Diving

The limpid blue waters off the peninsula offer ideal conditions for diving. Casamar (Rua das Pedras 242, Armação, tel. 22/2623-2441, www.casamar.com) organizes daily excursions (including snacks and drinks) for divers of all levels (as well as lessons) to the islands of Âncora and Gravatá, where you can see bright coral and fish, sea turtles, and, if you’re lucky, dolphins. A five-hour excursion costs R$150.

Sailing, Windsurfing, and Kitesurfing

The wind conditions at many of Búzios’s beaches are excellent for sailing and windsurfing. Búzios Vela Clube (Praia de Manguinhos, tel. 22/2623-0508) offers lessons for novices as well as equipment rental for pros. Eight hours of windsurfing and sailing lessons range from R$270–300 per person. Equipment rentals costs R$25 (sailboats) and R$50 (windsurf board) per hour. Praia da Rasa has become a mecca for aficionados of kitesurfing.

Búzios Kitesurf School (tel. 22/9956-0668) offers lessons and rents equipment as well. A basic course (8–10 hours) costs R$600.

Boat Excursions

Sampling Búzios’s many beaches by boat is a delicious option. Interbúzios (Rua Manuel Turíbia de Farias 203, tel. 22/2623-6454, www.interbuzios.com.br) offers daily three-hour schooner trips, with various departure times, that stop at 12 beaches and three islands for R$40.

More rapid (and reserved) are the daily catamaran excursions offered by Tour Shop (Av. José Bento Ribeiro Dantas 550, tel. 22/2623-4733, www.tourshop.com.br), which hit 15 beaches and four islands for R$60 and provide snorkels and masks as well as drinks. Both schooners and catamarans depart from the pier at Praia de Armação.

© Michael Sommers from Moon Brazil, 2nd Edition