Before you leave the hotel: a checklist to make the most of your tour in Alagoas

You chose the tour, paid, got the confirmation. Now all that's left is to enjoy it. But we board people every day and we know where the day tends to go wrong: phone on silent, breakfast starting at 6:55, battery at 20% when it's time for the photo. Nothing serious. Just the kind of thing that gets in the way of a day that should have been nothing but good.

So, before you close the door of your room, run your eye over this list.

• Time and departure point checked in your customer area
• Phone charged, sound on, and free space for photos
• Sunscreen and water
• Photo ID
• Pix working, or a bit of small change
• Swimwear, flip-flops and a change of clothes
• Regular medication, if you take any

Now, why each item is there.

Time, departure point, how many people, what's included and what's left to pay at boarding. All of that is in your customer area, with the access details that arrived in your email. The day before, we also confirm the time and the departure point, so if anything changes because of the tide or the weather, you find out before bed, not at the hotel door.

On the day of the tour, a number you've never seen may ring, almost always with the 82 area code. It's the driver or the guide trying to find you. Leave the sound on, check WhatsApp and answer. Ignoring that call at the wrong moment is the easiest way to miss the van.

The van stops at several hotels along the beachfront before hitting the road. If departure is 7 am, at 7 am it's already moving; whoever comes down at 7:10 holds everyone up. Quick breakfast, backpack packed the night before. And if you realise you're going to be late, let us know on WhatsApp as soon as you know, not when the van arrives.

You'll use your phone to talk to the guide, pay, find the meeting point and, above all, for photos. Leaving with 20% battery won't do. And reaching the natural pools in Maragogi, opening the camera and reading "storage full" is one of the worst feelings of the day. Delete what you don't need or send it to the cloud before you leave. A power bank helps on full-day tours.

Catamaran, jangada raft and speedboat mean hours under the sun with no shade. Sunscreen before you leave and in the backpack to reapply; a cap and sunglasses; a UV-protection shirt if you have one. A bottle of water always, even if the tour has somewhere to buy it.

Whatever was left to pay at boarding you settle directly with the guide, by Pix or in cash. During the tour there are stalls, craft sellers, kayak hire, parking. On some beaches the phone signal is weak and Pix doesn't go through. A few small notes in your wallet sort it out. You don't need much; you need change.

Photo ID because some attractions and boats ask for it. Regular medication because "it's only a few hours" turns into a whole day faster than it seems.

For the beach: swimwear underneath, light clothes on top, flip-flops and a change for the way back. A towel when it isn't included (the tour page says). For quad bike, buggy and trails: trainers or closed shoes. The right clothes aren't the ones that look best in the photo, they're the ones that let you enjoy the day without thinking about them.

Phone, wallet and ID in a bag that doesn't get wet; a waterproof phone pouch costs little and saves the day. Before leaving any stop, check all three. And when the guide says "everyone back at 3 pm", note it down: they're looking after a group, and a few minutes early beats a few minutes late.

We've just asked for a full battery and space for photos. Now the opposite: take the photos, shoot the videos, and then put the phone away for a while. The best memories of Alagoas don't fit in the gallery.

Every tour has its own particulars (duration, meals, what happens if it rains, conditions for children), and that's on each tour's page. It's worth reading yours before bed.

Have a good trip. We'll be waiting for you at departure.