other eastern Amazonian Indians. Also available are the woven bags and baskets made by the Kaxinawa Indians and some beautiful lace which comes from Fortaleza and the south eastern coast.
The Brazilian unit of currency is the Real (pronounced 'hay-AHL'). One Real consists of 100 centavos. Reais (pronounced 'hay-EYES') is the plural and is abbreviated BRL or R$. Prices are represented as R$2, 50 (which means two and fifty cents).
Cash machines accept Master Card, Amex, VISA and other credit cards. Do check for the Visa Plus or Cirrus logo on the machine. Gas and petrol stations usually have ATM machines. The local Bank Banco do Brasil has several ATMs but only one branch accepts foreign debit and credit cards. There is usually a long queue of people at this branch as the local population uses these machines to pay their bills. Citibank, HSBC, Bradesco and BankBoston branches accept Cirrus and Visa cards and usually have shorter lines. Credit card cash withdrawals have to be made using ATMs and no manual transactions are accepted.
It is not impossible now to wire money to Brazil, but the recipient has to have a bank account in Brazil. Therefore if you run short of money then getting money through Moneygram or Western Union should be the last priority. There is also a federal tax of 0.38% if the money is paid in Reais. Xoom also transfers money only into Brazilian banks, so this option may be useful if you are renting an apartment or a house.
