Mucugê is the most popular beach in Arraial: a long arc of pale sand backed by low cliffs and palm trees, with a chain of barracas — beach bars on stilts — running the full length. Each one rents chairs and umbrellas, serves grilled fish, moqueca, and caipirinhas, and most have a daily soundtrack of forró or MPB. The water is warm, clear, and usually calm.
It is the beach to come to if you want company: weekends and high season can be crowded, and a few of the larger barracas run pool parties and DJ sets in the afternoon. For more space, walk ten minutes south along the sand to Parracho, or another twenty to the quieter sands of Pitinga.