Itacaré

Itacaré is a calm fishing village in the middle of a huge area of protected Atlantic rain forest. An extremely relaxed lifestyle combines with typical Afro-Brazilian culture.

The town, with a population of approximately 8000, was at one time a notorious hideout for pirates. Later it became a lively stronghold for Bahian cacao-exportation, and nowadays is a relaxed village inhabited by fishermen, surfers, Brazilians and foreigners establishing a life close to nature.

Itacaré was discovered for tourism by surfers in the late 70's. Surfers continue being the most faithful clients of its various pousadas and restaurants. It's no surprise, for Itacaré provides its visiting surfers with some of the most consistently breaking surfspots in the Brazilian Northeastern region, with warm water all year round and paradise beaches...

Location & Map

Itacaré is located about 300 km South of Salvador, capital of the central Brazilian State of Bahia.

The small fishermen's town is located in the heart of a wood area that was declared National Park by the Federal Government to preserve the abundant Atlantic Rainforest of the district.

Besides its rivers, waterfalls, and huge closed rain forest areas, this region is particularly blessed with plentiful intimate beaches.

The spectacular beauty of these beaches coincides with plenty of perfect beach-breaks, a reef-break, as well as a river-break with typically very weak winds and warm water.

This all matches a region where some of the most consistent surf in all over the Brazilian coastline is found! Enough to please every surfer's heart...

Town-map

Click map to enlarge

Climate and waves

Itacaré has a tropical, hot, and humid climate. Temperatures can reach 40ºC (105ºF) during December to March, but normally range then from 32º - 38º (90 - 100ºF).

Irregular rain periods with temperatures between 25ºC to 30ºC (78ºF to 86ºF) characterize autumn from April to June.

In winter, from June to September, Itacaré has a humid climate with temperatures around 26ºC (80ºF) and lots of rainfalls, but even with windy days and rainfall, temperatures hardly fall below 15ºC (60ºF).
Weather from September to November is the most calm of the year. Expect sunshine and a warm and comfortable climate.

For the experienced surfers, Brazilian winter is the best travel season, since there are generally bigger waves (up to 10 feet from June to August).
But don't worry! Itacaré is known for its consistent surf all year round, best pre-requisites for beginners to learn surfing and intermediate surfers to progress successfully.

Compared to many other surf travel destinations, Itacaré's big advantage is the warm sea water 12 months a year. Instead of a wet suit, you'll need to bring plenty of sunscreen lotion...