Originally Posted by
ChocolateFactory
From what I've read it gets extremely crowded, meaning you'd have to be on the beach many hours before midnight, with lots of pickpockets and where you might not even be able to buy (safe) drinks?
There will be pickpockets on the beach but that’s a given 24/7/365 in Rio. Given the sheer amount of people on the beach odds are it’s prolly the safest night to be there though.
I have no fear of buying unsafe drinks nor have I ever heard of anyone having issues with that. Perhaps you are confusing Rio with Mexico? There will be tons of people selling drinks from beers (in unopened cans) to cocktails.
Unfortunately I can not provide you with any good options of the type you are looking for. I can say that I will be there for NYE as well and we (my wife and her family) are planning on going to the beach ourselves.