14 of the most beautiful beaches in Brazil

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It’s no surprise that a bikini cut is named after Brazil — the country is not only rife with beautiful beaches, those beaches are also a huge part of its culture, especially in Rio.

Beaches are where locals congregate — they sunbathe, surf, and play beach volleyball, but they also hit the shores to work out, eat, and drink. Brazil’s beaches have some of the world’s liveliest boardwalks, and feature some of the best — and best looking — people watching.

Here are 14 of the best beaches in Brazil. 

Baia do Sancho, Fernando de Noronha

This beach frequently snags the top spot on TripAdvisor’s Best Beaches in the World list. Yes, the world. Surrounded by towering cliffs, it features blindingly blue waters and incredible coral reefs full of turtles and tropical fish. It is also super secluded — so secluded, in fact, that to get there you basically have to follow a dirt road and brave some very steep, rickety ladders through a crack in a rock wall.

Ipanema Beach, Rio de Janeiro

This is one of the world’s most incredible urban beaches, and smack-dab in the middle of Rio. "The Girl from Ipanema" was inspired by the stunning women that strut their stuff on this beach, but if that isn’t enough there’s performers, epic surfing, and a hopping boardwalk that features stalls selling capirinhas, bars galore, and open-air gyms where people pump iron at all hours.

Baía dos Porcos, Fernando de Noronha

Baia do Porcos, aka the Bay of Pigs (not that Bay of Pigs), is a stunning cove surrounded by volcanic rock and full of incredible tide pools. The tide pools not only act as personal, natural hot tubs, but also as natural aquariums, as they fill up with beautiful marine life.