Brazil · São Paulo
Where to Stay in Ubatuba, São Paulo
Ubatuba spreads along the northern coast of São Paulo state, with more than 80 beaches set between Atlantic rainforest and the open sea.
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Where to stay in Ubatuba
Where the beds are, and what that means for the visit.
Ubatuba's centre is the practical base. Streets around the Igreja Matriz de Ubatuba e Cruzeiro and Praça Exaltação à Santa Cruz hold the shops, the Museu Histórico Washington de Oliveira, and the easiest connections onward, so this is the right choice for you if a car is not part of the plan. Everything else lies spread out.
Sobrado do Porto stands near that old waterfront. North toward the Rio de Janeiro state line, and south along the same shore, the coast breaks into cove after cove with beaches strung between headlands of Atlantic rainforest. Beds there come in ones and twos rather than in any resort strip, so a booking commits you to one bay and to the road that serves it.
Quiet costs a drive. The Farol da Barra do Rio Grande marks one such stretch. Forest limits the options more than anything else.
The greater part of the municipality falls inside the Serra do Mar State Park, which pins the built-up ground to a narrow ribbon between slope and water, and that ribbon is where every bed in Ubatuba has to fit. Choose the bay, then the room. Regina Pacis and the Paróquia Exaltação da Santa Cruz sit within the settled part.
Find hotels in Ubatuba
Direct booking searches for these neighbourhoods.
The Ubatuba centre
Praça Exaltação à Santa Cruz and Sobrado do Porto sit inside the same old coreFind hotels in The Ubatuba centreStays that want one quiet bay instead of a built-up stripThe northern coves toward Rio de Janeiro
Beaches sit roughly one per cove between headlands of Atlantic rainforest. Few places to stay nearby — book ahead.Find hotels in The northern coves toward Rio de JaneiroDrivers working through the 80-odd beaches one bay at a timeThe southern beaches
Beds thin out wherever the Serra do Mar State Park reaches the water. Rooms are few around here — worth securing early.Find hotels in The southern beachesHotel links are affiliate links: booking through them may earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never affects how places are ranked. How this works
Things to do in Ubatuba
Ranked by global recognition; descriptions from Wikidata (CC0).
Museums & Galleries
3- Aquário de Ubatuba
- Museu Histórico Washington de Oliveira
- Museu da Vida Marinha
Churches & Religious Sites
2- Igreja Matriz de Ubatuba e Cruzeiro Heritage
- Paróquia Exaltação da Santa Cruz
Castles & Historic Sites
3- Homenagem ao Caiçara Heritage
- Conjunto do Cruzeiro, Farol da Barra do Rio Grande e as estátuas de São Pedro e de Anchieta Heritage
- Igreja Matriz e Praça Exaltação à Santa Cruz Heritage
Landmarks & Notable Places
1- Sobrado do Porto Heritage
worth knowingacross 4 categories in Ubatuba
About Ubatuba
Beaches run past counting here.
What is Ubatuba known for?
More than 80 of them lie scattered along 100 km of coast, some crowded and some empty, and the Atlantic rainforest of the Serra do Mar State Park presses down behind almost every one. Sea life gets its own institutions. The Aquário de Ubatuba and the Museu da Vida Marinha both take the water as their subject.
What are the main landmarks in Ubatuba?
The Igreja Matriz de Ubatuba e Cruzeiro anchors the old centre. Praça Exaltação à Santa Cruz shares its dedication with the Paróquia Exaltação da Santa Cruz, and Regina Pacis adds another church to a long religious roll. Sobrado do Porto survives from the port.
The Conjunto do Cruzeiro, Farol da Barra do Rio Grande e as estátuas de São Pedro e de Anchieta gathers a cross, a lighthouse, and two figures under one listing. Homenagem ao Caiçara stands apart. The Aquário de Ubatuba, the Museu da Vida Marinha, and the Museu Histórico Washington de Oliveira finish it.
What is the history of Ubatuba?
Ubatuba dates from 1637. The settlement took hold where the Serra do Mar comes down almost to the water, on a coast that offered a harbour and very little flat land, and that single constraint has governed the place ever since. Sobrado do Porto remains from those years.
Its name records the port side of the old town. Religion left the clearest marks. Paróquia Exaltação da Santa Cruz, the Igreja Matriz de Ubatuba e Cruzeiro, and Regina Pacis together record generations of parish building along one short stretch of shore, and the Conjunto do Cruzeiro, Farol da Barra do Rio Grande e as estátuas de São Pedro e de Anchieta binds a cross and a lighthouse to the figures of São Pedro and Anchieta.
Two figures share that listing. Homenagem ao Caiçara sets a different subject beside them, and the Museu Histórico Washington de Oliveira holds the written record for the whole municipality. Protection reshaped the map.
With the greater part of the municipality inside the Serra do Mar State Park, the forest behind the beaches stayed standing, and the built-up ground held to its ribbon while the coast kept more than 80 separate beaches along 100 km of shoreline. Growth turned seaward. The Aquário de Ubatuba and the Museu da Vida Marinha belong to that later, sea-facing chapter.
Where is Ubatuba?
Ubatuba occupies the northern coast of São Paulo state, running up to the border with Rio de Janeiro state. Roughly 723 square kilometres of slope and shore carry the name, and the greater part of that falls inside the Serra do Mar State Park, which pushes Atlantic rainforest down almost to the sand. More than 80 beaches break the coast.
The shore takes the open ocean full on.
What is the climate of Ubatuba?
The Serra do Mar does the work here, lifting sea air up its slopes until it rains, which is why Atlantic rainforest covers so much of Ubatuba. Ubatuba is seldom dry for long. Summer brings the heaviest of it, in the southern months when heat and humidity build together along this exposed coast, and the sea keeps the yearly range narrow at both ends.
Winter simply eases off.
How do you get to Ubatuba?
The coast road is the only real approach. Ubatuba lies along the Litoral Norte, with the Serra do Mar rising behind the shore and the Rio de Janeiro state line just up the coast, so arrivals come either over the range or along the water from São Paulo. Roads bend constantly.
Once here, the spread of the beaches makes a car the difference between two bays and twenty.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Ubatuba?
The Ubatuba centre: Travellers without a car who want shops and onward links on foot. The northern coves toward Rio de Janeiro: Stays that want one quiet bay instead of a built-up strip. The southern beaches: Drivers working through the 80-odd beaches one bay at a time.
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Updated October 2026