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Guaratuba 59.9

#3198 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇧🇷 Brazil · São Paulo · near Santos

Works almost every day, no off season.

Works all yearIntermediate
Guaratuba, Brazil
Photo: Marinha do Brasil · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Surf score59.9 /100
Surfable days100% of the year
Clean days22% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell22% period 11 s+
Typical size1.3 m 4.3 ft median
Water24°C a rash vest or 2 mm

Best time to surf Guaratuba

The best time to surf Guaratuba is May, June, July. The season runs May to Jun. In May the water sits around 24°C, so pack a rash vest or 2 mm, and the typical wave is 1.4 m. The nearest airport is SSZ (42 km) and the nearest town is Santos (46 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan99%14%1.0 m27°Cboardies
Feb99%15%1.1 m28°Cboardies
Mar100%24%1.2 m26°Cboardies
Apr100%19%1.3 m25°Cboardies
May100%41%1.4 m24°Cvest
Jun99%40%1.5 m22°C2mm
Jul99%36%1.3 m20°C2mm
Aug100%20%1.4 m20°C2mm
Sep100%20%1.5 m21°C2mm
Oct100%11%1.4 m22°C2mm
Nov100%11%1.3 m23°Cvest
Dec100%12%1.2 m25°Cboardies

What is under Guaratuba

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor is still shallow, 24 m.

Depth 8 km out24 m
Depth 4 km out14 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 59.9

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%
9.2
Best days 22.4%
10.4
Clean days 18.4%
9.8
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
4.6
Access 4.1%
3.5

The detail

Faces 165° with 42% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 96% of days. Mean peak period 9.6 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 2.0 m, with a peak period of 12 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 38%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates -23.772, -45.922 (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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Spots nearby

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