Ubatuba – quick travel guide

Small beach city with commercialized infrastructure…rains often (aka “Ubachuva”), crazy crowded sometimes, mostly family-oriented beaches but also a few nice chill beaches as well.

Although I had a great time going early Jan 2025, I recommend you avoid high season because you’ll have both crappy weather (lots of rain) and too much overcrowding. Car traffic all day long making exploring other beaches by car impossible, and lots of people on the beaches. Go during low season and it’ll feel like a more magical quieter beach town.

Indeed, Ubatuba has 100+ beaches over 100km of coastline, but you’ll probably see about 5-10 max. It really needs a car to get around. And thankfully, 99/Uber exists here but many won’t accept your call for remote locations so you’ll have to do side arrangements.

3 days is enough. Not practical to stay longer because of inconvenience…not as walkable compared to other beach towns. Many areas are far from each other, and beaches are not that nice. Ubatuba is a convenient beach escape for Sao Paulo people (“Paulistas”).

Where to stay:

• Centro – very central location in city center, also centrally located between north and south beaches. Not my favorite. Not prettiest beach or boardwalk, not best shops, unswimmable beach (river sewage outlet). Only stay for cheap accommodation and have car/bike to reach better areas. Public transport is little inconvenient but also works.
  • Pereque-Acu – area just north of Centro is similar vibe. Cheaper accommodation in central more rundown residential area. Yes, it appears close to the water but the river and beaches around here are not recommended for swimming (sewage outlet). Even the sand is dirty, too. I wouldn’t stay here unless you have a car, and don’t mind that the area sucks. It doesn’t look pretty.
  • Itagua – the better central area. Just south of Centro, but much nicer. Many accommodations, nice restaurants, bars, shops, and beautiful boardwalk along the water. Beach not swimmable but nice boardwalk with bike lane helps entertain your walk or bike ride to better beaches. Many taxis/rideshare available. Itagua is not crazy crowded, has more beach town vibe compared to downtown-looking Centro or noisy-family Praia Grande. Best area of Itagua is “Barra da Lagoa” (right by Monoquilha Bar n’ Brunch)…in middle of nice restaurants, bars, shops and busy boardwalk.
• Itamambuca – northern residential beach area. Feels more like a beach village (dirt road) compared to downtown city Centro or posh beach boardwalk Itagua. Hardly any commercial establishments. So can be a bit inconvenient if you want to find restaurants, shops, or other commercial things. But very beautiful beach and escape from the crowds. You’re also very close to the beautiful Praia do Felix. Perhaps, you can manage food by using delivery app or cook at home.
  • Vila de Itamambuca – I’ve heard someone recommend this. It’s close to a nice beach and has restaurants and some shops.
  • Praia do Felix – next beach further north, totally beautiful and remote but more inconvenience since it’s isolated. Most people cook from home, get drinks on the beach. Have a car or make private arrangements with local drivers. You get the idea.
• Praia Grande – busy beach area located south of Itagua. You saw it driving in from Sao Paulo. Town and beach are super crowded, but you have all conveniences. Walking distance to swimmable kid-friendly beaches, many shops and restaurants. Great for families.
  • Acarau – area right between Itagua and Praia Grande. I assume it’s cheaper, since it lacks pretty boardwalk of Itagua and nice beaches of Praia Grande, but gives you good access to both. And you’re nearby the nicer beaches like Tenorio and Vermelha.
  • Tenorio – area of Tenorio beach, just northeast of Praia Grande. Most “beach town vibe” you can get in this busy area. Stores and restaurants close by, but still isolated from the city. More chill than Praia Grande and fast access to the nice less-crowded Praia Vermelha beach. No surprise that there’s several hostels here.
• south areas (Enseada, Saco da Ribeira) – looks like nice areas with many beaches to choose from but I haven’t explored there. Only passed by on bus. Seems a good place to stay if you don’t want to drive all the way to Ubatuba.

First consideration is whether you have a car. Car gets around easier, can pick from wider range of accommodation locations, and also see more beaches. Do you really need to see many beaches or only a few nice ones? If only visiting a few beaches…you can see near ones with bike one day and then far ones with taxi another day.

Without a car, you have to choose between overall convenience (restaurants & shops, family oriented beaches & activities), or being walking distance to the nicest beaches. Which means you can walk to one, and then have to bike/drive to the other.

The 2 best beaches that you can stay near are Itamambuca and Vermelha (Tenorio) areas. Both would be nice enough beaches and less crowded for a chill vibe. Sure, there’s other nice beaches you can stay at or near as well…but requires more research.

Hostels & Hotels:

• Golden Garden Hostel:
  • So happy I booked here. Lovely couple runs this place. Lovely atmosphere, chill vibe, easy to meet people, all necessary amenities. They have bike rentals to help cover the longer distances. Plenty of cozy lounge space indoor and outdoor.
  • I think the tents may be better than mixed dorms in the house…dorm beds annoyingly small/flimsy, cramped luggage space. House only has 1 bathroom which is ALWAYS used…and all alternate bathrooms are outside by the tents. So being in the tent outside gives you comfy beds, more space, closer to multiple available bathrooms, and less noise of too many people in one room.
• Other hostels I checked mostly all had issues of too small, too noisy, too dirty, bad service, weak internet. Or they were fully-booked too far ahead of time.

Neighborhoods, walking areas, public squares:

• Itagua boardwalk:
  • I would say Monoquilha Bar n’ Brunch restaurant is the very epicenter of the nicest boardwalk area. If you walk south (along the water) from here, it gets more fancy commercial. If you walk north from here, it’s more local commercial. I think this specific area is called “Barra da Lagoa”, just north of Itagua area.
  • Walk as far north as past the Farol do Cruzeiro lighthouse and into Praia do Pereque-Acu beach area, stop and return when area gets too ugly or uninteresting to you. Walk as far south as you want…exploring nature on the peninsula or towards the southern busy part of Tenorio and Praia Grande.
• Peninsula area – check out the nature areas on the peninsula, whether north side or side south going towards Ponta Grossa.
• Praia Grande – the other busy town area. Farther south of this, you can checkout the areas by Toninhas and Enseada beaches.

Activities to do:

• Beaches, bridges, water-points:
  • Knowing what I know now, I’d say the most beautiful and enjoyable beaches are Praia de Itamambuca and Praia do Felix. All other big ones are annoyingly crowded. The nice small ones can be harder to reach.
  • Farol do Cruzeiro (lighthouse) – chill place to walk out and enjoy views around the water, and be right next to the city for food. You can also head to the rocks and trees area across the water for more peace.
  • Central beaches:
    • Praia de Iperoig – perhaps nice to look at but it’s not for swimming as the water is kind of dirty. Nobody really goes here except to hang by the water and maybe some kids play in the sand.
    • Praia de Itagua – same as Iperoig. These 2 are the most central beaches to the city center.
  • Going north:
    • Prainha do Matarazzo – heard it was a nice tiny beach right in middle of the city, but not so nice anymore with trash. Water is not acceptable for swimming.
    • Praia do Pereque-Acu – walked here and saw exactly what Google Maps reviewers were saying…that the water is dirty, smelly, and not for swimming. Sand is dirty color, too. You can hangout here away from the water and enjoy a non-crowded ocean view. If you must get in the water, it’s better at the north end. My guess is it’s always dirty and smelly where rivers dump city sewage out into the ocean.
      • Praia da Barra Seca – small beach, not the best but can be pleasant out of season.
      • Praia Saco da Mae Maria – beautiful tiny oasis, because few are willing to pass the dense jungle and dangerous rocks to get here.
      • Praia Vermelha Do Norte – small beach, not crowded because it lacks restaurants and also because the waves are for surfing and not kids-suitable.
      • Praia do Alto – small beautiful, one of the best in Ubatuba. Requires a hike from the car path but you’re rewarded with a nice uncrowded beach AND there’s kiosks.
    • Praia de Itamambuca – the nicest big beach in the area, many people’s favorite. Big space and restaurant conveniences, also kid-friendly and still some nice waves but also not so crowded. Lots of young sexy people here. Busiest part is the south. I’m guessing the more expensive accommodation pricing of this area is a part of this.
      • Praia Brava De Itamambuca – really beautiful (shallow beach with rocks and lagoon). Not busy because of the confusing path to get here. See helpful tips.
      • Praia do Felix – absolutely beautiful beach. Also worth climbing around the very edges to see the other connected beautiful beaches…Praia do Portugues and Prais das Conchas.
      • Praia do Prumirim – mega beautiful beach, local fav spot is Jundo Praia Bar.
    • Ilha das Couves – nice islands. I think some boat tours go there.
  • Going south
    • Prainha do Cais – totally paved the whole way so it’s nice to walk or bike here. Then you can see a nice sunset, and maybe also some turtles fish and other wildlife here. But it’s not recommended for anything else. Not many swim since it’s dangerous along the rocks and no lifeguard.
      • Praia do Flavio – I didn’t go this small beach next over. But read it kinda disappears during low tide, and has rocks on bottom making it dangerous.
    • Praia do Cedro – secluded cove beach on backside of a peninsula. Beautiful setting but super packed during high season. Tons of cars drive all the way in and they short hike down to the beach. Everyone else going on foot or bike will be slower because of the hills before the beach. One beach restaurant here. You might be able to stomach the crowd by climbing the rocks on right or left side.
    • Praia Vermelha* – strangely way less crowded than other beaches despite being easily accessible and having restaurants, etc. The north is the surfer side, less busy and has nice rocks to sit away from the crowd. The south side is more crowded, families and kids, etc. Beautiful view of greenery around. There’s also a shallow river for kids to play.
    • Praia do Tenorio – super crowded, we skipped and went dinner instead.
    • Praia Grande – absolutely crazy and crowded, many restaurants, people everywhere. Just driving past it, we saw enough of it. I hear one side is good for surfing and other end is for playing in the water.
    • Praia das Toninhas – beautiful beach, north side for surfers and south for families.
    • Praia de Enseada – super crowded beach as well when our bus came past. So we had no desire to see it.
    • There are many more beaches further south and some do look amazing but most were crowded from what we saw. Also, the distance is so far from here that it’s not recommended unless you know a very specific beach and that your car won’t be stuck in 2-hour traffic.
• Viewpoints, landmarks, sunsets, hikes:
  • Peninsula areas – check out nature areas on the peninsula, whether north side or side south going towards Ponta Grossa.
  • Farol do Cruzeiro – this tiny lighthouse has view of water around. Then continue further north to see Pereque Acu.
• Parks, gardens, green spaces:
  • Boardwalk outdoor gym – there’s some weights and calisthenics bars on the boardwalk grass right outside Monoquilha Bar n’ Brunch restaurant.
• Arts, museums, culture:
• Markets, shopping:
  • Many shops and boutiques. Enjoy!
• Tours:
  • Boat tours:
    • Many of them take you to several nice beaches. Good thing is you see all nice beaches in one convenient tour. Bad thing is you’re dropped off at same time as many people from other boat tours. All of you crowding the same beaches in the same areas. Maybe a good idea off-season.
    • During high season, I’d suggest you visit the nice beaches only one at a time for a couple hours to enjoy it when boat crowd leaves.
    • Also remember that Ubatuba is more crowded since it’s closer to Sao Paulo. So if you’re already heading further up towards Paraty, Trindade, Ilha Grande…you can do your boat tours there. (Those look nicer, IMO.)
  • Ilha Anchieta – super cool beautiful island. Try to do a tour here if you can.

Restaurants & Cafes:

• Monoquilha Bar n’ Brunch – nice restaurant and has outdoor seating right next to free outdoor gym (so you can knock some sets out while waiting). Has indoor seating upstairs with sea view as well. Bottom area has music, upstairs more peaceful quiet and seems good for coworking.
• Jardim Restaurante e Pizzeria – nice and good, kinda highend pricing.
• Buffet restaurants:
  • Moringa Restaurante – expensive buffet restaurant. Food looks nice, but higher pricing than other buffet restaurants.
  • Sabor do Mar – mid price buffet restaurant but good food and nice looking restaurant.
  • Marlin Azul Restaurante & Pizzeria – cheap buffet restaurant. Didn’t try cuz the food didn’t look enticing to my friend.
• The Best Acai – by far my favorite. Huge store and with many options; their acai seems fresher as well. Go here!
• Maria Farinha Paes Artesanais – nice traditional bakery, big and with nice decor. But I was full and didn’t try anything.
• Ubatuba Mall – busy food court with many options if you can’t decide.

Bars, clubs, and nightlife:

• Many bars or bar restaurants, but in terms of a more party club or party bar vibe…you’ll likely find that on Fridays. Most will be samba type of stuff. I imagine the “nightlife” would be in the Itagua and Centro areas. Maybe by Praia Grande as well. I didn’t do any nightlife when I was here.

Miscellaneous tips:

• Brazil – quick travel guide
• Transportation:
  • Buses – they work and many available. But I didn’t use so I don’t know how often each line comes. It seems they come fast enough that you can use them as cheap transportation to get around. Especially handy when you’re going from one beach to another.
  • Rideshare – 99 and Uber apps both work well. Smaller/farther beaches, 99 works much better.
  • Bicycle – long well-marked bike lanes that are frequently used. Will help you bike longer distances quickly. I highly recommend this as the best way to get around. Enjoy the scenery and also arrive faster than waiting for a bus or taxi. Car is really only necessary if you’re going to a far beach.
• Mosquitos – I found it strange that my first visit in Jan 6-9, 2024 (lots of rain), had very few mosquitos. Very happy I wasn’t chewed up like the previous year on Ilha Bela.
• Thieves – careful of thieves breaking into your car while you’re at the beach. I imagine this happens more on the small car-accessible beaches in the north (near Pereque-Acu) and less for crowded beaches with lots of people. Some beaches, your car is visible even from the beach.

Itinerary:

• DAY 1 – head to Praia da Itamambuca beach and hang out until sunset, then eat in Itagua. If you still got some energy at night, can walk the boardwalk from the lighthouse down to the Ubatuba sign.
• DAY 2 – head to Praia do Felix, explore the 2 small beaches around its sides.
• DAY 3 – explore the Ponta Grossa peninsula. I’d recommend biking up to it and then walking around.
• DAY 4 – explore farther beaches.

Nearby towns:

• Ilha Bela – good for families and couples. More of a commercial vibe than a chill backpackers vibe. I found most beaches here too crowded for my liking, and I also hate hate the sandflies…they’re so hard to kill, leave more painful bites than mosquitos, and their bites can leave permanent scarring on your skin.
• Trindade* – nice hippie beach town with many beaches close by. Popular but has an authentic local vibe. 35 mins from Paraty…so you can pair up both towns on the same trip. Can stay in one and visit the other as a daytrip.
• Paraty* – small charmy colorful colonial town. Technically a beach town (since it’s by the water) but not really since the town beaches are dirty and unswimmable. You’ll have to drive (or use private driver) to reach the nice beaches. Nice beaches, but nothing on the level of Ilha Grande’s beauty.
• Ilha Grande* – most beautiful beaches in the immediate area. old town historical center is the unique highlight

Unfiltered notes:

• 20 Melhores Praias de Ubatuba – Volto Logo (not the best explanation, missing more helpful details, but good for brief description and photos)
• Ilha Grande, Paraty e Ubatuba: Roteiro de 10 dias pela Costa Verde – Volto Logo