Praia da Macumba

The mellowest of Rio's west-zone breaks and a longboard favourite, at the far western end of the Barra–Recreio stretch. Several sand-bottom peaks run along the beach — a slower, fuller wave on the left corner and a faster, hollower one toward the right — and it's very consistent, holding size when the bigger west-zone beaches close out. Tide matters more here than almost anywhere in Rio: it's best on low, and turns soft and shouldery on mid-to-high. Warmer water than the south, and most consistent from autumn into the winter S-swell window.