Canto Grande

Canto Grande has a rare quirk: on one narrow strip of land you get the Mar de Fora, open and with waves, and the Mar de Dentro, calm, shallow and sheltered. You can literally cross from one side to the other and swap the kind of beach you're on to suit the day.

The Mar de Dentro is one of the best options in town for families with small children: shallow water for many meters, almost no waves, with fishing boats at anchor setting the scene. The Mar de Fora, on the other side, draws those after waves, a walk and an open horizon.

The area keeps a fishing-village feel that has been lost in the more touristy parts of town. This is a quieter Bombinhas, at a slower pace — and one of the places where the gap between high and low season is gentlest.

Mar de Dentro is also one of the loveliest places in town to watch the sunset: calm water, small fishing boats and hills all around, in a pastoral setting. The beach is sheltered and full of boats, with a jetty at the left-hand end. Small wonder that Viagem & Turismo magazine once named it among the ten best beaches in Brazil to take children to.

On the other side, Mar de Fora carries on from Praia de Mariscal and is one of the longest beaches in Bombinhas, with almost 4 kilometres of sand. It draws families and anyone after room for sport and leisure, and it has lifeguards, kiosks, bars, restaurants and places to stay along the shore.

Around it, the Canto Grande neighbourhood brings together two things that rarely go hand in hand: the well-developed Mar de Dentro seafront, with places to stay, bars and restaurants, and fishing-village life still going on out on the water. If you're thinking about property, it's the address for calm water for the kids at one end of the street and open ocean at the other — and a neighbourhood rhythm that doesn't depend on the season.