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| Brazil (São Paulo State) |
| Ubatuba |
| From São Sebastião, the highway passes frustratingly close to deserted beaches of dazzling beauty. Buses stop in Caraguatatuba, an ugly little town with a long, gently curving beach alongside the main road, but you’re better off carrying on towards UBATUBA. The town is only slightly more attractive than Caraguatatuba, but that’s of little importance when you consider the local beaches, 72 in all, on islands and curling around inlets. | |
| Ubatuba is centred on Praça
13 de Maio, a couple of blocks from the Rodoviária on Rua Conceição. On
the square there’s a very helpful tourist office (daily
8am–6pm; tel 012/432-4255), which supplies maps of the coast and will
make hotel reservations for you. Also worth a visit is the local branch of
the environmental organisation Projeto Tamar, Rua Antônio Athanásio 273
(daily 10am–noon and 2–6pm), which has displays on their work
protecting sea turtles that lay their eggs on local beaches.
As far as accommodation goes, Ubatuba makes a good base if you plan to explore the outlying beaches, but the hotels are expensive, especially during the summer; they are concentrated in the area around Rua Conceição, towards the beach. On Rua Conceição itself, comfortable and reasonably cheap are the Parque Atlântico at no. 185 (tel 012/432-1336; $20–35) and the São Nicolau at no. 213 (tel 012/432-5007; $20–35), while the Xaréu, around the corner at Rua Jordão Homem da Costa 413, is slightly more expensive (tel 012/432-1525; $35–50). For travellers on tight budgets, the only alternative is to head for a campsite – the nearest to town is the Sítio Usina Velha (tel 012/432-3629), some 3km north on the road to Parati, where you can pitch a tent for $5 per night or rent a small cabin ($20–35). Most restaurants are on Avenida Iperoig, which curves alongside the town’s beach, the Praia de Iperoig, and you’ll find a good variety of seafood, Italian and other types to choose from. For outstanding seafood at low prices, head for Peixe com Banana in town at Rua Guarani 255, which specializes in the local dish, azul-marinho – essentially fish stewed with green banana. The beaches |
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| Although there’s nothing
wrong with the town’s Praia de Iperoig, Ubatuba is best used as a
base from which to visit some of the 71 other beaches accessible by bus or
private boat. The least developed are to the northeast of town,
with the furthest, Camburi, 46km away on the border with Rio state. To get
to these beaches, take the local bus marked “Promirim” from the
Rodoviária and ask the driver to stop at whichever stretch takes your
fancy.
To the south of town are the more popular beaches, again easily reached by bus from the town centre. ENSEADA, 9km away, is lined with beachfront hotels, none of which has rooms for less than $50. In a bay protected from the lively surf, the beach is popular with families, and in the summer it’s always uncomfortably crowded. Across the bay from Enseada are a series of beautiful isolated beaches that draw fewer people. Walk out of town on the main road for about 2km until you reach RIBEIRA, a yachting centre and colourful fishing port. From here, there are trips on sailing boats to the Ilha Anchieta, a nearby island where only a few fisherfolk live, or further afield along the coast: these will cost between $15 and $30, depending on the itinerary. Beyond Ribeira are sandy coves that you can reach by clambering down from the trail on the cliff above the sea. |
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