while geographically rio's wild beaches seem closer to grumari's beach than to barra de guaratiba's beach, via land they can only be reached from the opposite side of the cape, on the barra de guaratiba's side.

to get to praia do meio visitors need to reach praia barra de guaratiba (also known as praia grande).

from there, praia do meio, along with the other nearby wild beaches, can only be reached by hiking, or by boat - hiking takes about 3 hours to the farthest beach.