São Miguel dos Milagres is the centre of the Rota Ecológica, a stretch of the Alagoas coast where building has been kept low and the beaches remain lined with coconut palms rather than hotels. It lies between Maceió and Maragogi, and it is where Brazilians go when they want the northeast coast without the crowds.
At low tide, reef pools form just off the beaches, and rafts take you out to them from Praia do Toque and the other beaches. Further along, in Porto de Pedras, a manatee sanctuary on the Rio Tatuamunha runs trips by canoe to see the animals being rehabilitated and released into the estuary — one of the best places in Brazil to see them.
There is not much to do beyond that, which is the attraction. Accommodation is mostly small pousadas, several of them quite upmarket, spread along the road behind the beaches. Rent a car or a buggy; the beaches are spread out and there is little public transport.