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SuperClubs Breezes Costa do Sauipe won a Top 10 Getaways award in 2003 for its support of parents with infants and toddlers.

For 2003's "Top 10 Getaways for Tiny Travelers" awards, our staff and contributing editors selected SuperClubs Breezes Costa do Sauipe, Brazil, a stunning, oceanfront complex, for its extensive recreational facilities, innovative children's programs and environmental sensitivity. Here's a look at Breezes Costa do Sauipe today.

SuperClubs Breezes Costa do Sauipe
Bahia, Brazil
800/GO-SUPER; 55/954-925-0925

The Costa do Sauipe complex has a five-mile, gold sand beach facing the Pacific, and borders mangrove, sand dunes, several rivers, sweet water lagoons, coconut plantations, cattle ranches, lively fishing ports and a portion of the Mata Atlantica rain forest.

International families with Tiny Travelers are certain to enjoy the extensive recreational facilities and innovative children's programs at this stunning oceanfront resort complex. The white, pink and blue SuperClubs Breezes resort is a delightful place to sample local cuisine, do aquarobics to samba music, and meet many South American and European parents enjoying the outdoors with their kids. Since English is not widely spoken, it is adventurous new parents who will find Breezes Costa do Sauipe a terrific value for money, and a wonderful vacation.

Breezes youngest guests (newborn to age 3) have a cool and spotless Berçario (nursery) tucked between the beach and the pool, with an appealing fenced-in playground and plastic playhouses just outside. At our visit in the mid-day heat, two uniformed attendants watched two sleeping babies and one toddler rolling amongst the floor pillows with Grandma. Breezes Berçario accepts tiny travelers while parents try a boogie boarding class, a tennis game, or a round of golf, all guilt-free. Although the nursery is open from 9am-5pm daily and free of charge, one of the nursery monitors told us that most new moms just want to relax by the pool with a fruit punch and a good novel, delighted that their babies are being cared for by CPR and 1st Aid-trained staff nearby. If at the end of a busy day, you crave a romantic dinner at one of Breeze's terrific à la carte restaurants, or perhaps to take in a concert on the square at Vila Nova, private babysitters are available for US$10 to come to guest rooms after 5pm.

Children ages 3 to 12 are busy outdoors and inside the large, bright Kid's Club playroom. The enthusiastic adult counselors (Breezes maintains a 1:10 ratio for this age group) welcome kids from 9am-10pm daily or to drop in on activities such as trapeze lessons and handcrafts.

Year-round, Breezes provides teen facilities, with more structured activities for ages 13-17 during the busy school breaks. The Games Room off the lobby, with three computers providing free Internet access (read rampant IMing) and two pool tables, is the center of cool for this age group. In the evening, the disco attracts teens until 11pm.

Besides Breezes' children's clubs, each day's published activities include fitness classes for the whole family; free bike rentals; a play session in Breezes' padded, inflatable boxing ring; displays of crafts or programs like the Brazilian martial arts dance called capoeira; juggling and surfing lessons and more. 

The 500-acre site contains four other international-calibre resorts and activity centers for all ages and interests. A favorite is the Nautical Center, which features small boats and pedalos for rent at a man-made lagoon, plus a waterview cafe. Free shuttle buses also serve a sophisticated Equestrian Center offering lessons and a petting zoo/farm; an 18-hole standard PGA Golf Center; the tennis and soccer Sports Center, and the charming newly-built replica of a colonial village called Vila Nova do Praia.

For those teens and families interested in exploring the local culture, Vila Nova do Praia has a church, a town square in which free concerts are staged, crafts stands with artisans hard at work, resort-wear shops and several Brazilian restaurants.

Every Breezes all-inclusive includes a variety of restaurants with excellent service and food. At Costa do Sauipe, you can choose from a picturesque Japanese teppanaki grill, a cozy Italian restaurant and a brightly lit Mediterranean café; families with children are welcomed at each until 9pm. Additionally, the pool boasts a terrific lunch café and the soaring open-air main restaurant stylishly serves three buffet-style meals and often hosts the evening's entertainment. Premium food, beverages and services are hallmarks of Breezes other family resorts in Curacao (with kids' clubs for ages 2-14), the Dominican Republic (with kids' clubs for ages 4-13) and Jamaica, but your tiniest travelers will find the best facilities in Brazil.

Rates vary seasonally and packages including airfare are often available, all at a very reasonable cost competitive with all-inclusive rates in the Caribbean.