Praia Rasa.

About

Praia Rasa stretches along the western base of the Búzios peninsula, where the headland meets the mainland and the beach faces north into a wide shallow bay. It is the kitesurf hub of Búzios: flat water inside the sandbar, small chop on the outside, and a long strip of sand where most of the kite schools in town run their lessons. The water is clear, warm, and waist-deep for hundreds of metres out from the beach.

The wind sits north-east through south-east and runs 12 to 28 knots, averaging 15 to 18. From a north-facing beach those directions are sideshore to side-onshore, which keeps launch and recovery safe. The trade season runs August through December at full strength, then thins through autumn before picking up again in late winter. Outside the bar the chop builds enough for small jumps; inside it stays glassy on a low tide.

Beginner-friendly on the inside in light wind, where the shallow water means an easy walk back if a kite drops. As the wind builds, advanced riders head outside for freestyle and drift downwind. Crowded with kite schools through the high season, with the far ends of the bar generally less busy. Mind the dropping tide: the bar dries out further than it looks.