Where to stay in Rio de Janeiro
Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon, Santa Teresa or Botafogo — the district changes the price, the quiet, and how often you see the sea.
- First visit
- Copacabana
- For quiet
- Ipanema and Leblon
- For character
- Santa Teresa
In Rio you choose a beach rather than a hotel. Copacabana has the widest choice and prices below neighbouring Ipanema, Ipanema and Leblon are calmer and dearer, Santa Teresa has no sea but has the city. All three beach districts have the metro, so the difference is not travel time but what your evening looks like.
Copacabana — choice and price
Four kilometres of beach, three metro stations and the widest choice of rooms in the city, from hostels to hotels from the fifties. It also has the most vendors and the most people. The district is no more dangerous than the others but it is the densest, so the rules about phones and bags are kept most strictly here.
Ipanema and Leblon — calmer and dearer
The same ocean, more money and noticeably quieter. Ipanema has the Arpoador sunset at its end; Leblon is quieter and more residential, and by flat price per square metre the most expensive district in Brazil. From both, the centre and Corcovado are twenty minutes by metro or cab.
Santa Teresa — the city without a beach
A hill above the centre, with small hotels in old villas. No sea and no metro; the beach is twenty minutes by cab, and you do not walk down at night. Choose it for the atmosphere, knowing exactly what you give up.
Botafogo and Flamengo — where people actually live
Two districts between the centre and the south zone, on the same metro line, with a park along the bay and a view of Sugarloaf. Prices are below Ipanema, the restaurants are local, and Botafogo beach is looked at rather than used — the bay water is not for swimming. For a stay longer than a week that matters less: you swim one metro ride away.
What to avoid
- A sea-view room across the road from the beach. The premium is steep, and the road between is a six-lane avenue you hear all night.
- The Centro for sleeping. Full of people on weekdays, empty in the evenings and at weekends. Not a place to stay.
- Choosing by distance from a favela. Some favelas have excellent guesthouses and are perfectly safe with a guide; judging them from a map in another country does not work in either direction.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Copacabana or Ipanema?
Copacabana for choice and price, Ipanema for quiet. For a stay under four days Copacabana is more practical: three metro stations and the most rooms.
Is Santa Teresa worth it?
It is on a second visit, or if the sea is not the reason for the trip. It is a quarter for walking and dinner, but there is no beach and no metro, and you do not walk down at night — every outing is a cab both ways.
Where is cheapest?
Botafogo and Flamengo, on the same metro line as the south zone and cheaper than it. No swimming beach, but a park along the bay, local restaurants and a view of Sugarloaf.
Ready for Rio de Janeiro?
Where to next
What Rio de Janeiro costs
→Rio is cheap until Carnival — and expensive exactly where you are paying for a view rather than for what you…
São Paulo · 360 km
→A city with no postcard and the best restaurants on the continent — you come for the table, not the view
How well does Rio de Janeiro suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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