The São Paulo coast began the new year with almost 40 beaches unfit for swimming. The information comes from the São Paulo State Environmental Company (Cetesb), which measures the quality of São Paulo’s waters on a weekly basis.
Irregular dumping of sewage into the seas and large numbers of tourists are two recurring causes of poor water quality, which in contact with humans can cause infections, diarrhea and other health problems.
Summer has already begun, and we know that many São Paulo residents will take advantage of their vacations to take a dip in the sea. So here’s a complete list of beaches that should be avoided during this period, so you don’t get any unpleasant surprises during your trip.
38 beaches in São Paulo started 2025 unfit for swimming
To measure the quality of beaches, bodies such as Cetesb measure the level of fecal micro-pollution, such as fecal coliforms. Thus, a beach is unfit for bathing when the presence of this type of bacteria is above the established limit.
The agency’s latest measurement took place this Thursday, the 2nd. When monitoring 175 beaches, it was found that 38 of them are not clean enough to receive bathers, which represents more than 20% of the total analyzed.
The two cities with the highest number of unfit beaches are Santos e São Sebastião each with seven beaches to avoid. So if these destinations are on your itinerary, make sure you check the quality of the beaches before you set off.
Check out the full list of beaches unsuitable for swimming in SP
According to Cetesb, bathers should avoid the following destinations this week:
- Caraguatatuba: Prainha
- Guarujá: Perequê, Enseada (Avenida Santa Maria)
- Ilhabela: Itaquanduba, Itaguaçu, Portinho, Praia do Julião, Feiticeira
- Itanhaém: Sonho, Balneário Jardim Regina
- Mongaguá: Central, Vera Cruz, Santa Eugênia
- Praia Grande: Aviação, Vila Tupi, Vila Mirim, Maracanã, Real, Balneário Florida
- Santos: Ponta da Praia, Aparecida, Embaré, Boqueirão, Gonzaga, José Menino (Rua Olavo Bilac), José Menino (Rua Frederico Ozanan)
- São Sebastião: Cigarras, São Francisco, Arrastão, Pontal da Cruz, Deserta, Porto Grande, Preta do Norte
- São Vicente: Gonzaguinha, Milionários
- Ubatuba: Itaguá, Lázaro
The next quality measurement will be on January 9th. You can check the quality of São Paulo’s waters every week on the website of the São Paulo State Environmental Company, available at this link.