EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

Twenty-seven kilometres northeast of Boiçucanga is SÃO SEBASTIÃO , a bustling little town on the mainland directly opposite the island of Ilhabela. After its foundation in the first years of the seventeenth century, sugar cane and coffee farms were responsible for São Sebastião's growth until the eighteenth century, when the town entered a period of decline. Emerging from this stagnation only in the last few decades, the town has retained many of its colonial buildings. Unlike in other similar towns, these have not been taken over by wealthy city-dwellers, since São Sebastião's beaches, in both directions from the centre, are poor and completely cut off from the open sea by the much more beautiful Ilhabela, directly opposite.

Praça Major João Fernandes is the heart of São Sebastião and the location of the Igreja Matriz , built in 1636, almost as old as the town (though its interior is twentieth-century plaster). Along the waterfront near the square are innumerable bars and seafood restaurants , where excellent meals cost about $7. Because of the proximity to Ilhabela, there's a large selection of hotels , the best of which - well worth a bit of a splurge - is the Porto Grande (tel 012/452-1101; $50-70), a whitewashed colonial-style building, with a pool in park-like gardens stretching down to its own beach. The hotel is a ten-minute walk from the centre, at Av. Guarda Mór Lobo Viana 1440. Cheaper hotel options include the friendly and comfortable Roma, Praça Major João Fernandes (tel 012/452-1016; $20-35), which has an attractive garden and good, inclusive breakfasts, and the good-value Beira Mar, Rua Expedecionários Brasileiros 258 ($10-20), with attractive sea views. There are plenty of other choices ($10-$50) on Rua Três Bandeirantes, one street from the main square by the sea. The tourist office on the waterfront at Av. Dr Altino Arantes 174 (Tues & Wed 8am-6pm, Thurs-Sun 8am-10pm; tel 012/452-1808) covers the town and the mainland villages to the southwest.