together, they form the longest continuous beach in rio with some 16 kilometers of extension from end to end - or 18 kilometers when including the western extension called recreio beach.

reserva has a different name, since this section is within an environmental reserve, the parque ecológico de marapendi.

while barra beach proper is 'urbanized', which is to say serviced by roads, kiosks and other vestiges of civilization, it is very spacious and normally not crowded, with guaranteed privacy for those willing to find it.

groups of beach goers mainly gather on the sand across from the kiosks renting chairs and umbrellas, leaving wide stretches almost empty in between - and that is where paparazzi like to go.