Skip to content, or skip to search.

Skip to content, or skip to search.

Brazil: Búzios

Ibiza-style clubs, windy waters, seaside coxinha.


Beaches for Every Body

More than 20 beaches surround this small peninsula and range from windswept to sheltered. Competitive windsurfer Ricardo “Bimba” Santos offers his picks.

For the dormant: “Fishing boats fill the water of Ossos, a peaceful beach on the northeast tip. It’s ideal for sunbathing or watching the sunset.”

For the buoyant: “Small and semi-wild, Forno is sheltered in a cove on the south side. The deep, warm water—forno means oven—offers the best diving.”

For the volant: “Windsurfers flock to a beach on the north side called Manguinhos. It’s famous among sailors, too, for the 30-knot winds.”

For the surfant:Geribá, on the south side, has a long, even, consistent beach break. Seaside stalls sell coxinha (chicken fritters) and Noi beer.”


From Pão de Queijo to Foie Gras
Búzios has culinary options for both the jet set and hoi polloi. Chef Danio Braga, of Sollar Búzios, picks out his go-tos.

$ “For breakfast, I love to have orange cake and coffee at Maria Maria Café (Rua das Pedras, 151; 2623-4681) on a patio overlooking the fishing boats bobbing in the water.”

$$ “Sukão (Praca Eugenio Honold; no phone) has the best sandwiches in town. Try the salpiçao (Brazilian chicken salad) on potato bread, or the pão de queijo (cheese bread balls). It’s in the laid-back Barrio Ossos.”

$$$ “The best fish can be found at Restaurante O Barco (Av. José Bento Ribeiro Dantas, 1054; 2629-8307), just off Armaçao Beach. Order the fresh grilled anchovies.”

$$$$ “For something more refined, Argentine-by-way-of-Ibiza chef Gustavo Rinkevich’s Rocka Beach Lounge (Praia Brava, 13; 2623-6159) serves local ingredients imaginatively made—like a chicken foie gras with pepper gelée and pistachio farofa.”

$$$$$ “The white-tableclothed offshoot of a Rio institution, Satyricon (Av. José Bento Ribeiro Dantas 500; 2623-2691) attracts Búzios’s most glamorous. The owners maintain their own fishing vessels but also import king crab from Alaska, salmon from Norway, and fruit from the Amazon.”


24-Hour Brazilians
“The kids here,” says DJ Marcos Carnaval, a Búzios regular, “party hard.” Here, his night-to-day itinerary.


3 to 6 p.m. “Day clubs weren’t popular until people saw them in Ibiza a few years ago. The Silk Beach Club (Rua 17, Lote 14; 2623-3083) was one of the first.”

6 to midnight. “Have a rare quiet drink at the Porto Da Barra complex (Av. José Bento Ribeiro Dantas, 2900), a cab ride away.”

Midnight to 2 a.m.Privilège (Av. José Bento Ribeiro Dantas, 550; 2620-8585) is a massive dance club.”

3 to 10 a.m. Pacha Buzios (Rua das Pedras, 151; 2292-9606) is full of celebrities. It’s magical watching the sunrise from the dance floor.”


Where the Locals Would Stay


“The main draw of Pousada Amendoeira (from $74; amendoeira.net), which has nine simple rooms, is that it sits at the nexus of five of the best beaches: Ossos, Azeda, Azedinha, João Fernandes, and João Fernandinho.” —Ana Julia Tango, online-brand consultant

“The Pousada La Chimère (from $135; lachimere.com.br) is both elegant and rustic, and its 25 rooms circle a lush courtyard and pool. It sits on a charming square across from Búzios’s one antique gallery.” —barbara lowenstein, blogger, Tropical Daydreams

“Most of the 32 elegant rooms of the Casas Brancas Boutique Hotel & Spa (above; from $683; casasbrancas.com.br), which opened in the ’70s, have panoramic water views. The hotel also has one of Búzios’s best restaurants, Café Atlântico, and by far one of its most spectacular decks.” —ana elisa paz, owner of Cine Bardot and organizer of the Búzios film festival


Who’s Who in Búzios

Octávio Raja Gabaglia The Oscar Nieyemer of Búzios, the architect helped pass a 1983 law that outlawed buildings over two stories.
Christina Motta The oft-Instagrammed statue of Brigitte Bardot is the work of this local sculptor.
Flávio Aristides Freitas Hailliot Tavares The leftist writer spent years in political exile before retiring to Búzios, where he now writes a column for Brazilian newspaper Zero Hora.


Related: