Arguably the prettiest Cove on Earth and a genuine piece of wave pool history as the first in the Americas, but it is a private amenity, not a surf trip destination.
Praia da Grama opened in late 2021 inside the Fazenda da Grama estate in Itupeva, about an hour from the city of São Paulo. It was the first Wavegarden Cove in the Americas and remains one of the most filmed wave pools in the world thanks to a steady stream of Brazilian pro surfers. Access is restricted to property owners and their guests.
The Cove here pushes up to 1,000 waves per hour, from half-meter rollers to double-overhead-feeling barrels on the top settings, with wave faces up to about 2 meters. Clips of Filipe Toledo, Gabriel Medina, and visiting world tour surfers airing and getting barreled here are a genre of their own. The lagoon sits in a landscaped tropical beach setting that makes most other pools look industrial.
Residents, their guests, and anyone with a well-connected Brazilian friend. For everyone else it is a spectator wave: there is no day pass and no public booking of any kind.
There is no public pricing because there is no public access. Entry requires owning property in the Fazenda da Grama estate or being invited by someone who does.
If you score an invitation, Itupeva is about an hour from São Paulo and close to Viracopos airport in Campinas. Pair it with the nearby wineries and resorts of the interior paulista. Otherwise, point your trip at Surfland Brasil instead.
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Wavegarden Cove