WorldBrazil › Santa Catarina › Terceira Pedra

Terceira Pedra 39.8

#4797 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇧🇷 Brazil · Santa Catarina · near São Francisco do Sul

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

Works all yearBeginner friendlyBeginner
Terceira Pedra, Brazil
Photo: Clediney Boeira da S… · CC BY 3.0 · source
Surf score39.8 /100
Surfable days78% of the year
Clean days4% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell6% period 11 s+
Typical size0.8 m 2.5 ft median
Water23°C a rash vest or 2 mm

Best time to surf Terceira Pedra

The best time to surf Terceira Pedra is April, May, July. It rarely works. In July the water sits around 18°C, so pack a 3/2 wetsuit, and the typical wave is 0.7 m. The nearest airport is JOI (26 km) and the nearest town is São Francisco do Sul (19 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan70%0%0.7 m26°Cboardies
Feb61%1%0.7 m28°Cboardies
Mar71%5%0.7 m27°Cboardies
Apr81%7%0.7 m26°Cboardies
May74%10%0.7 m22°Cvest
Jun67%6%0.7 m20°C2mm
Jul72%11%0.7 m18°C3/2
Aug87%5%0.8 m18°C3/2
Sep95%5%0.8 m19°C2mm
Oct94%1%0.9 m21°C2mm
Nov90%3%0.8 m22°Cvest
Dec78%1%0.7 m25°Cvest

What is under Terceira Pedra

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor sits over 35 m. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 48 m against 35 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out35 m
Depth 4 km out9 m
Channel beside it48 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 39.8

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%
7.2
Best days 22.4%
4.1
Clean days 18.4%
1.6
Consistency 10.2%
9.3
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
4.2
Access 4.1%
4.0

The detail

Faces 90° with 42% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 73% of days. Mean peak period 8.3 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.1 m, with a peak period of 10 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 93%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates -26.067, -48.608 (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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