Praia Central de Balneario Camboriu

Praia Central of Balneario Camboriu is the six-kilometre beach at the heart of southern Brazil's most vertical coastal city — a wall of glass towers, including Latin America's tallest residential building, faces due east onto the sea. In 2021 the city completed a controversial R$70 million sand re-nourishment project that quadrupled the width of the beach; today it's a genuinely wide sun-strip again. It matters because you either love Balneario for its Miami energy or actively avoid it — either way it is what Brazilian domestic tourism looks like at scale.

The visit is a promenade: walk Av. Atlantica from Barra Sul at the south end to Barra Norte at the north, either along the wide boardwalk or on the new sand. Barra Sul is where the Unipraias cable car climbs over the harbour to Laranjeiras beach on the other side (R$95, 30 minutes each way) and where the yacht basin sits. The middle stretch, between Rua 1500 and Rua 2500, is the tourist heart — beach kiosks, sunbeds for R$25, jet ski rides. Barra Norte quiets down and is where locals actually swim. In the evening the boardwalk turns into a street-food strip: churros, tapioca, acai bowls.

Best in November, March or April for swim weather without January's crush. December through Carnaval turns Av. Atlantica into a slow parade of cars. The cable car is honestly worth the ticket if the day is clear — the ride over the water is spectacular. Skip driving in on New Year's Eve; walk anywhere within Balneario and take an Uber for anything further. Serra do Mar viewpoints inland are 30 minutes by car and give the sort of coastal panorama the postcards use.

Hours & entry

Always free · Cable car R$95 · Beach re-nourishment complete 2021

Beach open 24 h · Cable car 09:30-18:00 · Boardwalk cafes 07:00-24:00

What to see

{'what': 'Cable car ride over the sea to Laranjeiras', 'where': 'Unipraias station, Barra Sul, Av. Atlantica 6006'}

{'what': 'Sunrise walk on the widened beach', 'where': 'Between Rua 1900 and Rua 2200, best around 05:30 in summer'}

{'what': 'Yacht basin lookout', 'where': 'Molhe da Barra Sul, south end of the beach'}

Tips from the ground

Sun sets behind the towers, blocking the beach in shadow by 16:30 — sunbathe in the morning.

Buy Unipraias cable car tickets online for a R$10 discount and to skip the queue.

Uber is cheap and everywhere; parking in the centre is a lost cause.