Rio de Janeiro/Zona Oeste

Zona Oeste (The West Zone) in Rio de Janeiro is the farthest zone from city center and is home to the richest and poorest neighborhoods in Rio.

Understand
Nightlife in Rio is not all about the historic downtown. On the other side of South Zone lies the West Zone. And special attention should be paid to Barra da Tijuca. Barra as it is called, and its surroundings are now the most expanding neighborhoods of Rio, and entertainment is the big deal over there. Enormous shopping centers are good for shopping (of course) and have cinemas and bowling alleys to offer. But the clubs are the pièce de résistance of the neighborhood. Filled with young good-looking boys and girls (you have to be eighteen to go in), the clubs of Barra are a 'must' among foreigners.

Get in
Buses and SuperVia suburban trains are available from other parts of Rio, but it might be more convenient to drive. By subway, you can get to Barra da Tijuca (Jardim Oceânico station).

Get around
This zone is spread out and can be less safe than other parts of the city, so a car is the best way to get around. BRT buses are also a good option if you pĺan on remaining close to Avenida das Américas, although they can get very crowded during peak hours.

Do
In the West Zone you can find some of the best oceanic beaches of Rio de Janeiro. Barra da Tijuca's beach is a 17-km sand line of clear waters. Surfers love it, and many people also. The sunset is beautiful, especially during the winter. The beach is relatively safe at night, although development of tourism by big hotels such as the Sheraton have brought with it the inevitable appearance of (discreet but ever present) prostitutes. As you go along you get to Recreio, which is even clearer, and much less crowded. Prainha is now very far away from the crowded Copacabana. Its perfect waves made it famous. It is also on a biological reserve, with restricted car parking spaces. Avoid the weekends and enjoy this between mountains-beauty of the nature on the week-days.

There are many surfing schools all along the Barra beach that hold one and half hour surfing classes. The classes are fairly inexpensive and are mostly populated with locals. Some of the surf instructors do speak English.