Porto Seguro is famed for its sizzling nightlife, which begins along the legendary Passarela do Alcool in town, and then keeps going all night long at the many nightclubs and mega-barracas along the beaches going north. The Passarela do Alcool is an ultra-touristy and pretty garish seaside promenade of bars, restaurants, and hundreds of stands hawking tacky tees, “indigenous” trinkets, and the potent local cocktail, capeta.

This is both an energizing and intoxicating potion made from pure cocoa powder, the Amazonian jolt-providing guaraná powder, vodka, sugar, and ice. As a final touch, sweet condensed milk is added to make the medicine go down nice and easy. The many drink stands along the Passarela—most of them more flamboyantly decked out than a Carmen Miranda tutti-frutti hat—also serve up everything from caipirinhas to batidas mixed with cachaça and fresh fruit.

The Passarela serves as a warm-up station for the nightly extravaganzas held at the mega-barracas and theme nightclubs such as Alcatraz (BR-367, km 68, 10 p.m.–4 a.m. daily) and Transylvania (BR-367, Praia de Mundaí, 10 p.m.–4 a.m. daily) along the beaches of Mundaí and Taperapuã as well as the hippest of them all, the Ilha dos Aquários (Ilha do Pacuico, access from Praça do Pataxó, 10 p.m.–4 a.m. daily), located on a private island in the Rio Buranhém, among whose attractions are various immense aquariums filled with glitzy fish. Each barraca (some of which operate during normal business hours) has its own festa night (widely advertised by fliers along the Passarela).

n general, the weekday action is more exciting than on the weekends. Free buses usually head up and down the coast from the traffic circle off Avenida 22 de Abril. The cover for most shows costs between R$30–40. The organization Portonight operates all the festas. For more information and listings check out www.portonight.com.br.