Rio Janeiro Surf Camp Surf - Recreio Macumba, Rio de Janeiro. Brazil
INTRODUCTION
A 30-minute drive from Copacabana and downtown Rio, in the lively seaside resort of Recreio dos Bandeirantes, the Surfcamp enjoy a perfect location just two minutes walking from the Surfing beach of Macumba. The Rio Surf Camp is a spacious building in a tropical garden, a fun, friendly and spacious surf house, and surf school in Rio de Janeiro.
Whether a seasoned surfer looking for the perfect break or a beginner who wishes to learn the sport, Rio Janeiro Surf Camp offer a package for everybody. Moreover, we offer pick-up and drop-off service 24h/day from the main airports in town! From surf lessons with fully qualified and passionate instructors that will show you the basics to surfaris with highly experienced guides that take you to the best surf spots of the day in this area.
With waves all year round, it’s the perfect spot for a surf camp in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The area of Macumba and Recreio is ranked as the best and most consistent surf beaches in Rio and was the venue of the 2008 Girls WQS and WCT (world top 44 surfers competition).
Macumba-Recreio is also in the middle of a surfing area with 7 famous surf spots. A short drive away are the secluded beaches of Prainha and Grumari, which have amazing pristine jungle mountain backdrop, and on a hot weekend day, are the favorite hangout beaches for surfers, famous actors, and Brazilian hot bodies. These are the safest, cleanest and most relaxed beaches around Rio!
THE ACCOMMODATION
ROOMS
- Private room… offering a nice front yard view, so you can enjoy the nature surrounding the house.
- Double room… with A/C has optional for the hot summer days, so you can relax and enjoy your sleep.
- Triple room… or a double including an extra single bed, to nicely accommodate three people.
- Quadruple room… with A/C for the hot nights, it also has an extra bunk-bed in to accommodate groups up to 4 people.
- Shared room… a six bed mixed dorm to accommodate travelers on a budget, located in the bottom floor next to all communal areas, with 2 ceiling fans, bed linen, and towels for rent if wanted.
- Comfortable dorm… A six bed mixed dorm on the top floor of the house opening out to a big balcony with hammocks to relax and enjoy the surrounding nature. This room has a speed controlled ceiling fan, cabinets, and lockers, with linen and towels on request.
LIVING ROOM
- Sofas
- Flat screen TV
- DVD player
- Surf videos
- Movies
- Laptop available for client
- Free Wi-Fi all around the camp
KITCHEN
- Open from 7 am to 10 pm
- Fridge
- Gas stove
- Oven
- Free spices
BAR AREA
- Garden
- Hammock
- Sleeping chair
- Slackline
- Party
- Live music
- BBQ nights on the weekend
SURF HOUSE SERVICES
- The breakfast is served every morning under the palm trees, in the garden, with fresh Brazilian coffee, tea, fruit juice, a plate of fresh fruits and fresh bread rolls with ham, cheese, and jam.
- Convenience foods, beers, sodas, and homemade dinners.
- Free parking in front of the camp under surveillance.
- BBQ on Saturday night ( upon request )
- Laundry self-service (upon request)
- Transport to the supermarket ( upon request )
- Airport transfer 24h/day (please let us know your exact dates of arrival and departure)
THE ACTIVITIES
Surf
Surf Lessons
All classes begin with stretching and warm up, so the students start to get in the mood of surfing. After that a thorough beach lesson begins so the students have a chance to listen to the instructor`s explanation and observe the demonstrations on land.
Movements and techniques demonstrated by the instructor are repeated by the students so they can feel it themselves. This simulation prepares the students for getting into the water and controlling the board in the waves, paddling out, getting trough the surf and standing up.
Before getting in the water the instructor also describes the waves conditions for the day and points put rip currents and sand bars, so the students can be familiar to what is happening in the water at the spot they will be surfing.
Surfaris
This is perfect for the intermediate and experienced surfer wanting to get the most out of his days at the Surf Camp. Local surf guides will take you to the wave of the day and take you to beaches no “regular” transport reaches, including a river mouth that breaks epic with a big south swell. Your surf guide will tell you all about the spots: where to get in, currents and the type of wave you will be paddling out to, anything to give that advantage to a first timer on that break.
Surf Sports
IPANEMA
World famous beach got know by the famous songs “Garota de Ipanema”. The beach is approximately 2 km long, with tall buildings on its entire extension. It offers a wide selection of hotels and restaurants perfectly set for tourists from over the world. On its perfect days, this beach break offers multiple sand bars with fast, short and hollow waves. During the 70`s the “pier” offered perfect waves. Nowadays, you still can see a bit of the structure of it around “Posto 8″ where on good days the waves offer perfect walls with quick barrels. On the big south swells, the ” Sao Sebastiao” slab offers large barrels that can be ridden by the experienced surfers.
- Swell: east, southeast
- Wind: east, northeast
- Height: 2 to 6 feet
- Bottom: sand
- Characteristics: short and fast barrels
- Tips: Intense crowd; respect the locals; difficult parking
ARPOADOR
Arpoador is rated as one of the best waves of Rio. Long with maneuverable walls it breaks for over 200 mts on a sand bottom. The crowd is normally intense and locals can be aggressive sometimes. But even then it is worth paddle out on good days, specially with east or southeast swell and east, north or northeast light winds when conditions get perfect.
- Swell: east, southeast
- Wind: east, northeast
- Height: 2 to 10 feet
- Bottom: sand
- Characteristics: long lefts, maneuverable and with barrel sections
- Tips: Intense crowd; respect the locals; difficult parking. To avoid crowds go for a night session as the point is fully lighten by strong lights.
BARRA DA TIJUCA
Barra is one of the most famous spots within Rio, not only because it holds some of the major surf events in Brazil including the WT, but because of its waves that on the goods days offer long ridable shoulders and fast and hollow barrels. It is the longest beach in Rio with 17 kms. Along the stretcht it is possible to find perfect sand bards – specially after the big storms – and hidden slabs that offer good waves with the right conditions. The “Reserva” area, offers empty line ups on the week days, so if you are lucky you can score good waves with only your friends around.
- Swell: south, southwest, southeast, east
- Wind: Northeast, light east
- Height: 2 to 6 feet
- Bottom: sand
- Characteristics: maneuverable waves, formed by many sand hills and ditches for all over the beach
- Tips: Choosing the right ditch, you can surf alone; parking accessible by all sea shore
RECREIO DO BANDEIRANTES
Recreio is located at south end of Barra da Tijuca. There are a multiple sand banks along the beach that can offer perfect “A” frames on the good days. At the further south end, a good right breaks along the rock on east or southeast swell and southwest wind. It is a good option for beginners and for big riders holding waves up to 8ft.
- Swell: Southwest, southeast and east
- Wind: South, Southwest
- Heights: 2 to 8 feet
- Bottom: Sand
- Characteristics: maneuverable waves with long rights breaking off the rock. Towards the middle, lefts and rights break along different sand bars.
- Tips: Next to the rock on big days and right tide you can get good right and open all the way to the sand. Just a bit down the beach, you can find multiple sand bars breaking perfect waves with nice clean pitches on good days.
PRAIA DA MACUMBA
Praia da Macumba or Do Pontal is a beautifull beach that hold big swells. It is divided by a set of rocks right in the middle. One side is really popular for long boarders as the waves are fuller and long, breaking differently from most breaks around Rio. This side is alsopopular amongst beginners as smaller waves break close to the “Pedra do Pontal”. On the other side of the rocks, the waves are faster and hollow offering good barrels, specially in front of “CCB”. This are is popular for body boarders.
- Swell: South, Southeast
- Wind: East, Northeast and North
- Height: 2 to 10 feet
- Bottom: Sand
- Characteristics: Long and full waves perfect for longboards and learners. Right in front of 2W street and Rio point are some of the best sand bars.
- Tips: If you are learning, stick to “Farofinha” the sand bar just next to the rock where small waves break. On bigger days the sand bar in front of “Rico Point” (a big kiosk on the beach front) is normally the best spot. Now if you are looking for an empty space, follow the road and get to “Curvao” where smaller waves break offer good and fun moments.
PRAINHA
Prainha is considered one of the most beautiful beaches of Rio. Surrounded by a backdrop with trees, there are no buildings making an amazing scenery. Being an protected area, the waves break all year around on different sand bars along the beach.
- Swell: south, southeast
- Wind: light southwest
- Height: 2 to 10 feet
- Bottom: sand
- Characteristics: waves all over the beach right and left maneuverable on the most different conditions; very solid.
- Tips: Prainha is a protected area with kiosks, showers, bathrooms. It is frequented by beautiful people and by the best Rio de Janeiro surfers. On the weekends, get there early to guarantee your place.
GRUMARI
Just next to Prainha we have Grumari. Another beautiful and isolated beach, Grumari offers nice and empty waves specially on the week days. The best conditions are during the south or southeast swells when the right corner offer long and powerful rights. On the smaller days, there are waves breaking all the way along the beach.
- Swell: south, southwest
- Wind: northeast, light southwest
- Height: 2 to 10 feet
- Bottom: sand
- Characteristics: in the middle of the beach, waves for both sides in small and medium days. With a bigger sea, strong rights in the beach right corner.
- Tips: a Gun can make the difference on the big days. Spots all over the beach during the week, On sunny weekends, get there early to guarantee your place.
Other Activities
- Yoga
- Massage
- Bike rental
- BBQ
LOCATION & GETTING HERE
Location
A two minute walking from the beach, the surf camp is located in the lively seaside resort of Recreio dos Bandeireantes, on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There is a Shopping mall with many restaurants and a big supermarket just a 15 min walk away from the surf house. Nightlife in town consists basically of local bars and restaurants.
The “Cidade Maravilhosa” (marvelous city) revels in life and is famous for its natural settings carnival celebrations, Samba, Bossa Nova and its beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema. Some of the most famous landmarks in addition to the beaches include the giant statue of Christ atop Corcovado mountain, Sugarloaf mountain (Pão de Açúcar) with its cable car, Sambódromo, a giant permanent parade stand used during Carnival, andMaracanã stadium, one of the world’s largest football stadiums.
- Summer (December to February): Smaller ground swells – more crowds
- Autumn (March to May): Good consistent swells – less crowds
- Winter (June to August): Bigger consistent swells – few crowds
- Spring (September to November): Often raining yet good conditions prevail – less crowds
Getting Here
Recreio dos Bandeirantes
25 min. SE from Ipanema and Copacabana Buses run regularly from Recreio (one block from the surf house) to the main areas of Rio city including Copacabana, Ipanema, Centro, and others. The bus trip takes about one hour.
Transfer
Rio de Janeiro International Airport (GIG) – Airport transfer (upon request), around 45 minutes.
Major Airlines
Major airlines with daily flights to other Brazilian airports
www.voegol.com.br
www.tam.com.br
www.oceanair.com.br
A word of caution here: Both San Paulo and Rio have more than one major airport. It is crucial to make sure your connecting flight leaves from the same airport your international flight arrives at. Experienced travelers caution against transferring between different airports.
Important information
SAFETY
Brazil as a whole is just as safe as any other places in the world. The area where the Surf camp is located is with no doubt the safest area in Rio de Janeiro city. You will be able to walk around at any time of the day with no hassle. Of course, few “safety tips” should be observed as not wearing fantasy items that will catch people’s attention or having your camera hanging down your chest.
VISA
The citizens of most nations do not need a VISA to enter Brazil, however, we strongly recommend you to check with the Brazilian consulate in your country about the requirements to enter the country. On your arrival you will get a 90 days Tourist visa that will give you plenty of time to enjoy Brazil.
MONEY
The Brazilian currency is called the Real (Reais). Most places will accept cards such as VISA and MASTER CARD. They are very easy to use, as ATM machines are located within supermarkets and gas stations. If you plan to bring cash, there are money exchange shops that will exchange your money at a good rate. Traveller checks are not so recommend as they are quite hard to be exchanged.
LOCAL TRANSPORTATION
The bus system in Rio de Janeiro is efficient and easy with many buses available at different schedules and routes. Taxis are easy and affordable. We can organise taxis pick ups from the camp if needed. Car rentals are available as well, and if you want to extend you time on Brazil and travel around this beautiful area we will be able to help you.
PRICES & PACKAGES
Surf & Change Retreats
PRICE
717 USD
INCLUSIONS
√ 5 days in an amazing place and with great people
√ 3 surf lessons with the best local instructors
√ 4 yoga lessons with Beta the best local instructor ;))
√ 1 hiking with purpose
√ 3 self-knowledge workshops
√ All meals included (great vegan food)
√ Shared room
FIXED DATES
09/02 to 14/02
02/03 to 07/03
23/03 to 28/03
08/04 to 13/04
17/04 to 22/04
30/04 to 05/05
18/05 to 23/05
03/06 to 08/06
22/06 to 27/06
06/07 to 11/07
20/07 to 25/07
03/08 to 08/08
