Cumbuco, 35km from Fortaleza, has a long wide beach with soft sand, an expanse of dunes and a few lagoons that make it very popular for buggy rides and day tours from Fortaleza. It's fairly windy which makes it less than ideal for bathing – swimmers would do better to head to prettier and more sheltered places further along the coast – but for kitesurfers it's a top destination.
Praia de Cumbuco itself and the Lagoa da Barra do Cauipe, 10km west of the town, have some of Brazil's best kitesurfing conditions from July to February. The lagoon's perfect combination of strong winds and gentle waters means that it can get overcrowded at times. Gear rental and classes are available
Cumbuco is a very easy day trip from Fortaleza but has a range of hotels and pousadas (guesthouses) if you want to stay over. Empresa Vitória runs minibuses from Meireles in Fortaleza to Cumbuco (R$7.60, one hour). You can pick them up in front of Ideal Clube at 9am, 11:20am, 3:50pm and 6:20pm. They also run a more frequent bus service (R$5.75, one hour) from 6am to 10:45pm which runs along the length of Av Mister Hull from central Fortaleza.