The most famous beaches sit in Rio de Janeiro - Copacabana and Ipanema. They are right next to the city, so you can finish school, walk ten minutes, and be playing in the waves. The sand is fine and pale, and the water is warm almost all year round.
Further north, in places like Bahia and Pernambuco, the beaches are lined with coconut trees and the water is calmer. You can see straight to the bottom in many places. Reef pools form along the shore at low tide, full of tiny fish that kids can wade among.
Out in the Atlantic, off the coast of Brazil, there is a tiny chain of islands called Fernando de Noronha. It is one of the best places in the world to see sea turtles. Each year they swim ashore to lay their eggs, and a few months later the baby turtles hatch and scramble back to the sea.
Brazilians love their beach culture. People play football, volleyball and a sport called footvolley (volleyball but you can't use your hands - only feet and head) on the sand. The beach is a giant outdoor classroom where children grow up swimming, surfing and watching the ocean change with the wind.

