Photo: Caio Guedes

Brazil is one of those places that for many years everyone knew where it was, but… not all that many people went to on surf trips. However, with a huge coastline taking in tropical waters of the north all the way to the Uruguan border in the south, and with breaks of all kind in between, Brazil has something to offer everyone. From urban surf scenes in huge cities like Rio, to surf towns with thriving shred culture like Floripa to nature sanctuary islands with thumping beachies like Fernando de Norohna, the variety is certainly there.

What else? Hosting first the World Cup and then the Olympics two years later, Brazil is undergoing something of an economic boom and recently overtook the UK in terms of the size of its economy. Meanwhile, the surf scene is equally thriving, with world class shapers, strong surf brands, a thriving artsy scene, ultra trendy health food movements and rapidly developing eco-tourism. If you want your acai smoothie to have done less food miles, there’s only one thing for it.

Surfing is a mainstream sport here and with new heros like Medina, Pupo et al. leading a whole new generation, the days of journeyman tour battlers are gone and these days Brazil’s top surfers are some of the world’s top surfers. Known mainly for beachbreaks, the surf rarely gets huge here but gets good often, and fun almost all the time.

Apres surf? if you like to party, you’ll love Brazil. Everyone knows about carnival, although it is said that when carnival comes around the locals leave Rio for the tourists. The whole nation loves to get down though, and while we’re loathe to insert some kind of samba cliché here, you’ll probably end up rotating your hips one way or another.

If you like football, jui jitsu, are a religious nutter, dig modern architecture, capoeira, bar-b-ques, drum beats, this is the surf trip for you. Oh yeah, if you dig the natural world, there’s also the Amazon, home to about 75% of the planet’s plant species. Somebody might have mentioned something about attractive women in minimal bikins too.

Get there: Direct flights from all Europe’s major cities.

Is it pricey? Cheaper than Europe or America, but more expensive than Indo.

Pietro Franca is Sancho’s filmer and lives part of the year in Hossegor, part in Floripa, and a lot chasing swells with Sanch. In between filming he pleasures women, and rips. Photo: Caio Guedes


Fernando de Noronha is a tropical island nature reserve, home to thumping clear water beach break barrels… sound shit? Bruno Santos. Photo: Renato Tinoco

If you are headed Brazil-ward and want somewhere to stay, why not check out our bros at Easy Drop Surf Camp, Itacare. Peep their site here