Praia das Toninhas

Where I stayed in Ubatuba, and the evening I remember is not the beach at all - it is standing around the churrasqueira (barbecue) in the dark waiting for the meat to come off. Toninhas is a long curve with green hills coming right down to it and it is calm enough to swim without thinking about it, which after the surf beaches further up the coast is the appeal. Come out of season if you can. Ubatuba is a São Paulo weekend town and the whole road down fills up in summer and at New Year. Get the churrasco going before it gets dark.