beaches like ipanema are simply beautiful, and their appeal hard to resist, but currents can be strong, and the tides dangerous at times, reason why some families prefer taking their children to beaches facing the guanabara bay, such as the charming praia da urca.

there are also some special places, that can be described as 'best of both worlds beaches', that are still facing the ocean, but pose less challenging tides such as  praia vermelha, a spot uniquely positioned under the sugar loaf, and of striking beauty.

we provide a very detailed description of all main beaches in the rio's area in our beaches by area section.