Brazil / Rio de Janeiro
Copacabana
Copacabana is a 2.9 km-long sandy beach facing south-east, 900 m south-east of Copacabana (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). The sea averages 25.4 °C in March, its warmest month, and 21.3 °C in August; it stays at 21 °C or above all year.
Average sea surface temperature by month. Current month outlined.
Reference
Copacabana ( KOH-pə-kə-BAN-ə, US also -BAH-nə; Brazilian Portuguese: [ˌkɔpakaˈbɐnɐ]) is a Brazilian bairro (neighbourhood) located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is most prominently known for its 4 km (2.5 mile) balneario beach, which is one of the most famous in the world.
Wikidata item Q202730 · classified as neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro.
Month by month
October at Copacabana
Beach-day index 8.1/10 · Brazil median 8.1
| Measure | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea °C | 25.1 °C | 25.1 °C | 25.4 °C | 24.9 °C | 23.6 °C | 22.6 °C | 21.9 °C | 21.3 °C | 21.3 °C | 21.8 °C | 22.5 °C | 24.0 °C |
| High °C | 29° | 29° | 28° | 27° | 25° | 25° | 25° | 26° | 28° | 29° | 28° | 29° |
| Low °C | 20° | 20° | 19° | 17° | 15° | 14° | 13° | 13° | 15° | 17° | 18° | 19° |
| Rain mm | 216 | 139 | 157 | 84 | 60 | 39 | 37 | 37 | 61 | 100 | 199 | 228 |
| Cloud % | 71 | 62 | 66 | 56 | 56 | 49 | 45 | 45 | 57 | 70 | 79 | 75 |
| Wind m/s | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.0 |
| Daylight h | 13.4 | 12.9 | 12.3 | 11.6 | 11.0 | 10.7 | 10.8 | 11.3 | 11.9 | 12.6 | 13.2 | 13.5 |
| Record high/low | 40°/15° | 39°/15° | 36°/15° | 34°/11° | 33°/9° | 32°/7° | 34°/7° | 37°/8° | 40°/9° | 42°/9° | 40°/12° | 39°/12° |
| Beach index | 7.6 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 8.8 | 8.8 | 8.9 | 8.7 | 8.7 | 8.4 | 8.1 | 7.5 | 7.4 |
Long-term monthly averages: air from NASA POWER (2001–2020), sea from NOAA OISST (1991–2020); records are the extremes of 2001–2020. How the index works.
When to go
The beach-day index peaks in February and April–September; June scores 8.9/10 with highs of 25 °C, sea at 22.6 °C and 39 mm of rain.
In June that is 1.0 points above the median of the 659 beaches in Brazil covered by this atlas.
At its warmest the water here is 1.2 °C cooler than the Brazil median for March (26.6 °C).
Across the year the sea averages 23.3 °C, warmer than 72% of the coastal beaches in the atlas.
December is the wettest month (228 mm) and July the driest (37 mm); the yearly total is about 1,360 mm.
Daylight runs from 10.7 hours in June to 13.5 hours in December; in mid-June the sun rises at 06:30 and sets at 17:14 local time.
Orientation, sun and shore
The shore faces south-east (125°). Open water fills about 44% of the horizon close by, which makes it an open stretch of shore.
At no time of year does the sun set over the sea here: sunset bearings run from 244° to 295°, behind the land.
Sunrise is over the sea in every month.
Straight out to the south-east there is open water for more than 2,000 km, so the beach is exposed to long ocean swell.
About 1 km offshore the sea is roughly 18 m deep and 22 m at 3 km. Behind the beach the ground is about 15 m above sea level 500 m inland and 158 m at 1.5 km, with hills rising behind it.
Within 1 km, the land is 71% built-up land, 25% bare ground, sand or rock and 4% tree cover (satellite land-cover map, 2021): an urban beach. Water makes up 71% of that circle.
- Built 71%
- Bare 25%
- Tree 4%
Land cover: ESA WorldCover 2021 (10 m). Orientation from OpenStreetMap land polygons sampled in 36 directions; depths and heights from the GEBCO 2020 grid (about 450 m cells), indicative only.
OpenStreetMap shows no lifeguard station within 1 km. Seasonal lifeguard posts are often unmapped, so check on site.
Photos
From above
Facilities within 1 km
- 528Restaurants, cafés & bars
- 14Public toilets
- –Showers
- 23Car parks
- –Lifeguard stations
- 130Hotels & guesthouses
- 65Grocery shops
- 13Water-sports spots
- 33Bus stops (1.5 km)
- 68Pharmacies & clinics
- 4Cash machines
- 12Bike rental
Food and drink mapped within 1 km: 322 restaurants, 57 cafés, 112 bars and 37 fast-food outlets. Accommodation: 130 hotels and guesthouses.
Counted within 1 km of the beach (bus stops 1.5 km) from OpenStreetMap features and Overture Maps places, release of 2026-10. Unmapped does not mean absent.
Around the beach
Attractions & museums
- Museu Africano Rio de Janeiro museum 420 m N
- Acquamania attraction 650 m N
- MIS Museu da Imagem e do Som museum 930 m SW
Nature
- Acesso de Emergência do MetrôRio cave entrance 760 m N
- Morro do Inhangá peak 760 m NE
- Agulha do Inhangá peak 830 m N
- Morro de São João peak 1.2 km N
- Morro do Cantagalo peak 1.4 km SW
- Morro dos Cabritos peak 1.4 km W
Diving & boat hire
- BikeRio - Estação 31 Santa Clara 210 m SW
- BikeRio - Estação 105 Dias da Rocha 450 m W
- BikeRio - Estação 109 Metrô Siqueira Campos 580 m NW
- BikeRio - Estação 113 República do Peru 630 m N
- BikeRio - Estação 29 - Praça Manuel Campos Da Paz 630 m NE
- BikeRio - Estação 29 Fernandes Mendes 660 m NE
Getting there
| Airport | Code | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santos Dumont Airport Rio de Janeiro | SDU | 7.5 km | north |
| Rio de Janeiro Galeão – Tom Jobim International Airport Rio De Janeiro | GIG | 19.8 km | north |
| Francisco de Assis Airport Juiz de Fora | JDF | 133 km | north |
Straight-line distances from the beach; road distance is usually 20–40% longer.
Local transport: 33 bus stops within 1.5 km and 23 mapped car parks within 1 km.
16 towns and villages of 1,000+ people lie within 10 km (about 7.2M residents); within 30 km there are 27 (about 9.9M).
When people look it up
The EN Wikipedia article was read 101,221 times in the 12 months to August 2026. Interest peaks in May (11,998 views), 1.8× the quietest month.
Map and nearby beaches
Loading map…
Open in OpenStreetMap · Directions in Google Maps
| Beach | Distance | Warmest sea | Length | Surface |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copacabana | – | 25.4 °C | 2.9 km | Sand |
| Ipanema | 2.8 km SW | 25.4 °C | 2.2 km | Sand |
| Praia Vermelha | 2.8 km NE | 25.4 °C | 274 m | – |
- Ipanema2.8 km SWCompare
- Praia Vermelha2.8 km NECompare
Data on this page
- Air temperature, rain, cloud, wind, humidity: NASA POWER climatology 2001–2020, 0.5° grid.
- Sea temperature: NOAA OISST v2.1 monthly normals 1991–2020, nearest ocean cell 17.6 km away.
- Beach outline, surface, rules and public facilities: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), feature r5514745; restaurants, cafés, bars and lodging: Overture Maps places (CDLA-Permissive-2.0).
- Water body, status and length: Wikidata (CC0).
- Towns and time zone: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Airports: OurAirports (public domain). Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations.
- Photos: Wikimedia Commons, author and licence under each image.
- Satellite view: Copernicus Sentinel-2 (ESA), scene S2C_23KPQ_20260721_0_L2A.
- Orientation: OpenStreetMap land polygons (ODbL). Depth and terrain: GEBCO 2020 grid.
- Settlements: GeoNames places with 1,000+ inhabitants.
- Land cover: ESA WorldCover 2021, 10 m (CC BY 4.0).
- Search popularity: about 390 Google searches a month for the name (KeywordTool, October 2026).
Data compiled 2026-10-13. Something wrong? Report a data error.