Is Praia dos Algodoes good for beginners?

Praia dos Algodoes is rated Beginner: the median wave is 0.8 m and 96% of days are mellow (0.4 to 1.2 m).

How warm is the water at Praia dos Algodoes?

The yearly mean sea temperature is 27°C, so most of the year you want boardshorts.

World › Brazil › Bahia › Praia dos Algodoes

Praia dos Algodoes 38.5

#4886 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇧🇷 Brazil · Bahia · near Ubaitaba

Works almost every day, wind is the enemy here, no off season.

Works all yearWarm waterBeginner friendlyBeginner

Photo: Gustavohmachado · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Surf score38.5 /100

Surfable days94% of the year

Clean days0% groundswell + friendly wind

Groundswell0% period 11 s+

Typical size0.8 m 2.6 ft median

Water27°C boardshorts

Best time to surf Praia dos Algodoes

The best time to surf Praia dos Algodoes is March, November. It rarely works. In March the water sits around 29°C, so pack boardshorts, and the typical wave is 0.7 m. The nearest airport is SSA (146 km) and the nearest town is Ubaitaba (47 km).

Month	Surfable	Clean	Size	Water	Suit
Jan	90%	0%	0.7 m	27°C	boardies
Feb	87%	0%	0.7 m	28°C	boardies
Mar	88%	1%	0.7 m	29°C	boardies
Apr	79%	0%	0.7 m	29°C	boardies
May	88%	0%	0.8 m	28°C	boardies
Jun	98%	0%	0.9 m	27°C	boardies
Jul	99%	0%	0.9 m	26°C	boardies
Aug	100%	0%	0.9 m	26°C	boardies
Sep	99%	0%	0.8 m	26°C	boardies
Oct	100%	0%	0.8 m	26°C	boardies
Nov	100%	1%	0.8 m	27°C	boardies
Dec	97%	0%	0.8 m	27°C	boardies

What is under Praia dos Algodoes

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor drops to 62 m. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 87 m against 62 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out62 m

Depth 4 km out55 m

Channel beside it87 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 38.5

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%

7.3

Best days 22.4%

3.0

Clean days 18.4%

0.0

Consistency 10.2%

10.2

Season spread 4.1%

4.1

Water comfort 6.1%

6.1

Access 4.1%

2.5

The detail

Faces 95° with 53% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 75% of days. Mean peak period 6.9 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.1 m, with a peak period of 8 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 96%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates -14.078, -38.954 (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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See the cabin

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