Cycling around Rio de Janeiro, starting with Flamengo beach.

Cycling around Rio de Janeiro, starting with Flamengo beach.

I just spent the day cycling around Rio de Janeiro and it’s a surprisingly good place for cycling in some parts of the city. Just like some other areas are not that suited for it. I will show you a few places here where it’s good to go if you plan to go cycling around Rio de Janeiro.

Starting at Flamengo park.

Cycling from Flamengo to Botafogo.

Cycling from Flamengo to Botafogo.

As I am staying in the part of Rio de Janeiro called Catete, it’s Flamengo park that was my starting point. Flamengo park is right by Catete. Flamengo park is also right next to Flamengo beach. You have good bicycle lanes all the way along the beach as well as in the park. It’s a part of Rio de Janeiro I really like, as it’s a very social area.

There are lots of people there going to the beach and to the park. Even if the beach is not good for swimming, as it’s one of the inner beaches of Rio de Janeiro, where the water is too polluted to swim. But Brazilians go to the beach mainly to socialize and just hang out and Flamengo beach is always full of locals. It’s a super local beach by the way with very few tourists.

 

Cycling to Botafogo.

Botafogo is a part of Rio that is right next to the part called Flamengo. These two parts of Rio de Janeiro used to be the upper class neighborhoods before tunnels to Copacabana and Ipanema were built. These days they are more middle and upper middle class neighborhoods. And quite pleasant parts of Rio de Janeiro to be in.

After Flamengo beach, the bike lanes continue down to Botafogo and Botafogo beach. Passing over to the oldest part of Rio de Janeiro called Urca. Right as you get to Urca, there is a tunnel through the mountain that takes you to Copecabana and there are bicycle lanes through the tunnel, so it’s safe to cycle through the tunnel to Copacabana.

There is a bicycle lane in the tunnel to Copacabana.

There is a bicycle lane in the tunnel to Copacabana.

Cycling at Copacabana.

Cycling at Copacabana.

Cycling at Copacabana.

Copacabana beach and promenade is 4 kilometers long and there is a bicycle lane there too. Beware though that it’s quite crowded with pedestrians there at times. Joggers use the bicycle lane too. So you should not cycle fast along Copacabana.

But who wants to do that anyway when you are at one of the most famous beaches in the world?

 

Cycling along Ipanema beach.

Cycling down the Ipanema beach promenade.

Cycling down the Ipanema beach promenade.

After Copacabana, I cycled over to Ipanema beach. You need to pass through some residential neighborhoods to cross from Copacabana to Ipanema. But there is a bicycle lane there too and it’s a very pleasant part of Rio de Janeiro, with several nice cafes. Also a couple of good bicycle shops, should you need that. Ipanema, like Copacabana, has a bicycle lane along the beach. It’s a long beach that ends at the part of Rio called Leblon. Ipanema is more upscale than Copacabana and you can find some very pricey and trendy cafes in this part of Rio de Janeiro. You have small local hangouts too though. No need to kill your wallet if you want to stop there for lunch or coffee. Ipanema is all in all a really cool place to hang out and the beach there is considerably more popular with the locals than Copacabana is.

 

Cycling around Lagoa.

Cycling around Lagoa.

Cycling around Lagoa.

After Ipanema, I cycled up to the part of Rio de Janeiro called Lagoa. Lagoa is situated behind Ipanema and is a very nice part of Rio de Janeiro. But a little more quiet and laid back than Ipanema. There is a big lagoon (Lagoa means lagoon) in this part of the city and there are again bicycle lanes all around the lagoon. You see many people renting out all types of bicycles there. So if you just want to take a little stroll around Lagoa on a bicycle, then you can hire one here too.

Cycling around Rio de Janeiro is great.

Cycling around Rio de Janeiro is great.

I biked back the same way that I came. The whole thing took me most of the day. But I made plenty of stops along the way. This is really a route that I would recommend people to take if you want to go cycling around Rio de Janeiro. There are plenty of other parts of the city that are not suitable for cycling. So make sure to pick some good spots if you want to spend a day in the saddle when you are in Rio de Janeiro. It’s really a great way to explore the city.

 

Rio de Janeiro has city bikes that you can borrow if you do not have your own bike and there are also several bicycle rental places around the parts of the city that have good bicycle lanes.

Happy cycling.

Claus.

If you would like to read more about cycling in the rest of Brazil, then I have a blogpost about cycling around Brazil on this link

Happy cycling around Rio de Janeiro.

Happy cycling around Rio de Janeiro.

4 Comments

  1. How easy is Rio for bikepackers?
    Did you just walk in to guest houses and small hotels during your trip, or did you do a lot of planning and booking in advance.
    How was riding in the evening?

    Have always a safe ride.

    Erik from Germany

    • I never book accommodation in advance when I am cycling, as I do not know how far I will get in a day. That all depends on road condition and the condition of my legs that day. And flat tires can also play a role. And I would not recommend to cycle at night in Brazil. You can do it in Rio if you know your way around and is aware of avoiding the bad parts of the city. On the roads out of the city it’s a big no to cycle at night. The chance of getting in to trouble at night on Brazilian roads goes up 20 fold at night, both because the cars can’t see you and because road crime in Brazil tends to happen after dark as well.

  2. Thanks Claus,

    that’s what I thought. I for myself do travel a lot in Asia and normally never book in advance.
    For Brazil I was thinking of being a little bit more cautious, that’s why I was interested in your planning and travel behavior.

    Thanks for the quick response.

    Erik

  3. Flamengo beach is a great place for touring. Recently I visited that place with my family. And I enjoy that tour. Whatever, you show a great idea of enjoyment by cycling in the Flamengo beach. It will be very interesting biking, I think so.

  4. Pingback: So was cycling through Brazil dangerous. Here is my opinion.

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