Salvador is also known for its beaches, strung in a strip of long sandy shoreline. Barra is the closest to the center of town, but you'll want to try Itapoán and Piatã, considered the best beaches. You can also take the ferry to Itaparica, where Club Med has the best beach. It's worth the trip, if you can ignore the saltworks and oil fields, to try the seafood restaurants.

Don't miss an overnight trip to Cachoeira in the midst of Bahia's tobacco growing fields. This small city retains much of its colonial heritage and is built on the Rio Paraguaçu.

South of Salvador, Porto Seguro is wildly popular with Brazilians and international visitors. They come for the coastal beaches protected by a reef, so the waters are safe and shallow. There is also a Cidade Alta, with wonderful old churches. Nearby is the Reserva Biológica de Pau Brazil, a nature reserve preserving the brazil nut tree. Arraial d'Ajuda was known as a free and easy town, but no longer. Trancoso with superb beaches and colorful colonial buildings is a better choice. For really primitive conditions, try Caraiva.

Going north from Salvador along the Rodovia de Coco, the Coconut Highway, is the beach community of Praia do Forte, which is being developed into an upscale resort area taking advantage of the good beaches. You can visit the Tartaruga Marinha (TAMAR) where several species of marine turtles are protected. Morro de Sã Paulo and Ilhéus have wonderful beaches. Ilhéus, on Ilhéus Bay, is the cacao center of Brazil and also exports rubber, timber, chemicals, and piassava. It was also the home of Jorge Amado, the most widely read Brazilian novelist who is celebrated for his portrayal of ordinary Brazilians.

Inland from Todos os Santos Bay, 25 mi (40 km) long and 20 mi (32 km) wide, past the fertile lowlands growing sugarcane, cotton, tobacco and subsistence crops, are the cattle-breeding and marketing centers for beef, manioc, beans, corn and other products. Feira de Santana , Vitoria da Conquista, Itabuna, and Jiquié are the major cities of interior Bahia.