Praia da Pipa tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 01:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are America/Sao Paulo local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Next spring tide on Sat 16 May (range 2.5m). Next neap on Thu 21 May.

Spring tides cluster around new and full moons (biggest swings). Neap tides land on quarter moons (smallest swings). See the spring tide and neap tide glossary entries for the why.

Praia da Pipa is a clifftop village perched above a series of white-sand beaches on the southern Rio Grande do Norte coast, roughly 85 km south of Natal. The cliffs — brick-red and ochre, reaching 40 m above sea level in places — are the visual signature of the place. Below them the beaches are separated by headlands and rock arches that appear and disappear with the tide. Tides here follow the regional semidiurnal pattern for this stretch of the northeast coast. DHN/FEMAR data places the mean range in the 2.4–2.6 m bracket above LAT, consistent with the Natal gauge 85 km north. The practical effect: at low water, the rock arches and tide pools along the cliff base are fully exposed. At high water, the sea reclaims most of that platform and the pools are submerged. The most-photographed arch, at the north end of Praia do Amor (Love Beach), is accessible on foot only during the lower half of the tidal cycle. Tartarugas Beach (Turtle Beach), immediately east of the main village, is an active loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) nesting site. The Brazilian TAMAR Project has monitored and protected this beach for decades. Nesting season runs roughly October through March; hatchling emergence follows 50–60 days after laying. Lighting restrictions apply on the beach at night during nesting season — artificial light disorients hatchlings attempting to navigate to the sea by the luminosity of the horizon. The dolphin colony in Pipa Bay is a resident group of rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis), present year-round. Dolphin-watching boats operate from the beach, and timing matters: calmer inshore conditions tend to occur on incoming tide in the mornings, but the dolphins' presence is independent of tidal state. The village itself, reached by a road that drops sharply from the cliff plateau, has a concentrated core of restaurants, pousadas, and beach access points. The access path to Praia do Amor involves a steep descent — at high tide the base of the path is wave-washed, so confirm tidal state before descending with bags or children. For tide tables specific to this stretch of coast, DHN/FEMAR is the authoritative source. Open-Meteo Marine data shown here has typical uncertainty of ±45 min on timing and ±0.2–0.3 m on height.