Boipeba – quick travel guide

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Small beautiful beach island with a peaceful nature vibe (even during high season).

The main reason for going here is because you want something chill, peace and quiet. It’s the exact contrast to Morro de Sao Paulo, the larger much more popular island just north next door to Boipeba. Morro is known for being a massively popular touristic town with lots of restaurants, bars, nightlife, AND NOISE!

Boipeba is the opposite. Lots of nature! As enticing as it sounds…it doesn’t mean perfect for you. The “nature” I speak of means much less infrastructure. The only roads accessible by car are the very city center. And the rest of the island is reachable by ATV (“quadriciclo”) or tractor (yes, a farm tractor pulls a long wagon with many bench seats…treated like a bus on sand) or boat. Making getting around slightly less convenient. You can’t just walk to all the beautiful beaches the way you can on Morro de Sao Paulo.

Food options are much less abundant. I was disappointed in the food, actually. There are some great restaurants, like maybe 3-5 tops. At Morro de Sao Paulo, felt like I had great food every night and still had 30 more restaurants to try. Nightlife is almost non-existent. And I kind of liked it. The center square of Boipeba is very quiet, very low-level music if any. It’s not a dueling set of bars vying to see who was loudest. It’s also true that while Morro de Sao Paulo is for everybody, but most popular with young sexy party people…Boipeba is more for couples, older folks, locals trying to save money, or families. Boipeba is cheaper in general.

As with most Brazilian beach vacation towns, most people stay 5-7 days. But you can see everything within 3 days.

Where to stay:

  • Velha Boipeba (Old Boipeba)
    • Classic choice to be in the heart of the town. Close to everything. Most convenient access to restaurants, bars, shops, and nightlife. Close to the tractor and ATV stations, and can easily find transportation to get anywhere else on the island.
    • Unless you absolutely must stay on the beach, old town is most convenient as you’ll walk by it often during the day (for food or getting to other places).
    • Staying near Praça de Santo Antonio square is closest to the the food and town “nightlife”. Staying north would be closer to Praia da Barra for sunsets. Staying east is closer to Cueira beach.
  • Beach side:
    • Praia Boca da Barra – this is where the boat terminal is. So lots of people and boats always passing by. Not peaceful by any means but this location is a nice medium between being just 5 mins walk from the more peaceful Praia da Barra beach, or 5 mins walk into town center.
    • Praia da Barra – best area to stay if you want to be by the beach, like easily pop in and out within 1-2 mins, but can be 10-15mins walk into town. Nights are very peaceful quiet. This location fits well if you’re always going home for sunset, and then rest and change before going out for the night. Since the best sunset spot is right here.
    • Morere – located further south of the main Boipeba area. Can be beachside or more inland. All accommodations out here seem like remote oasis type places. Very peaceful, and some are elevated giving you varying visibility of the ocean beyond the trees. Many argue this is the best area to stay. Although remote, it still has a varying number of fancy restaurants, cafes, shops, so it’s not dead!
  • Morere – be careful of low season. No free food offered at hotels and many people say restaurants aren’t open much, especially later at night. But I came during low season and even though it was pretty quiet, it was still a nice vibe and plenty of eating options available. It’s often known for being ghost-town dead.

Hostels & Hotels:

  • Horizonte Azul (Velha) – this is where I stayed and I really liked it. The accommodations are beautiful and comfortable, and there’s AC (which is not only nice but useful for warding off mosquitos). Super friendly staff, some of them speak awesome English. The breakfast is simple but nice and high quality. Great service all around. Beautiful place in nature, feels like you’re own little private forest. My only thing is that it’s farther from the city center (about 15 minute walk). It is however conveniently located next to the sunset beach, which is probably the next most popular spot for you to visit.
  • Ceu de Boipeba (Velha) – many people say is the best hotel, best location, best view. I’d probably have to agree. But it’s hard to reserve since you have to book in advance (probably a month). Go here for sunset dinner! (Make reservation.)
  • Pousada O Rancho Alegre (Morere) – I didn’t stay here but read great reviews about it.
  • Camping – I didn’t stay in any campsites but did notice many options available. Can be nice if you want something really cheap, and close to nature.

Neighborhoods, walking areas, public squares:

  • Velha Boipeba – Old Boipeba is the main “town” with shops and restaurants, and the grassy Praça de Santo Antonio square in the middle with people sitting outside. Street vendors and kids.
  • Praia da Barra – and the walking path from Old Boipeba is the other busy area.
  • morere

Activities to do:

  • Viewpoints, landmarks, sunsets, hikes:
    • Sunsets
      • Praia Boca da Barra – this will be the easiest sunset spot. It’s easy to get to, and you have many viewpoints… from the sand, outdoor beach bar, restaurant along the water. Many choices and wide enough range of sand and not so many people…so you can get all the photos you want without people in the photo. You can even stay after sunset as the moon is probably gonna show very soon, and it’s also beautiful as well.
      • O Ceu de Boipeba – incredible restaurant in the forest with an upstairs terrace, giving incredible panoramic views of the island all around (especially the sunset to the west, and nothern beach coastal range, and river). Make a reservation 1 or 2 days ahead via WhatsApp for 16:30. Then enjoy the beautiful views.
      • Ilha de Tinhare – on the other island at the nearest point just across the water. I don’t know how you would manage this but I imagine it would be a great view from here as well. Getting on the island is easy enough by boat. But most boats will try to bring you back before dark. I suppose if you could arrange one privately, they might be able to bring you back just after sunrise.
  • Buildings & architecture:
    • Igreja do Divino Espírito Santo – other than some of the fancy accommodations, this old blue church is the most “architectural” thing I’ve seen.
  • Parks, gardens, green spaces:
    • The whole Boipeba is like a giant natural park already, so you won’t have any issue finding green spaces.
  • Beaches, bridges, water-points:
    • Generally, all beaches can be reached by boat or quadriciclo. I think quadriciclo is more interesting (also cheaper) since you get to see the interior terrain on the island. Fun, adventurous, and beautiful. Also, more peaceful and intimate since it’s just you (and maybe a friend) and the driver. You arrive and leave on your own time and are more likely to have fewer crowds…instead of being on the same time schedule as all the tour people.
    • Praia Boca Da Barra – the first beach you’ll see when you arrive by boat to Boipeba. And it’s really not a bad one. Has restaurants and bars nearby and is also a great location to catch the sunset. It’s the busiest beach on the island and even still, it’s not very busy. For something more remote, even fewer people, or more beautiful…look onwards.
      • Praia da Barra – best beach area by Old Boipeba. Not crowded, some restaurants and bars nearby if you want food/refreshments, and a great sunset. At night, it’s very peaceful here.
      • Ilha de Tinhare – the point where you get dropped off will be just outside a fancy private villa property. From here you can decide whether to walk west and see more of Boipeba from across the water. Or you can walk the eastern coast and be alone with just yourself, the trees, and the water.
    • Cueira – the farthest beach that you can easily reach on foot from Old Boipeba. Beautiful and peaceful, especially since there are no establishments or business infrastructure (such as food or drinks).
      • Tassimirim – it’s the beach that some people cross to get to Cueira Beach. It has its beauty at both low tide and high tide.
      • Foz do Rio Oritibe – located at the end of Cueira beach where the river meets the sea. Difficult to get through at high tide.
    • Morere – awesome beach and tiny beautiful beach town.
      • Bainema – long beautiful beach. Great to enjoy a nice walk.
    • Ponta dos Castelhanos – nice beach usually included as the farthest beach stop on the tours. Has restaurants and shops. Beautiful and nice to hang out.
    • Cova da Onca – poor seaside fishing village with simple houses, church, maybe few shops and restaurants. But no accommodations for tourist (as far as I know). Not interesting unless you wanted to see how local people live. Usually dead quiet until tourist boats dump out people. Considered a tourist trap for people doing tours reaching Ponta dos Castelhanos. The beach water is brown, muddy, and stinky…and the 2-3 restaurants on the water charge very high prices for subpar food. Unnecessary stop, I’d negotiate for lower price and skip this stop if possible.
  • Arts, museums, culture:
  • Markets, shopping:
    • Praça de Santo Antonio – the main square will have plenty of street vendors and handcraft things to buy. There’s an artisan market here (seemingly every night). For all other times, you can buy from the numerous stores near this square.
  • Tours:
    • Beach & Boat tour –
    • Quadriciclo tours – you can look up ads or go to the quadricycle point and different drivers will give you their price. Generally, they all price themselves the same.

Restaurants & Cafes:

  • O Ceu de Boipeba – probably the most popular fancy restaurant. Mainly for its panoramic terrace view upstairs, you can see over the entire jungle and water on their balcony or through the glass. Mega popular for drinks and dinner at sunset. Make a reservation via WhatsApp 1-2 days ahead of time. There’s no table service, you order your food and drinks at the bar and they’ll bring it to you. I recommend getting a reservation for 16:30, then arriving early to get best possible seating and staying there until after sunset.
  • Restaurant Sonize – nice local restaurant right by the water with a great sunset view. Also good food and service.
  • Restaurante Valhalla – another nice good restaurant, and also good service.
  • Jardim Boipeba
  • Restaurante Panela De Barro – I went here because of the high Google reviews but was totally underwhelmed.
  • Cantinho da Maria – in case you were looking for vegan/vegetarian food, this one has great reviews.

Unfortunately, there aren’t that many good restaurants in Boipeba. It’s ENOUGH to eat well but a huge step down from all the super delicious places I had in Morro de Sao Paulo. I did feel like there were more vibey restaurants and bars in Morere. But we only walked by them and didn’t stay in that area.

Bars, clubs, and nightlife:

  • At sunset – the bars by Praia Boca da Barra beach will have more people since everyone’s there for the sunset. But once night kicks in, this area becomes kind of dead as the crowd moves to the town center.
  • At night – I’d just pick whichever bar in the town center (Praca de Santo Antonio) that has available seating outside.

Miscellaneous tips:

  • Quick travel tips for Brazil.
  • Transportation:
    • ATV (Quadricycle) – the most expensive but also most convenient (fastest transport time and most flexible for side-stops). Prices are really not that bad. Often, you can make a deal with them for a customized tour. It usually carries 2 people max (not including the driver). You can think of these like taxis. They leave from old Boipeba at Ponto de Quadriciclo. Many will offer you a package tour price to take you around multiple spots.
      • You could also rent your own quadriciclo for the day and explore around at your own pace and as freely as you like. I personally wouldn’t do it since the road is pure dirt and water but for someone else, this bumpy ride might feel like a fun adventure.
    • Tractor – the cheapest but slow transport time, because it moves slowly and also doesn’t leave until it fills up. Carries 25-30 people. You can think of these like a public bus. It leaves from old Boipeba at the Ponto do Trator.
    • Ferry boat – stand by the restaurant closest across the water to Ilha da Tinhare. And one of the boats can take you across (to Tinhare island) for very cheap. Or you can stand by the busy ferry dock in town to find boats for other destinations at various prices.

Itinerary:

  • DAY 1 – get lunch in town, then catch the sunset at Praia Boca da Barra. Message for restaurant reservations for the next day or even day after around 4pm.
  • DAY 2 – take quadricycle tour to Morere.
  • DAY 3 – ferry boat taxi to the island across. Take restaurant reservation if it’s today, or eat at one of the restaurants along Praia Boca da Barra with sunset views.
  • DAY 3 –

Nearby towns:

Unfiltered notes:

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