Nina R.
Yelp
Very large beach. You can pick the area you want close to a lot of people, or past the Fort closer to the mountain where its less crowded - you decide.
I hung out on the beach on 2 days. On my first day of arrival, went straight to the beach because the sun was out and very hot! Sat on the free chairs provided by my hotel along with free towel service. There were so many things to watch and see! Guys wearing the speedos with no cares in the world! Potbelly's and six packs! And women in thongs, all sizes too. Very interesting since I'm coming from the states, haha! There were little bar stands to buy beer and caiparinhas directly on the beach, and people that walked by with snacks for sale, bikinis for sale, sarongs, jewelry, souvenires, pretty much like a walking store coming straight to you. Also, people at the beach made their own mini-bars. For example, we were watching a group of people thinking, wow, they're so prepared!! Come to find out they were selling drinks. They put only a pinch of the colorful, fruity beverage in at the bottom of the cup, a splash of cachaca, and tons, I mean tons of ice. The drinks look good tho, if you're into a very tall cup of ice!! haha
The second day I hung out it was misty and rained on and off. There were plenty of people at the beach anyway despite the overcast. I actually rode rental bike from our hotel from post #9 by the mountain all the way down to post #5. We stumbled upon a museum, or the the Fort of Copacabana, paid and went inside the complex, cool.
Riding bikes along the beach was cool. We saw all sorts of beach life. Your joggers, cyclists, walkers, surfers, beach volleyball groups, the no hands volleyball group, families, people sun bathing, hanging out, people eating and drinking at the bars. So relaxing and cool to people watch.