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Praia Grande - Arraial do Cabo, Brazil

Stay in Arraial do Cabo: see the trip Its beds, the way there and every spot near it.

Also within 20 km of Arraial do Cabo

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Praia Grande - Arraial do Cabo - panoramio (18)
Praia Grande - Arraial do Cabo. Photo: Larissa Fraga, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

About Praia Grande - Arraial do Cabo

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated. Facts: verified, surf details estimated.

The spot faces SW (243°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (63°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits beginners and up. It works in 3–14 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 150 m out (1 in 13). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 22°C in July, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 26°C in March, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Arraial do Cabo, 1.4 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots.

Water about 22°C: 2 mm shorty. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

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From Chicago: about 21 h 10 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

  1. Fly. Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) to Rio de Janeiro Galeão – Tom Jobim International Airport (GIG), changing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).

    See flights MDW → GIG · Skyscanner from about £505 returnAd
  2. Getting there. 2 h 30 from the airport to Praia Grande - Arraial do Cabo.

  3. Accommodation.

    Stay in Arraial do CaboAd

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote.

    Room photos are examples, not these hotels (credits).

    See all places to stay in Arraial do Cabo (ad) on Booking.com →

    Closest towns to stay in

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote. Drives are estimates.

  4. Hire and lessons.

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

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Forecast

The score for experts, coloured as on the area pages:GoodFairPoorToo bigToo small

Forecast and score for expert surfers at Praia Grande - Arraial do Cabo, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 18Oct35, too small5 ft9 shollow327kJwind from the east, 5 knots, offshore23°C
Mon 19Oct34, poor8 ft8 shollow834kJwind from the south-south-west, 9 knots23°C
Tue 20Oct36, fair6 ft7 smushy413kJwind from the south-south-west, 3 knots22°C
Wed 21Oct32, too small5 ft8 shollow276kJwind from the east-south-east, 5 knots23°C
Thu 22Oct33, too small5 ft8 shollow231kJwind from the east, 14 knots, offshore22°C
Fri 23Oct26, too small4 ft8 shollow197kJwind from the north-east, 16 knots, offshore24°C
Sat 24Oct6, too small3 ft6 shollow53kJwind from the north-west, 6 knots25°C
Sun 25Oct21, too small4 ft6 shollow114kJwind from the north-east, 12 knots, offshore25°C
Mon 26Oct7, too small4 ft5 smushy97kJwind from the west-south-west, 6 knots26°C
Tue 27Oct17, poor9 ft10 smushy1,515kJwind from the west-south-west, 24 knots22°C

Day scores here are the conditions out of 80; a trip's score on the results is the same conditions out of 100. The journey never scores. The forecast reaches about 10 days. Energy is the swell's power in kJ per metre of wave, from its height and interval: it grows with the square of each, so a long-period swell hits far harder than a short one the same size. The word under the swell is the wave's shape, our estimate from the sea floor. Wind is in knots: 10 kn is about 19 km/h. The arrow points where the wind blows to; offshore wind, blowing from the land out to sea, is green and says so.

Your trip, day by day

6 nights from Mon 19 Oct, leaving from Chicago, for expert surfers. Change dates

  1. Mon 19 Oct
    Travel out

    Fly MDW to GIG, changing at ATL, then 2h 30 by road. About 21h 10 door to door

  2. Tue 20 Oct
    Surf Praia Brava - Pontal do Atalaia

    Best 06:00 to 09:00 local time: 6 ft at 7 s, wind 3 kn (6 km/h).

  3. Wed 21 Oct
    Surf Praia Brava - Pontal do Atalaia

    Best 09:00 to 12:00 local time: 5 ft at 8 s, wind 5 kn (10 km/h).

  4. Thu 22 Oct
    Rest day

    Too small: 5 ft at best.

  5. Fri 23 Oct
    Rest day

    Too small: 4 ft at best.

  6. Sat 24 Oct
    Rest day

    Too small: 3 ft at best.

  7. Sun 25 Oct
    Travel home

    Fly MDW to GIG, changing at ATL, then 2h 30 by road. About 21h 10 door to door

The plan picks the best of 3 spots near Arraial do Cabo each day: Arraial do Cabo, Praia Brava - Pontal do Atalaia, Praia Grande - Arraial do Cabo.

The trip from Arraial do Cabo, with every spot near it

Rough cost

About £885–£1,700 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book.

Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to GIG, estimated from distance and season, changing at ATL, full-service airlines, with a hold bag£505–£1,045
To the UK airportparking or the train, there and back£35–£65
Hire car6 days, shared£50–£85
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, shared£120–£195
Food7 days eating out£120–£220
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about £85 to fly your own£55–£90
Total£885–£1,700

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026: where they come from. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra.

Places to eat near Arraial do Cabo

Within 2 km of the town centre, listed by how complete the listing is (website, opening hours, cuisine) and whether two sources name it. Not a judgement of the food: we have no reviews. Listings © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Overture Maps Foundation. Credits

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