When in Rio de Janeiro, you ought to visit both Copacabana and Ipanema. You hear so much about…read morethese districts and their beaches years before you ever set foot in Rio.
However, once you head south of here and further out from their density and population, the major beachfront thoroughfare changes names with each different neighborhood like people change their underwear, and it finally sort of makes a straight shot for a long time, you are probably on Avenida das Americas and in Barra da Tijuca. Parallel to this major artery is Barra's long and uninterrupted praia, or beach. It doesn't have the fanfare that Copacabana and Ipanema do but, in terms of natural features, this long strand is much the same, though comparatively quieter.
You can get here on public transportation. Certain bus lines continue in front of Rio's beaches down into Barra da Tijuca, all the way down to where the area ends, as does Rio de Janeiro, more or less, at Recreio dos Bandeirantes.
People diss on Barra da Tijuca. They say it's Rio's attempt to be like the suburban sprawl that is Broward County, Florida. It has an almost tacky mega mall along Avenida das Americas as well as newer condo towers and housing. I'd say the comparison has some validity. After all, isn't Broward County, and the beaches along it, newer and more tranquil than the areas of and beaches in Miami-Dade? I think so.
There are a couple of funky things about the Barra da Tijuca area.
First, while it is newer and upscale, being 11 miles long means there are some favelas in this westernmost part of Rio. They are or have been marked on Google maps and the more "proper" residents of Barra are not at all happy about that. The favelas appear to be smaller and more inland than the long beach strand.
Second, Barra is long and narrow and the back end of it has marshes, lagoons, and other waterways. In them live these smaller to medium sized caimans (jacares) which are a more yellowish color and indigenous to the area. I found this interesting and more fodder for comparing Rio to Miami. For that matter, their "kin folk" can be found in waterways within the city limits of South Florida municipalities, New Orleans, and Houston, just to name a few North American locales.
Third, the very end of Barra is known as Recreio dos Bandeirantes. It is not as upscale and flashy as the part of Barra first encountered upon coming around the promontory containing the Dois Irmaos monolith. Your reward for going this far south and west from Rio's more popular beaches is this - the "morro:"
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GH29uXeSJIw/TVWU9bWwO8I/AAAAAAAAAJ8/QbiJjr1xG8I/s1600/recreio_dos_bandeirantes%255B1%255D.jpg
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5035/6953462316_f39345e4cf_z.jpg
Either way, if doing the beach thing, you probably won't be in Barra da Tijuca to shop in mega malls, spot large reptiles, or tour favelas. You're here to enjoy its 11 mile long beach strand. Overlook the comparisons to Broward County FL and other digs on Barra and enjoy yourselves at this wonderful beach.
