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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.
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 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.
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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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