Guarapari: Beaches, Restinga and Water Experiences

Guarapari offers many different reasons to stay by the water: its coastline is home to 52 beaches, as well as trails through Restinga landscapes and wetlands, and activities out at sea. When planning your trip, you can choose to focus on beach days, wildlife watching, surfing, diving or historical discoveries.

Restinga Forests, Lagoon and Trails

Paulo César Vinha State Park was established to protect a continuous stretch of Restinga. This ecosystem is one of the most threatened in the Atlantic Forest. The Trilha da Clusia is a 150-metre loop through the Restinga forest; the trail is often used for environmental education. The Trilha da Restinga, by contrast, is 2.5 kilometres long, flat and sandy, and leads to Praia and Lagoa de Caraís. Along the way, different types of Restinga vegetation alternate with flooded plains. Visitors may occasionally spot deer, tayras, armadillos, snakes and various birds.

You can reach Lagoa de Caraís from the park’s administrative headquarters via a 2.5-kilometre trail. The final 1,000 metres can be covered along the beach. A short trail leads from the lagoon to the Mirante, a natural rocky rise. From there, you can see all of Lagoa de Caraís, with the Serra de Buenos Aires in the background. The Trilha do Alagado offers a different view of the park’s nature: it is 480 metres long and leads to a man-made viewpoint, where you can watch birds and other animals in the park’s largest wetland.

The distances also vary considerably between excursions: alongside the short loop through the forest, there are trails of 480 metres and longer routes of 2.5 kilometres. These figures can help you fit each nature experience into your daily plans, without assuming a particular walking time.

Beaches and Experiences on the Water

Praia de Caraís can be reached from the park’s administrative headquarters via a 1.5-kilometre trail. Because of the strong surf, swimming there should be approached with caution. There are no food or drink services in the park, so bear this in mind when planning a visit. Surfing is popular at Praia de Setibão and Praia Dulé. Surf championships have also been held at Praia Dulé.

Schooner trips in Guarapari include routes to Praia do Morro and the city centre, with an average duration of 1 hour and 30 minutes. Trips to Setiba, the Três Ilhas and the mangrove area have an average duration of 3 to 6 hours. The schooners can accommodate around 50 to 100 passengers, include a swimming stop and are anchored in central Guarapari at Nova Marina. Guarapari is considered a reference point for recreational diving in Espírito Santo. Popular dive sites include the shipwrecks Bellucia and Victory 8B, which attract experienced divers and adventure tourism enthusiasts.

A Historical Note

The Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição also gives the trip a cultural point of reference. Built in 1585 as an example of Jesuit architecture, it is regarded as a legacy of Padre Anchieta. If you would like to explore historic architecture as well as the coast and nature, you can take this into account when choosing what to do on your trip.

When choosing your holiday rental in Guarapari, you might first consider which aspects of the destination matter most for your stay: beaches and surf, trails through the Restinga, wildlife watching, boat trips, diving or history.

More destinations: Vargem Alta, Ibatiba, Café, Ibiraçu, Itaipava, Afonso Cláudio, Aracruz and Conceição Da Barra.

Back to the regional travel guide: Espírito Santo.