Costa Verde Surf Spots

A hollow, heavy left breaking over a submerged rock slab off Ilha da Gipoia, reachable only by boat from Angra dos Reis.

The mainland beach where Angra dos Reis surfs, a short A-frame peak with daily lifeguards, a surf school and the town's contest scene.

The river-mouth sandbar at the barra do Rio Mambucaba, a historic-village beach that sleeps through calm spells and wakes into the peak locals call Californinha when south swell enters the bay.

A remote left point break on Ilha Grande's exposed south coast, peeling beside the landmark boulder known as Turtle Rock.

Lopes Mendes is Ilha Grande's signature beach break: three kilometres of exposed Atlantic sand reachable only by boat and forest trail.

Dois Rios is Ilha Grande's emptiest ocean beach, a kilometre of exposed sand between two river mouths taking east and southeast swell below the island's former prison village.

One of the three best waves on the Paraty coast, a long, powerful right-hand beachbreak fronting a gated condominium: there is no public land passage, so you arrive by boat from Paraty or a long forest trail.

Cepilho is Trindade's signature wave, a heavy a-frame peak breaking over a mixed sand-and-rock bottom at the village entrance.