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Travosa 42.5

#4569 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇧🇷 Brazil · Maranhão · near São José de Ribamar

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

Works all yearWarm waterBeginner friendlyBeginner
Surf score42.5 /100
Surfable days94% of the year
Clean days2% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell13% period 11 s+
Typical size0.8 m 2.8 ft median
Water28°C boardshorts

Best time to surf Travosa

The best time to surf Travosa is February, March, April. It rarely works. In February the water sits around 28°C, so pack boardshorts, and the typical wave is 0.8 m. The nearest airport is SLZ (113 km) and the nearest town is São José de Ribamar (94 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan100%0%0.9 m28°Cboardies
Feb100%5%0.8 m28°Cboardies
Mar94%4%0.8 m29°Cboardies
Apr93%3%0.8 m29°Cboardies
May76%0%0.7 m29°Cboardies
Jun79%0%0.7 m29°Cboardies
Jul87%0%0.8 m28°Cboardies
Aug96%0%0.9 m28°Cboardies
Sep100%0%1.0 m28°Cboardies
Oct99%0%1.0 m27°Cboardies
Nov98%0%0.9 m28°Cboardies
Dec100%0%0.9 m28°Cboardies

What is under Travosa

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor is still shallow, 18 m.

Depth 8 km out18 m
Depth 4 km out16 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 42.5

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%
9.7
Best days 22.4%
4.2
Clean days 18.4%
0.4
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
6.1
Access 4.1%
2.2

The detail

Faces 20° with 53% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 13% of days. Mean peak period 8.6 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.1 m, with a peak period of 12 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 98%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates -2.359, -43.244 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€926/ month
typically €815 – €1,040
Rent, one bedroom€484
Groceries€196
Eating out€110
Getting around€64
Phone + internet€68
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€1,800/ month
typically €1,590 – €2,020
Somewhere to stay€1,060
Eating out€378
Car, transfers, fuel€246
Data + extras€115
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Remote spot, so the local estimate is 15% below the country average. 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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