Rio’s Beaches

Praia do Leme The North Eastern extension of Copacabana beach is quiet and family friendly. The part closest to the hill Morro da Leme on the left gives shade for the good part of the day, nice on a hot day. Many times you have surfable waves when they break against the rocks on the left. Unfortunately pollution is a problem.

Praia Vermelha Located at the foot of the Sugarloaf this beautiful beach is wedged in between two huge rocks covered in green lush jungle. The water is most of the time reasonable clean and it is therefore suitable for bathing. Again the absence of waves makes it a no go for surfers.

Praia da Copacabana The most famous of them all. This stretch of sand is what most people associate with Rio de Janeiro and it´s known around the world. It is very wide and on sunny days you can have hundreds of thousands people crowding. Since it´s artificially enhanced the currents can be pretty tricky so beware. Not considered by the locals to be one of the cooler beaches, the crowd is mainly families, old people and tourists. Lots of sports are practiced here, championships in both beach football and beach volley are held here. In the late afternoon the sun goes away, blocked by the tall buildings along Avenida Atlântica. On Sundays and holidays half of the beach avenue is shut off for cars to give space for pedestrians, joggers, cyclists, skate boarders and the like.

Praia da Barra The biggest beach in Rio, together with its continuation Recreio over 18 km. Perfect for kite surfing and also good for surfing. Since Barra de Tijuca is a neighbourhood for newly rich it is quite fashionable and health oriented. Reasonable clean but sometimes get dirty after rainfall since some lakes overflow and mixes with the ocean.

Macumba Named after a rock where slaves used to practice macumba (black magic) this beach is good for long boarding and bathing. Clean water.

Prainha In the vicinity to the city of Rio this is the best beach for surfing. Constantly good waves although it´s pretty small, on weekends gets really crowded. Clean water.

Grumarí Located in a nature reserve this is a perfect place for relaxing. On weekdays very few people. It has clean water and surf able waves. Bring your own food since there are hardly any vendors.

Botafogo Located in a bay where there is not much circulation of water, since it´s too polluted it is not suitable for bathing. It is mainly used by people who live close by for practicing sports like jogging and football. There are practically no waves so surfing is not possible.

Praia da Ipanema To the left you have good waves off the rock of Arpoador. Reasonable clean water, strong currents though. It gets more sun than Copacabana and during the summer nice sunsets. It´s divided into informal sections; Around Posto 7 (lifeguard tower 7) are the surfers, Posto 8 is for gay, Posto 9 is for the young, hip and hippies, Posto 10 is for the rich. Although you have tourists for the bigger part of the year the feel is local. Between Posto 9 and 10 you have many volley nets.

Praia do Leblon A nice beach but suffers from shade from the big hill Dois Irmãos. Also more polluted because of the outlet from the channel connecting to the lake. Surf on the right hand side.

Praia do Vidigal Small beach with surfable waves. It has polluted water.

Praia do Diabo A really small beach located in between Copacabana and Ipanema. It is an access point for surfers. Many times frescoball (beach tennis) players are here. Most of the time clean water but watch out for currents and waves!

 

Praia do São Conrado What used to be a paradise beach has been completely destroyed by pollution from the favela Rocinha. Has surfable waves and is also the landing point for hang gliding off the hill Pedra Bonita.

Joatinga One of the cooler beaches in Rio. A small steep trail leads down to this small strip of sand. In order to get here you have to enter a gated community, since no beaches can be private in Rio they have to let you in! Recommended to go here with a car, check the tide since there is only beach at low tide. Good for surfing.

If you found this article interesting, you would surely love my best hostels in rio de janeiro and carnival in rio articles.

Apart from the beautiful beaches, wonderful sceneries, rich historical culture and warm people, Brazil is also known for its sumptuous cuisine. But just like the country itself, Brazilian cuisine differs greatly by region. The dishes are made distinct by the natural crops that are grown in each region. Basically, Brazilian cuisine revolves around three staple foods: arroz or more commonly called white rice, feijao which is black beans and farinha which is their version of flour. Brazilians always incorporate these foods into their dishes.

Being a first-timer in Brazil, one might think that their foods are all the same. On the contrary, Brazilian dishes vary from region to region. In the Northern part of Brazil, their dishes are highly influenced by the Indians while on the Southern part a touch of Africa is greatly infused in their dishes. Here are some of Brazil’s most famous dishes: Barreado consists of meats and spices cooked in clay pot for 24 hours and served with banana and farofa, Carangueijada which is a cooked whole crab, Caruru is a good example of a food brought from Africa to Brazil. This is made with ladies fingers (okra) and onions, shrimp, peppers and oil. They also have Cozido which is a stew with potatoes, carrots and vegetables, Dourado a freshwater fish, Xinxim de galinha which is chicken flavoured with garlic, salt and lemon and of course Feijoada, Brazil’s national dish. This is a meat stew with rice and served with a bowl of beans.

Brazilians also likes to eat bread. One of their bread staples is pao de queijo, a cheese roll that is made with tapioca and grated cheese. This bread is well-liked in the center-west regions, as well as in the southeast and south. Brazil grows their own produce so their meals are rich in vegetables and fruits. Tropical fruits grow freely in the uplands and wetlands.

 

So if you want a taste of the Brazilian cuisine, book your accommodation now. There are many affordable Rio de Janeiro hostels you can choose from. Rio hostels offer a nice and cozy place away from home. You will feel at home right away once you step in to one of the many hostels in Rio with their warm staff, beautiful music, awesome weather and of course mouth-watering dishes.

Rio de Janeiro was blessed because of their wonderful climate throughout the entire year, there are plenty of outdoor activities for locals and tourists. Either it is on the beach/water, off the beach, or any other area, Rio has definitely something to offer to kill the time in a fun way. In this article we will try to offer a few ideas about where and how to spend your time in this one of a kind city.
Due to the fact that Rio has a beach culture like no other city in the world, there are a lot of activities focused around the beach and the ocean. The most important water activities would have to be surfing, bodyboarding and kite surfing. For those of you that want to stay on the beach, you could play volleyball, football and “fute volei” – a combination of volleyball and football which is basically a volleyball game using football rules, without hands of course. An alternative to all the previous mentioned would have to be fresco ball which is played by two people with paddles hitting a rubber ball back and forth.

Going off the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, you will find a lot of separate pathways for runner/walkers and bicycles. More than that, on Sundays and holidays, the closest road to the beach is entirely closed to cars and it turns into a giant pedestrian walkway. Lagoa is a lake right in the middle of the city and Zona Sul. Around this lake tourists can find generous sideways where they have the possibility to walk, run and bike.
hiking or climbing is a good alternative for solid physical activity. The most important hiking route available is to climb up Pedra da Gavea, which is another Rio landmark. Around the city there are a couple of good mountains suitable for rope climbing – Sugar Loaf and Corcovado. For people that want something even more exciting, hang gliding is an option. The jumping off point is Sao Conrado, which is surrounded by the exquisite Tijuca National Park and other landmarks. These flights offer one of a kind view of the beautiful mountains and the famous beaches of the city.

 

An article about the sport activities in Rio de Janeiro is not complete without mentioning golf. In Rio, golfers can go to the Gavea Golf Club or in Teresopolis, Buzios and Angra dos Reis. These offer nice public courses (unlike Gavea Golf Club), but are at a 2 ½ hour’s drive from Rio.
Football (soccer) is an icon in Rio and only here you will find one of the most famous stadiums in the world – the Maracana. The stadium that was the highlight of the 1950 World Cup was able of gathering 200,000 fans without any effort. In the last few years the stadium was closed for improvements and remodeling and now it is back in business hosting a few Rio clubs with a maximum attendance of 90,000.
There are a lot of sport activities in Rio de Janeiro, starting from football, golf, hiking and ending up with walking, bicycling and many more. The city is famous not only for its beautiful beaches and wonderful nightlife; it is also a landmark for sport and recreational activities.