Three to four days works well. Give one morning to the Pajuçara reef pools, another day to the seafront and Jaraguá's museums, and an afternoon to a boat trip on the Mundaú lagoon. Add a day if you want to reach a beach along the coast, such as Gunga or Maragogi.

You reach the Pajuçara natural pools on a jangada, a traditional sailboat that leaves from Pajuçara beach. The pools sit about 2 km offshore on a coral reef and only appear at low tide, so departures follow the daily tide table. The sail out takes roughly ten to fifteen minutes.

Maragogi is about 130 km north of Maceió by road, roughly two hours by car along the coast. Many visitors go as a day trip for its reef pools, the Galés, which also depend on low tide. Buses run between the two, and Recife is almost the same distance to the north.