Hotel Jota

Beaches are clearly a big deal here – and you can have the sand between your toes with a mere five-minute walk to Trabalhadores and Preta beaches. Another of the area’s fab sandy stretches, Barequeçaba beach, is also within walking distance (40 minutes, or a five-minute drive). Sticking with beach days, slightly further afield are some more sandy spots worthy of a visit on this gorgeous coastline. Load up the car with the beach essentials and choose from Maresias (half-hour’s drive), Boiçucanga (45 minutes), Camburi (50 minutes), Juqueí (an hour) and Barra do Sahy (an hour). Swap the sand beneath your feet for some more rugged terrain and don your hiking boots for some scenic trekking. Pay a visit to the Toque-Toque Grande Falls waterfall (15 minutes) or have a bash at the Reserve Du Moulin hiking trail (20 minutes). The Cachoeiras do Ribeirao de Itu hiking trail (50 minutes) also comes with waterfall glimpses. Keep ambles closer to base with a stroll around São Sebastião centre (40-minute walk or five-minute drive). There are churches, chapels and buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries to wander around here. Alternatively, leave São Sebastião for the day and catch the 15-minute ferry (10 minutes' drive) to pretty Ilhabela for beaches, waterfalls, snorkelling, shipwrecks and hiking trails.