Life in Rio spills onto the street. The beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema are the city’s living room, the mountains drop straight into the sea, and the whole place seems to be in swimwear by mid-morning. It is glorious, and it rewards traveling light in a very literal sense.
The flip side of a city that lives outdoors is that valuables are exposed outdoors too. Opportunistic theft on the beaches and in crowds is common enough that locals keep a simple habit: carry only what you need, and leave the rest in the safe.
On a Rio beach, the less you bring, the more relaxed you get to be.
Leave your passport and spare cards at the hotel, take a little cash and one card, keep your phone close, and you can give yourself over to the thing Rio does best — long, sun-soaked, entirely outdoor days — without a knot of worry in your stomach.
