for travelers who do not know the city, who have not been to this area before, and who do not speak portuguese, a local guide is a must - both for personal safety and for the logistics that can be somewhat complicated.

travel to barra de guaratiba from the zona sul of rio, could take two hours due to traffic conditions and closed roads.

this link shows praia barra de guaratiba on a wikimapia.  the link as we present it is best seen using google chrome, as it might not open correctly with other browsers.