So you’ve been posted to São Paulo or are attending a congress at the city and have a few days in your hands? Here’s a few ideas of what you could with with your spare time.

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1. IF YOU HAVE JUST THE ONE DAY

1.1 Santos

You could go and visit Santos historical centre, where you shouldn’t miss the excellent Museu do Café (Coffee Museum) – and take a ride on the streetcar/tram too! You could drive to Santos (between an hour’s drive and two hours depending on where you are in São Paulo). Alternatively, take one of the frequent buses running from the Terminal Jabaquara bus station (at the end of the blue line of São Paulo’s subway). The bus will leave you within walking distance of the centre of Santos.

1.2 Zu Lai Buddhist temple

If you have your own transportation you could spend the morning at the Zu Lai Buddhist temple. Getting there following the Raposo Tavares motorway is a piece of cake – look for the signs when you approach km 25.

1.3 Valley of the Temples

With a bit more time you could make an extension to the previous visit and reach the Vale dos Templos (Valley of the Temples) in Itapecerica, where you can find a real-size replica of Kinkaku-ji golden temple – minus the gold, of course. Get to Itapecerica and then follow the signs.

1.4 Embu das Artes
Embu das Artes is a town on the outskirts of São Paulo where every weekend takes place and incredibly popular and open-air arts and crafts fair. Follow the Regis Bittencourt motorway until you reach Embu and then ask for directions. The fair takes places on Saturday and Sunday, no point in going to Embu any other day of the week. You could possibly get there by bus (have a look at EMTU; if you’ve spent a bit of time in São Paulo you’ll know information on public transportation is anything but cryptic).

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2. IF YOU CAN AFFORD TWO DAYS OFF

2.1 Campos do Jordão

A piece of Central Europe a couple of hour’s drive from São Paulo, that is what Campos do Jordão looks like. Don’t be put off by the fact that Campos is where the well-off go to show off their motorbikes, imported cars and winter clothing. There’s more to Campos than that – including some great nature walks and excellent local beer too. You can get to Campos by car or by bus from Terminal Tietê bus station (line blue of the São Paulo subway). Campos looks its best during the winter months, when it can get really chilly – zero degrees temperatures are not unheard of.

2.2 Costa dos Alcatrazes

All right, a freezing-cold weekend up in the mountains is not what you were dreaming of when you headed for Brazil. Do not despair as we have excellent news for you: there are some stunning beaches just a couple of hour’s away from São Paulo. They are found along the Costa dos Alcatrazes, a stretch of road at the foot of the Serra do Mar, the mountain range that goes along the coastline and provides a fantastic landscape of mountains, rainforest and beaches. Choose a place to stay and then get to know the different beaches nearby. Barra do Una, Juquehy, Barra do Sahy and Camburi are our favourite beaches. Not forgetting the most famous of all, Maresias, to which we devoted an entire blog post. You can reach the Costa dos Alcatrazes using the bus, but if you have your own means of transportation you will make the most of your short time there.

2.3 Ubatuba

A bit further north, where the state of São Paulo meets the state of Rio de Janeiro, you will find some of the most beautiful beaches in the south east of Brazil. Have a look at the blog post we dedicated to Utatuba for more information. If you drive, it will take you at least three hours to reach Ubatuba.

2.4 PETAR
If pot-holing is your thing, then you should head to the PETAR caving complex in the south of the state of São Paulo. Although we haven’t been there ourselves we left some basic information at PETAR, a pot-holer’s paradise.

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3. IF YOU CAN AFFORD THREE DAYS OFF

3.1 Paraty

Excellent news. If you can take at least three days off you couldn’t go anywhere more beautiful and spectacular than Paraty, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. You could take the bus to Paraty (5 hours, leaves from Terminal Tietê bus station in São Paulo) or drive along the beautiful Rio-Santos motorway. Paraty is one of our top-three destinations in Brazil, shall we say more?

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For anyone based in São Paulo, Ubatuba is the perfect beach destination for anything between a couple of days and a week’s rest. But before we begin to unravel Ubatuba, we need to make it clear that rather than a town and a single beach, we are referring to a district that contains more than 100 km of beaches. The district of Ubatuba occupies the northernmost stretch of coast on the state of São Paulo, and it borders with the district of Paraty in Rio de Janeiro. Ubatuba has some of the most beautiful beaches in Brazil, with a unique combination of mountains, tropical rainforest and beaches.

Enlarge the map

On the Google Map above you will find the location of the different beaches I will mention on the text. From south to north, we find:

- Lagoinha. The perfect beach for anyone looking for a long stretch of sand and a quiet sea. Appropriate for families with children. There are some holiday homes next to the beach. To the other side of the main road there is a supermarket. There are no restaurants and the closest shops are in nearby Maranduba.

- praia do Bonete and praia Grande do Bonete. Two spectacular unspoiled beaches you can only reach on foot. The path to the beaches starts from Lagoinha beach and borders the sea till you reach Bonete. A bit further ahead is praia Grande do Bonete, with a small fishing village. It will take you an hour to reach the beaches from Lagoinha.

- Domingas Dias. One of our favourite beaches. Crescent-shaped, with calm waters and white sand. You can snorkel at the rocks to the left of the beach. You can reach the beach on foot from nearby Lázaro.

- Sununga. Recommended only to those seeking strong emotions. With rough sea, it’s a dangerous beach for bathing. Surfers love it.

- saco da Ribeira. The region’s marina. Schooners to the Ilha Anchieta leave from here.

- praia das Toninhas. Another popular beach, with strong waves. There are quite a few accommodation options on the area.

- praia Grande. One of the most popular and crowded beaches of the entire district. Cars park right next to the beach. Strong waves, excellent for surfing. If quiet is what you are after, stay away from this beach.

- Itaguá neighbourhood. Right next to the center of Ubatuba, it is a nice place for a walk, with a number of bars, restaurants and shops. Water is polluted.

- Projeto Tamar. The Projeto Tamar is a Brazilian NGO looking after sea turtles. It has a rehabilitation unit and visitor’s centre in Ubatuba.

- Ubatuba center. Downtown Ubatuba contains all the services you need, including shops, chemist, doctor, the bus station and even an airfield.

- Itamambuca. A long stretch of sand very popular among the surfing crowd.

- praia do Félix. Another beautiful crescent-shaped beach. It has strong waves to the left, calm waters to the right (where snorkel is possible).

- Prumirim and ilha do Prumirim. From charming Prumirim beach there are boats taking tourists to the Prumirim island, where there is a desert beach.

- Almada, approaching the border with the Rio de Janeiro state. Don’t miss the sign on the road. Almada is a fishing village with calm and transparent waters.

HOW TO GET TO UBATUBA

We have published two blog posts on how to get to Ubatuba from São Paulo: from São Paulo to Ubatuba/Paraty by bus and from São Paulo to Ubatuba/Paraty by car. For those coming from Rio de Janeiro, the bus company Util has services between Rio and Ubatuba. From Paraty there are local services to Ubatuba.

HOW TO GET AROUND IN UBATUBA

Regardless or where you set camp in Ubatuba, you are going to need some means of transportation, after all do remember we are talking about 100 km of beaches. Ideally, you would drive your own or a hired car, but lacking that, you can use the local buses that will take you places albeit at a slower pace.

MOSQUITOES

Ubatuba is surrounded by tropical rainforest. Do take plenty of insect repelent with you.

THE WEATHER

The weather in Ubatuba is one of the most delicate aspects of vacationing at this destination. It is not by chance that the area is humorously referred to as Ubachuva (chuva meaning rain in Portuguese). Make no mistake, it rains in Ubatuba. Often. And quite a lot. All year round. There is no escaping this fact, if you go to Ubatuba and don’t see a drop of rain in a few days, you can consider yourself very very lucky.

Whether it rains or not, you’ll be able to have a bath at the sea all year round – there might be two or three particularly chilly weeks during winter, but that’s it.

You can have a look at the weather forecast for Ubatuba for the next 10 days.

ACCOMMODATION

At hotels and pousadas in Ubatuba you will find a full listing of all the accommodation in the area, along with a map identifying the different sectors of the district.

Search for hotels and pousadas in Ubatuba:

DIVING AND SNORKELING

Ubatuba provides good spots both for diving and snorkelling. There are a couple of dive shops in the town. NDS – Mergulho is one of them, and at its website there is a section on the diving locations in the region Points de Mergulho.

LINKS

- Secretaria de Turismo da Prefeitura de Ubatuba
- Ubatuba Travel (in English)
- Conheça Ubatuba
- Conheça Ubatuba
- Ubatuba city

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RELATED POSTS:
From São Paulo to Ubatuba/Paraty by bus
From São Paulo to Ubatuba/Paraty by car
Top 10: beaches
Projeto Tamar
Nautical Tourism in Brazil
Beaches on the state of São Paulo

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The Projeto Tamar is a Brazilian environmental organization as well-known as it is respected. Strictly speaking Tamar is not an NGO, as its organization chart includes a government body. The organization benefits from a very powerful sponsor: Petrobras, the mighty Brazilian oil company, always eager to appear as an environmental asset – and not a hazard.

The Projeto Tamar field of action is the Brazilian coastline and its Oceanic islands, and its main aim is to work for the protection and preservation of sea turtles. Brazil is home to five out seven species of sea turtles, all of them endangered species. From September to March, along the coast, and January to June, on the islands, the organization monitors the beaches where the turtles lay their eggs. Tamar estimates each year 14.000 nests and 650.000 baby turtles.

As well as their preservation work, the secret of the Projeto Tamar’s success lies in the way they have build links with the communities, in an effort to spread a culture of preservation replacing a deeply-rooted tradition of destruction, and also giving employment opportunities to less well-off comunities.

Tamar’s HQ is at the Praia do Forte, north of Salvador de Bahía. The organization has bases in other 8 Brazilian states, including Ceará (Almofala), Rio Grande do Norte (Atol das Rocas), Pernambuco (Fernando de Noronha), Sergipe (Pirambu, Ponta dos Mangues, Abaís and Aracaju), Espírito Santo (Vitória, Comboios, Pontal do Ipiranga, Guriri, Itaúnas, Trindade and Anchieta), Rio de Janeiro (Campos de Goytacazes), São Paulo (Ubatuba) and Santa Catarina (Barra da Lagoa).

At many of its bases the emphasis is on education. We have visited the bases of Fernando de Noronha, Ubatuba and Barra da Lagoa (Florianópolis) and it became quite clear that educating is as important as the contemplation of the reptiles. Fernando de Noronha is probably the best place to get acquainted with the work carried out by the Projeto Tamar. Depending on the time of your visit to the island, you might be able to contemplate the birth of the turtles. All year round you have a unique an unforgettable chance of diving with the turtles in the wild.

At the Projeto Tamar’s webpage there is plenty of information. It has en English version.

Accommodation in Brazil has five new blog posts, with full listings of accommodation in Ilha do Mel, Ilha Grande, Maresias, Natal and Ubatuba.

The Brazilian Ministry of Tourism has a website devoted to Nautical Tourism in Brazil. It has an English version.

The website has a beautiful layout and tons of information on the Brazilian coastline, the weather, tide charts and other useful information for sailors.

It also contains complete information on the marinas at Baía de Todos os Santos, Fernando de Noronha, Fortaleza, Ilha Grande, Ilhabela, João Pessoa, Morro de São Paulo, Natal, Paraty, Recife, Río de Janeiro and Ubatuba.

The initiative is part of the declared policy of the Brazilian Authorities to promote tourism in Brazil abroad almost exclusively among the upper-class markets. Foreign currency, rather than number of visitors, is the force behind the promotion of Brazil as a tourist destination. The website Golf in Brazil is also part of that initiative.

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RELATED POSTS:
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The distance from the city of São Paulo to the shore is relatively short, and there is no shortage of beaches along the coastline.

The coast of the state of São Paulo is divided in two large regions:

• the north coast (litoral norte), from Ubatuba, on the border with the state of Rio de Janeiro, to Bertioga. It includes the towns of Ubatuba, Caraguatatuba, São Sebastião and Bertioga, as well as the island of Ilhabela.
• the south coast (litoral sur), from Guarujá to the Ilha do Cardoso, on the border with the state of Paraná. It includes the cities and towns of Guarujá, Santos, Praia Grande, Mongaguá, Itanhaém, Peruibe and Cananéia.

The nearest beaches to the city of São Paulo are Santos and Guarujá. They are urban beaches, with high rises right by the sand. The kind of beaches unlikely to make foreigners fall in love with.

Going north, as soon as we pass Bertioga, the first beautiful beaches appear: Juquehy, Barra do Saí, Camburí, Maresías. The jewels on the crown are found in the town of Ubatuba.

Going south, the beaches are not so interesting. Santos has a few interesting places, but its beaches do not feature among them. Further south, you will find long open beaches, some of them polluted. In the southermost point of the coast of the state there is an Atlantic Forest reserve: the Ilha do Cardoso, an eco paradise turned into State Park. It is quite far from São Paulo and access is done through a notorious road: the rodovia Régis Bittencourt.

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RELATED POSTS:
destination: Maresias
Hotels and pousadas in Ubatuba

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It’s on the news: there’s a virulent outbreak of dengue fever in Ubatuba – as well as in other less visited points of the coast of São Paulo, such as Itanhaém. A few minutes ago, a specialist on dengue gave her advice: do not travel to the area. If you really have to, be very careful and remember that the only prevention against dengue is avoiding being bitten by the mosquito that carries the disease. Dengue fever is the topic of an entry on this blog.

This year’s dengue epidemic is particularly virulent. Only last week 37,000 new cases of dengue fever were registered by the authorities – most of them in the states of Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

SEE ALSO:
- 10 facts about dengue fever in Brazil
- Dengue fever epidemic in Rio
- Dengue fever in Natal

Although there are scores of diving (and snorkeling) locations along the Brazilian coast, the honest truth is that few would rank highly on a global scale. The exception to this would be the best diving destination in Brazil (or, should I say, the diving destination), the island of Fernando de Noronha.

Top-notch diving in Noronha, with great underwater paleovolcanic landscapes and consistent marine life (it’s a national park). Not that great when it comes to coral reefs. There are three dive operators on the island: Águas Claras, Atlantis Divers and Noronha Divers.

As well as diving, the beauty of Noronha is that snorkelling is just a few metres away from any of the island’s beautiful beaches. Best beaches for snorkeling are Sancho, Porcos, Atalaia and the entrance to the harbour – where a shipwreck is found. Be aware that from November to March, the sea is quite rough. Calm waters from August to October.

Other important diving spots in Brazil are the National Marine Park of Abrolhos (state of Bahia), Bonito (state of Mato Grosso do Sul), for river snorkelling and cave dives, Arraial do Cabo (state of Rio), the southern coast of the Rio state (Ilha Grande, Paraty), and part of the coast of the São Paulo state (Ubatuba, laje de Santos).

At this blog’s Brazil Diving Guide we pointed to a PDF guide where you can find out more about diving spots in Brazil.

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RELATED POSTS:
Brazil Diving Guide
destination: Bonito
destination: Ilha Grande
destination: Fernando de Noronha
Nautical Tourism in Brazil

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How do I get from São Paulo to Ubatuba/Paraty by bus?

There is a bus company going from São Paulo to Angra dos Reis (through Paraty), Reunidas Paulista. There are four buses per day. One way tickets from R$38.

The company Litorânea goes to Ubatuba. There are six buses per day and the trip costs from R$40,30 (more expensive than the bus to Paraty, in spite of the distance being shorter).

Both companies operate from the terminal Tietê bus station in São Paulo.

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RELATED POSTS:
from Paraty to Angra dos Reis
from Rio to Angra dos Reis / Paraty
from São Paulo to Angra dos Reis
Hotels and pousadas in Ubatuba

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How do I get from São Paulo to Ubatuba/Paraty by car?

In São Paulo take the Marginal Tietê, the ring road around the north of the city following the course of the Tietê river. At the end of the Marginal Tietê, continue in the rodovia Ayrton Senna (SP-070). Althought there are signs showing the way, pay particular attention, it’s easy to take the wrong road. If you follow the signs for the airport (Guarulhos) you will end up in the rodovia Ayrton Senna.

After an hour and half’s drive the motorway changes name from Ayrton Senna to rodovia Carvalho Pinto (it’s till the same SP-070). On the Senna/Carvalho Pinto you will pass two toll barriers.

When you get to São José dos Campos, leave the Carvalho Pinto following the directions to Caraguatatuba. The road that goes to Caraguatuba is called rodovia dos Tamoios (SP-099). After an hour’s drive, the road descends until reaching sea level. The stretch of road going down the mountain is absolutely spectacular.

When you reach Caraguatatuba, follow the directions for Ubatuba. Once you leave Caraguatatuba, you will be on the Rio-Santos road (SP-055), that will take you to Ubatuba, first, and an hour later, to Paraty.

Attention! Plenty of speed traps on the Ayrton Senna/Carvalho Pinto motorway, on the rodovia dos Tamoios and in Caraguatatuba as well.

The Rio-Santos road is one of the most scenic routes in Brazil. Enjoy it!

I’ve created a road map using MyMaps! (in Spanish and English). It contains specific instructions on the trickiest parts of the trip. You can check it out here.

SEE ALSO: Hotels and pousadas in Ubatuba

[Don't forget there is a list of all the questions & answers published in the blog here]