For many years, tourists have been lured to Brazil by the captivating combination of sun, sea and samba. A record-breaking 200,000 plus Britons flew there for holidays last year, and now investors and sun-seeking property buyers are being enticed by the magic and music

It's not Rio that's attracting the attention among property-seekers aiming to bag a bargain. It's places like Bahia, on the beautiful northeast coast, with its 2,000 miles of dazzling powder-white beaches, tropical rainforests and the promise of more than 300 sunny days a year. Here, it's still possible to snap up a beachfront apartment for as little £50,000. There's much more than just palm-fringed white sand beaches and easy living, though, to the part of Brazil they call the Coconut Coast.

The vibrant and fascinating city of Salvador, capital of the state of Bahia, offers outstanding colonial architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Then there is Praia do Forte, an ecological reserve abundant with flora and fauna, and Garcia d'Avila Castle, the biggest fortification in Latin America. And at Tamar, there is a marine turtle preservation centre.

All this and Salvador has the world's biggest carnival - which claims to outshine even Rio's iconic celebration of life. What's on offer Interest in Brazilian property has been boosted by the advent of direct charter flights from London Gatwick and Manchester to cities such as Salvador and Natal. In addition, British Airways offers regular flights to Sao Paulo, alongside Brazilian carriers TAM and Varig.

So in the time it takes to drive to the Spanish Costas, you could fly to Brazil, where properties cost a fraction of those in the Med. Types of property vary enormously but there are an awful lot of bargains in this part of Brazil. A luxury three-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment with sea view in the exclusive Barra-Ondina neighbourhood of Salvador can be snapped up for just under £90,000. Lower down the price scale, a two-bed, two-bathroom apartment within five minutes of the beach in Salvador's Imbassai area is on offer at just £32,039. For the house-hunter wanting lots of space, £485,437 buys you a swish seven-bedroom, six-bathroom penthouse apartment with private swimming pool and ocean view in the Ondina area.

There's nothing provincial or bland about Salvador, which was Brazil's original capital. This coastal city rivals Rio de Janeiro with its kaleidoscope-hued floats at carnival time and old Lisbon with its distinctive pastel Baroque buildings. Pulsating culture A pulsating Afro-Brazilian culture prevails, with many residents the descendants of the millions of Africans brought to these shores as slaves to harvest diamonds, gold, coffee, sugar and tobacco for Portuguese settlers. The city's colonial charm has been battered over time and repairs on rundown building and pitted cobblestone streets are gradually being made but many original structures have been preserved. The ceiling, walls, columns and arches of the 18th century Sao Francisco Church are still coated in gold, a shining reminder of the city's status as Brazil's capital from 1549 to 1763.

With the temperature rarely dipping below 72F, restaurant tables and chairs overflow into the streets wherever you go. "Bahians are very friendly, very sociable," says local tour guide Bruno Victoria. "They want to be outside and see the people, cars, movement…" The best spot for people-watching is in the Pelourinho. All the pedestrian-only streets in this historic beehive of activity lead to an open square where slaves were once sold. There are tiny shops selling crocheted dresses and handmade single-string musical bows called berimbaus. Jewellery stores display silver reproductions of the ball-shaped amulets that were given to slaves by Portuguese families as a reward for good behaviour or a special deed. If they collected seven they were granted their freedom.

At Jesuit Square, in front of the old basilica, women in layered white skirts set up stands and cook the traditional "fast food" acaraje, consisting of palm oil fried bean balls stuffed with shrimps. Food in Salvador borrows heavily from Africa, using a lot of palm oil, coconut milk and spices. A distinctive dish is bobo de camarao, shrimp with manioc (a powdered root) and coconut milk. About an hour's drive from Salvador airport is the beautiful village of Praia do Forte. Many of the homes there are in gated communities.

At one development, Porto des Baleias, three-bedroom houses start from about £110,000, with a six-bedroom villa overlooking the beach priced at £530,000. What really makes Praia do Forte's beaches special is the high reef that stretches from shore some 150ft into the ocean. At low tide, the receding water exposes the top of the reef, stranding colourful fish and sea creatures in tiny tide pools, turning a walk along the coral into a miniature safari. For house-hunters who prefer not to get their feet wet, there are beautiful golf apartments on a new five-star beachside complex at Mata de S. Joao Sauipe, complete with five-star hotels, a sailing centre, tennis, restaurant and bars. Prices start at £90,000. It is not merely the cheap property that is attracting people to the area from the U.K.

As British business consultant Bill Wisden, who has lived in Bahia for six years, says: "The easy-going atmosphere, warm climate and opportunities for both leisure and business make it a highly attractive place to live and invest." Healthy Despite the credit crunch hitting real estate markets in many parts of the globe, Brazil continues to enjoy a healthy property market. The Economist recently reported that while people are becoming less interested in investment in emerging countries, Brazil inspires the "most bullish" feelings among them. Jose Paim de Andrade, who founded the Brazilian real estate investment firm Maxcap in 2002, reckons the housing boom will continue for five to seven years, as the rapid increase in incomes leads to widespread residential upgrading.

The Property Bond Brazil real estate company reports that some areas of northeast Brazil have seen capital appreciation of more than 20 percent a year - with even greater rises in hotspot areas. At ADIT Nordeste, the government-backed organisation that aids foreign investors, the president, Felipe Cavalcante, is convinced the northeast region is set to become of the world's great tourist and second-home destinations. "The region is so underdeveloped that many Europeans can afford to buy a second home here," he says.