Swell Cabin › South America › Brazil

Ubatuba surf guide

São Paulo state's 'surf capital', with around 100 beaches tucked into the Atlantic rainforest.

Location

São Paulo State, Brazil (-23.4330, -45.0710)

Best season

Apr – Sep: April, May, June, July, August, September

Water temperature

20–27°C (boardshorts (warmest) to 3/2 mm (coldest))

Waves

Beach break, Point break

Suits

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced surfers

Live surf cams in Ubatuba

• Praia Grande (hotel cam): Clima ao Vivo, free

Surf spots in Ubatuba

• Vermelha do Norte: Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces ESE (offshore wind from the WNW), best at all tides. Suits all levels. (-23.4203, -45.0382)
• Itamambuca: Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces SSE (offshore wind from the NNW), best at all tides. Suits all levels. (-23.4017, -45.0015)
• Sapê: Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces SSE (offshore wind from the NNW), best at all tides, dropping. Suits all levels. (-23.5312, -45.2177)

What's on in Ubatuba

Ubatuba is a relaxed beach town that fills up in the summer holidays (December–Carnival), when beach bars and kiosks host live music; the rest of the year evenings are quiet. No current weekly nights or dated events could be confirmed.

Updated 2026-11-07.

Where to stay in Ubatuba

907 places to stay within 20 km: 284 hotel, 233 holiday rental, 176 guest house, 57 hostel, 56 bed and breakfast, 43 chalet, 24 camp site, 15 surf camp, 13 resort, 5 villa, 1 motel. Compare them by distance to the nearest surf spot on the interactive map.

Surf camps: Diva Surf House, SoulNatu Surf House and School, America do Surf Hostel, Am Surf Camp, Kza Rasta Surf Camp, Saruê Surf Lodge, Nossa Casa Surf House, Ubatuba Surf Hotel.

Hostels: Marujo Hostel, Casa Alma Zen, Hostel Ubabeach, Fin Soul, Ecotrip Hostel, Aldeia Hostel.

Cafés, food and surf shops

100 cafés and bakeries, 679 restaurants and bars, 13 surf schools and 16 surf shops nearby. Surf schools: Hunter Surf Store, Tami Surf, SurFight Ubatuba, Praia de Fora, CNC Shaping Co, ALOHA Guest House, Surfpoint Toninhas, Escola de Surf e SUP - ECO Ubatuba.

Frequently asked questions

When is the best time to surf in Ubatuba?

The best surf season in Ubatuba is Apr – Sep (April, May, June, July, August, September). The sea ranges from 20°C to 27°C over the year.

Which months have the most good surf days in Ubatuba?

Measured over the last three years (2023-11-01 to 2026-10-31), the waves at Ubatuba's best spot were good or better most often in May (87% of days, 47% great), August (82% of days, 31% great) and June (81% of days, 31% great), and least often in February (48%). From each day's swell and wind (Open-Meteo), rated like Swell Cabin's forecast.

Do I need a wetsuit in Ubatuba?

Water temperature in Ubatuba is 20–27°C: boardshorts (warmest) to 3/2 mm (coldest).

Is Ubatuba good for beginner surfers?

Yes. Ubatuba suits beginner, intermediate and advanced surfers; spots that work for beginners or all levels include Vermelha do Norte, Itamambuca and Sapê.

What are the surf spots in Ubatuba?

Ubatuba has 3 surf spots on Swell Cabin: Vermelha do Norte (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces ESE (offshore wind from the WNW), best at all tides); Itamambuca (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces SSE (offshore wind from the NNW), best at all tides); Sapê (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces SSE (offshore wind from the NNW), best at all tides, dropping).

Where should surfers stay in Ubatuba?

Swell Cabin lists 907 places to stay within 20 km of Ubatuba, including 15 surf camps such as Diva Surf House, SoulNatu Surf House and School, America do Surf Hostel and Am Surf Camp, 57 hostels, 176 guesthouses and homestays, 238 rentals and villas. Each one shows its distance to the nearest surf spot.

What is the nightlife like in Ubatuba?

Ubatuba is a relaxed beach town that fills up in the summer holidays (December–Carnival), when beach bars and kiosks host live music; the rest of the year evenings are quiet. No current weekly nights or dated events could be confirmed.

What is the surf forecast for Ubatuba this week?

Swell Cabin shows a live 7-day surf forecast for Ubatuba and each of its 3 surf spots on https://swellcabin.com/town/ubatuba: each spot rated hour by hour (Flat, Poor, Fair, Good, Great or Epic) from the way its coast faces, the swell, its period, the wind and the tide, with the best time each day and why, the size in surfers' words (e.g. "chest to head high, clean"), tides, and how sure the forecast is (three wave models compared). It is checked live against the nearest buoy and airport wind reports where there are any, and refreshed every few hours (waves from Open-Meteo, wind from MET Norway).

When is the best tide to surf in Ubatuba?

It depends on the spot: shallow reefs usually want mid to high tide, most beach breaks work best around mid tide. Swell Cabin's forecast for Ubatuba weighs each spot's tide hour by hour and shows the best window each day with the high and low tide times, predicted from the Ubatuba tide gauge (9 km away).

Is the Ubatuba surf forecast checked against measurements?

Yes. The open water off Ubatuba is checked against the satellite altimeters (Copernicus Marine's near-real-time wave heights): 43 satellite passes within 100 km since 2026-09-23, typically 66 km out, put the forecast wave height within 20% of the measurement 73% of the time after correcting the wave model, which ran 5% low out there (73% before). Of the three wave models compared, Météo-France has been the closest to the satellites here. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information (https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00179). Last checked 2026-11-06.

How reliable is Swell Cabin's information about Ubatuba?

Trust in this page's data is medium (55/100): the town has not been verified against sources in the last 12 months; 0 of 3 spots fully verified, 3 with a researched tide; season and water temperature checked against measured data; no open audit warnings. How we check: https://github.com/danielgalam/swellcabin/blob/main/docs/data-accuracy.md Last checked against sources on 2026-11-05. Every value comes from measured data (Open-Meteo, buoys), open databases (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata) or a published page we opened, never from visitor reports; a daily audit compares them and a weekly evaluation measures the error rate (https://github.com/danielgalam/swellcabin/blob/main/docs/data-quality.md).

Is there a live surf cam in Ubatuba?

Yes: Praia Grande (hotel cam) on Clima ao Vivo (free). Swell Cabin checks these cams regularly.

Where can I take surf lessons in Ubatuba?

Surf schools in and around Ubatuba include Hunter Surf Store, Tami Surf, SurFight Ubatuba, Praia de Fora, CNC Shaping Co and ALOHA Guest House.

Nearby surf towns

• Maresias, Brazil (best Apr – Sep)
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (best Apr – Sep)
• Saquarema, Brazil (best Apr – Sep)
• Florianópolis, Brazil (best Mar – Sep)
• Garopaba, Brazil (best Mar – Sep)
• Praia do Rosa, Brazil (best Mar – Sep)

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