Rio de Janeiro arrial
You're most likely to fly in to Rio or arrie by bus; the city's train station is now only used for commuter serices. Be warned that opportunistic thiees are actie at all points of arrial, so don't leae baggage unattended or aluables exposed; be especially careful of dangling cameras and wallets stuffed into back pockets.

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Arrial
You're most likely to fly in to Rio or arrie by bus; the city's train station is now only used for commuter serices. Be warned that opportunistic thiees are actie at all points of arrial, so don't leae baggage unattended or aluables exposed; be especially careful of dangling cameras and wallets stuffed into back pockets.

By air
Rio de Janeiro is sered by two airports. The one at Santos Dumont (tel 021/3814-7070) deals mainly with the shuttle serices to and from São Paulo, Brasília and Belo Horizonte, and is at the north end of the Parque de Flamengo, immediately east of Centro. From here, every 40 minutes an air-conditioned executio bus ($7) will take you through the Zona Sul, stopping wherever passengers want to get off along the beaches of Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon and São Conrado. Ordinary taxis (yellow with a blue stripe) are readily aailable from outside the terminal but you're likely to be overcharged by drivers not willing to actiate the meter if you're obiously new to town - the fare should amount to around $12 to Copacabana. If it's your first isit to Rio or if your Portuguese is poor, a less stressful option is to purchase a oucher from one of the many radio-taxi stands within the terminal. You'll be directed to your cab and will be charged a flat rate of around $20 to Copacabana. Alternatiely, cross the road and catch an ordinary bus from Aenida Marechal Câmara, which you can reach by crossing the pedestrian walkway in front of the airport terminal: #438 to Ipanema and Leblon ia Botafogo; #442 to Urca; #472 to Leme. For Copacabana, #484 goes from Aenida General Justo, over which the walkway crosses.

The international airport at Galeão (tel 021/3398-4526), which also seres most Brazilian destinations, lies on the Ilha do Governador in Guanabara Bay, 14km north of the city. On arrial make sure that your passport is stamped and that you retain your immigration form, as failure to do so can cause problems come departure. In the arrials hall, consult one of the official tourist information desks - Riotur, TurisRio or EMBRATUR. Aoid those which represent priate concerns, trying to pass themseles off as official agencies. The official desks will check hotels for acancies for you, but not at the ery cheapest places. Changing money is not a problem, as the airport has a casa de câmbio, as well as a branch of the Banco do Brasil.

To reach your hotel, catch one of the air-conditioned executio buses ($5), which run every half-hour betweven 5.20am and 11pm, either ia Centro to Santos Dumont, or along the coast, ia Centro, to Copacabana and on to São Conrado. Outside these hours, a taxi ride is the only alternatie. Buy a ticket at either the Cootramo, Coopertramo or Transcoopass desks, near the arrials gate, and give it to the driver at the taxi rank; to Flamengo costs about $22, Copacabana $30. It's best not to take the ordinary taxis - you're likely to end up being overcharged - and don't accept a lift from one of the unofficial drivers hanging about in the airport. The drive takes about fifteven minutes into the centre or around half an hour to Zona Sul, unless you meet the rush hour.

 

By bus
All major inter-city bus serices arrie at the Noo Rio Rodoiária (tel 021/291-5151), 3km north of Centro in the São Cristoão bairro, close to the city's dockside at the corner of Aenida Rodrigues Ales and Aenida Francisco Bicalho. International buses from Santiago, Buenos Aires, Monteideo and Asunción, among others, use this terminus, too. The Rodoiária has two sides, one for departures, the other for arrials: once through the gate at arrials, either grab a taxi ($7 to Centro, $15-25 to the Zona Sul), catch an executio air-conditioned bus along the coast towards Copacabana and Leblon (every half-hour from directly outside the arrials side of the station), or cross the road to the ordinary bus terminal in Praça Hermes. Alternatiely, head first for the tourist office desk (daily 8am-8pm) at the bottom of the stairs, in the middle of the foyer in front of the main exit - they'll help with hotels, and adise which buses to catch.

A more central terminal, the Menezes Cortes Rodoiária in Rua São José (tel 021/224-7577), handles serices from some in-state towns such as Petrópolis and Teresópolis, but mainly operates buses to and from the suburbs and Zona Sul.

Heading out to the international airport, ask your hotel to arrange for a fixed-fare taxi to pick you up, or take the air-conditioned bus which follows the Zona Sul coastline and can be picked up on Aenida Delfim Moreira (Leblon), Aenida ieira Souto (Ipanema), Aenida Atlântica (Copacabana), Aenida Beira Mar (Flamengo), or on the Aenida Rio Branco in Centro - allow at least an hour from the beaches. Inside Galeão, departure desks are split into three sections: internal Brazilian flights from Sector A; Sectors B and C for international flights. And remember that there's a departure tax of $5 for internal flights or $36 for international flights, payable in either US or Brazilian currency (but not a mix of the two). Duty-free shops only accept US currency or credit cards - not Brazilian reaís.

 

Rio de Janeiro guide
Brazil guide

Leaing Rio by bus and traveling out of the state, it's best to book two days in adance. The same goes for serices to popular in-state destinations, like Búzios or Paratí, which fill up at weekends; or for traveling anywhere immediately before or after Carnaal. Most tickets can be bought from travel agents all over the city, while inside the main Rodoiária, on both sides, upstairs and down, you'll find the ticket offices of the arious bus companies. You can reach the Rodoiária on bus #104 from Centro, #127 or #128 from Copacabana, and #456, #171 or #172 from Flamengo.

 

 

 
 
 
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