WorldBrazil › Santa Catarina › Barrinha

Barrinha 47.4

#4223 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇧🇷 Brazil · Santa Catarina · near Itajaí

Very consistent, wind is the enemy here, no off season.

Works all yearBeginner friendlyBeginner
Barrinha, Brazil
Photo: HELIO BASTOS SALMON · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Surf score47.4 /100
Surfable days89% of the year
Clean days9% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell10% period 11 s+
Typical size0.8 m 2.8 ft median
Water22°C a rash vest or 2 mm

Best time to surf Barrinha

The best time to surf Barrinha is May, June, July. It rarely works. In May the water sits around 22°C, so pack a rash vest or 2 mm, and the typical wave is 0.8 m. The nearest airport is JOI (46 km) and the nearest town is Itajaí (31 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan85%1%0.8 m26°Cboardies
Feb82%2%0.7 m27°Cboardies
Mar83%11%0.8 m27°Cboardies
Apr93%11%0.8 m25°Cvest
May86%21%0.8 m22°Cvest
Jun83%12%0.8 m19°C2mm
Jul83%21%0.8 m18°C3/2
Aug95%10%0.9 m18°C3/2
Sep97%9%0.9 m19°C3/2
Oct96%4%1.0 m20°C2mm
Nov98%5%0.9 m22°C2mm
Dec89%2%0.8 m24°Cvest

What is under Barrinha

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor is already 196 m deep, shoaling steadily over the last kilometres. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 342 m against 196 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out196 m
Depth 4 km out26 m
Channel beside it342 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 47.4

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
9.6
Best days 22.4%
5.8
Clean days 18.4%
3.6
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
4.0
Access 4.1%
3.7

The detail

Faces 95° with 42% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 84% of days. Mean peak period 8.6 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.3 m, with a peak period of 11 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 84%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates -26.624, -48.680 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,090/ month
typically €959 – €1,220
Rent, one bedroom€570
Groceries€230
Eating out€130
Getting around€75
Phone + internet€80
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€2,120/ month
typically €1,870 – €2,370
Somewhere to stay€1,250
Eating out€445
Car, transfers, fuel€290
Data + extras€135
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Brazil (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

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