Ubatuba

Ubatuba needs 2 days: choosing among nearly a hundred beaches of varying character -Vermelha do Norte for families, Itamambuca for surfing- on one, and hiking within the Serra do Mar State Park, one of Brazil's best-preserved Atlantic rainforest remnants, on the other. September-March brings the warmest beach weather. It's mid-priced for the São Paulo coast. Its name means «place where many vines grow» in Tupi-Guarani, and the combination of nearly a hundred beaches with tropical forest reaching the coastline made it one of the main surf and ecotourism hubs of São Paulo's north coast.