Praia Brava - Cabo Frio
Surf spot · Brazil
Is it worth the trip?
30Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Tue 3: 4 ft swell at 5 s
Mon 2 · 19 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft6 smushy
- Energy
- 72kJ
- Wind
- NE 13 kn
- Temp
- 27°C
Tue 3 · 63 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft5 smushy
- Energy
- 101kJ
- Wind
- ESE 3 kn
- Temp
- 30°C
Wed 4 · 31 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft5 smushy
- Energy
- 39kJ
- Wind
- E 3 kn
- Temp
- 28°C
Thu 5 · 30 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft5 smushy
- Energy
- 40kJ
- Wind
- N 5 kn
- Temp
- 35°C
Fri 6 · 13 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft4 smushy
- Energy
- 7kJ
- Wind
- WSW 11 kn
- Temp
- 25°C
Sat 7 · 6 out of 100
- Swell
- 1 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 9kJ
- Wind
- NE 12 kn
- Temp
- 32°C
Sun 8 · 12 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 70kJ
- Wind
- WSW 22 kn
- Temp
- 26°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 128, too small
- Mon 219, poor
- Tue 363, good
- Wed 431, too small
- Thu 530, too small
- Fri 613, too small
- Sat 76, too small
- Sun 812, too small
- Mon 90, too big
- Tue 1016, poor
The spot in five facts
- Faces SEtakes swell from the SE
- Offshore: NWwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 3–13 ftof swell
- Water 23 °C2 mm shorty
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.
Praia Brava - Cabo Frio does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.
| Day | Scorefor Intermediate | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 28, too small | 3 ft5 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 40kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 5 knots | 26°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 19, poor | 4 ft6 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 72kJ | wind from the north-east, 13 knots | 27°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 63, good | 4 ft5 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 101kJ | wind from the east-south-east, 3 knots | 30°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 31, too small | 3 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 39kJ | wind from the east, 3 knots | 28°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 30, too small | 3 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 40kJ | wind from the north, 5 knots | 35°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 13, too small | 2 ft4 smushy2 ft at break (est.) | 7kJ | wind from the west-south-west, 11 knots | 25°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 6, too small | 1 ft9 shollow2 ft at break (est.) | 9kJ | wind from the north-east, 12 knots | 32°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 12, too small | 3 ft7 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 70kJ | wind from the west-south-west, 22 knots | 26°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 0, too big | 7 ft7 smushy5 ft at break (est.) | 394kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 11 knots | 24°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 16, poor | 6 ft8 smushy5 ft at break (est.) | 332kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 9 knots | 24°C |
Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More
Tide
- Sun 1 NovLow 01:22 −0.4 mHigh 09:01 +0.2 mLow 14:39 +0.0 mHigh 18:47 +0.2 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 02:57 −0.4 mHigh 10:57 +0.3 mLow 16:03 −0.0 mHigh 21:03 +0.2 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 04:19 −0.4 mHigh 11:47 +0.3 mLow 17:00 −0.1 mHigh 22:49 +0.3 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Best time to go
No month stands out
Good days in a typical week, each month, for intermediate surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May1of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug1of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep0of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct0of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov1of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast.
Map
the spot and its town
Praia Brava - Cabo Frio on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for beginners: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
More surf near here
5 places
- Praia do Forte - Cabo Frio 1.7 km away
- Dunas do Peró - Cabo Frio -RJ 4.9 km away
- Praia do Foguete - Cabo Frio 6.5 km away
- Arraial do Cabo 9.6 km away
- Praia Grande - Arraial do Cabo 10.8 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Praia Brava - Cabo Frio
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SE (133°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (313°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 3–13 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves moderately: 10 m deep about 250 m out (1 in 24). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 21°C in August, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 25°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Cabo Frio, 2.2 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots and 2 wind sports spots.
Water about 23°C: 2 mm shorty. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,050–US$2,000 each
about US$1,050–US$2,000 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, board and wetsuit.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return MDW to GIG, estimated from distance and season, changing at ATL, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$569–US$1,180 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$67–US$114 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$174–US$295 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$161–US$295 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$74–US$121 |
| Total | about US$1,050–US$2,000 |
For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: 3 towns
4 min by car · 234 places to stay
about US$67/nightcountry average
About Cabo Frio its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Arraial do Cabo on Booking.com
17 min by car · 297 places to stay
- Beds in Armação dos Búzios on Booking.com
31 min by car · 417 places to stay
About US$67 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
Getting there: about 21h 10m
About 21h 10m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → GIG, changing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), then 2h 30m by road
Flights MDW → GIG on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.