cariocas are friendly and very social people in general, whether in a bar, on the bus, or in the street - beaches are no exception, and it is easy to meet people on the sand.

further, some beaches are more 'socially oriented' than others, and crowds tend to gather in some sections of the main beaches more interested in social interactions than just in the waves.

different beaches have developed a local an very distinct subculture where like- minded people tend to go and make friends

we list here the portions of copacabana and ipanema beaches that earned the title of 'social beaches' in our guide.