Boião Beach: the quiet cove inside Perocao, Guarapari

First-time visitors to Perocao usually only get to know the beach right in front of the neighborhood. But the local coastline has a second, more tucked-away strip of sand: Boião Beach, sheltered by rocky points on both sides and by restinga vegetation, roughly 170 meters long, with water still enough for a small child to feel at ease. It sits in the same neighborhood as the Cavalo Marinho and Ouricao do Mar cabanas — not a full-day outing, more a short trip out and back before lunch.

Where Boião Beach is

Boião sits in the Perocao neighborhood, Guarapari's northern zone (ES), next to Recanto dos Amores Beach and a short walk from Praia do Perocao, the main stretch in front of the neighborhood. Both beaches share the same corridor, along the Rodovia do Sol (ES-060), but they have different personalities: Perocao is more open and concentrates the neighborhood's foot traffic; Boião is a smaller cove, closed off by rocky points on both sides — the kind of geography that holds back waves and lets the sea reach the sand calmer.

Still water, natural shade: what sets Boião apart

The combination of rocky points and restinga vegetation creates natural pools at low tide and keeps the water practically free of undertow most of the year — the "calm sea" that shows up in every description of the beach is not a figure of speech. The strip of sand is narrow but continuous, shaded by trees that grow almost at the waterline, unusual for a beach this close to a residential neighborhood. There is no fixed lifeguard post and no row of rental tents: what exists is a simple kiosk, very different from the scale of operations at beaches like Praia do Morro (Guarapari's central district, about 15 minutes away) or Enseada Azul, busier on summer weekends. For guests coming from Rio de Janeiro, used to the dense structure of Copacabana or Ipanema, the contrast is obvious on the first visit: here, quiet is the whole point.

Boião isn't the only quiet beach near Perocao — it's the closest one. A short drive along the ES-060 opens up three more: Setiba, with golden sand inside the Setiba Environmental Protection Area; Setibão, to the south, with better swell for surfing; and Dulé, to the north, known for the amount of shells on the sand. None of them is walking distance, unlike Boião — which is why it works as the everyday beach, while the other three are the half-day plan for whenever it's worth a change of scenery.

Perocao has two beaches of its own — Boião is the version without a line of beach umbrellas, without loudspeakers, without a roaming sound system.

When it's worth going

1. Low tide — the natural pools formed between the rocky points become more visible and safer for a small child to wade into alone.
2. Weekday mornings — with no fixed tent structure, the beach empties out outside weekends and holidays; that's when the shade under the trees belongs to whoever got there first.
3. Windy days — the closed cove holds back the sea more than the open Perocao beach; when the main beach wakes up choppy, Boião tends to stay calm.

A short trip from the Perocao cabanas

The Cavalo Marinho and Ouricao do Mar cabanas sit on Rua Domingos Correia da Rocha, S/N, in front of Terraço, within Perocao itself — the same neighborhood as Boião Beach, a short walk or a few minutes' drive from the rocky points that close the cove. Each cabana has 69 m², sleeps four, has sea views and a private leisure area with a soaking tub and an open-fire style grill. Self-service check-in until 10pm, human support in Portuguese, English and Spanish within one business hour — no physical front desk, no daily housekeeping: the guest sets the routine, including when to check the tide. For a family with small children, the logic works well: a morning in Boião's natural pool, back to the cabana for lunch and a rest, no weekend traffic through a central beach along the way.

Frequently asked questions