Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Copacabana Beach in the upmarket neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro is perhaps the most iconic beach of Brazil — for good reason.

After adventures in the Amazon or exploring its sprawling cities, holidaymakers in Brazil have ample opportunity to do little more than lie on a towel and pitch up a parasol on its soft sandy shores.

While Europe’s Mediterranean coastlines traditionally steal the spotlight, South America boasts its own spectacular, pristine ...