Rio's public transport system is cheap and effective: most places can be reached by metrô, bus or taxi, or a combination of these, while for getting about the state you might want to rent a car - though driving in the city itself is not recommended unless you have nerves of steel. 

Metro  (subway)
The safest and most comfortable way to travel is by using Rio's metrô system, in operation since 1979. It's limited to just two lines, which run from Monday to Saturday, 6am to 11pm: Line 1 runs from Copacabana (Cardeal Arcoverde station), north through Centro and then out to the Sãens Pena station in the bairro of Maracanã; Line 2 comes in from Maria de Graça, to the north of the city, via the Maracanã stadium, and meets Line 1 at Estação Central, by Dom Pedro II train station. The system is well designed and efficient, the stations bright, cool, clean and secure, and the trains air-conditioned, a relief if you've just descended from the scorching world above.

Tickets are bought as singles ( ida; 50¢) or returns ( doplo; $1), or are valid for ten journeys ( dez; $5). Ten-journey tickets can save time, but cost the same and can't be shared, as the electronic turnstiles only allow entrance at eight-minute intervals. You can also buy integrated bus/metrô tickets ( integrades; 70¢), useful for making the link between the metrô station at Botafogo and Ipanema or Leblon. You catch the buses directly outside the metrô station: they both run circular routes between Botafogo and Leblon, the #M21 going via the "Jóquei Clube", the #M22 via Copacabana.

Ferries
From Praça XV de Novembro ferries transport passengers across Guanabara Bay to the city of Niterói and to Paquetá Island, a popular day-trip destination to the north of Guanabara Bay. The ferries are extremely cheap and the view of Rio they afford, especially at sunset, is well worth the effort. The thirty-minute crossings to Niterói are very frequent and cost 75¢; just turn up and buy a ticket. The CONERJ company ferries (Companhia de Navegação do Estado de Rio de Janeiro;  Phone 021/533-6661) run Monday to Saturday, every fifteen minutes from 6am to 11pm; Sunday and public holidays, every thirty minutes from 7am to 11pm. To the island of Paquetá, there are eight departures a day from 5.30am to 10.30pm and tickets cost about $1.50; crossings take eighty minutes. Also from Praça XV de Novembro, Transtur ( Phone 021/533-4343) operates hydrofoils to Paquetá (departures every hour Mon-Fri from 10am to 4pm, Sat, Sun & holidays 8am to 3pm; 30min); tickets cost around $5 on weekdays and $8 at weekends. Transtur also operates to Niterói every seven minutes from 6.15am to 8.15pm; the journey takes ten minutes and costs $3.  

Tram
Rio's last remaining electric trams , the bondes (pronounced "bonjis"), climb from near Largo Carioca, across the eighteenth-century Aqueduto da Carioca, to the inner suburb of Santa Teresa and on to Dois Irmãos. Two lines run every fifteen minutes between 5am and midnight: the one for Dois Irmãos permits you to see more of Santa Teresa; the other line terminates at Largo do Guimarães. The trams still serve their original purpose of transporting locals, and haven't yet become a tourist service. The views of Rio are excellent, but beware of the young men who jump onto the tram and attempt to relieve you of your possessions.

The best times of day to ride the tram are mid-morning and mid-afternoon when it's less crowded and, consequently, less chaotic. For added safety, hop on a tram that's carrying a police officer to watch over tourists. The tram station is downtown behind the monumentally ugly Petrobrás building and adjacent to the Nova Catedral. Waiting passengers stand in eight lines, one for every row of seats on the tram; the fare is about 50¢ which you pay on board.

On Saturdays at 10am, a special tram service is laid on for tourists ($2). This goes way beyond the normal Dois Irmãos terminal, leaving the built-up area of Santa Teresa and entering the edge of the Tijuca forest, a good starting point for a stroll.

Taxis
Taxis in Rio come in two varieties: yellow ones with a blue stripe which cruise the streets; or the larger and more comfortable radio cabs , white and with a red and yellow stripe, ordered by phone. Both have meters and, unless you have pre-paid at the airport, you should insist that it is activated, and check too that it has been cleared after the last fare. The flag, or bandeira, over the meter denotes the tariff. Normally this will read "1", but after 10pm, and on Sundays, holidays and throughout December, you have to pay twenty percent more; then the bandeira will read "2".

Generally speaking, Rio's taxi service is reasonably priced (Centro to Ipanema costs around $9, Botafogo to Copacabana around $4) and it is not in the cabbies' interest to alienate tourists by ripping them off; the only time to avoid ordinary (yellow and blue) taxis is when you're coming into town from an airport. However, late at night, drivers often quote a fixed price that can be up to three times the normal fare. Radio cabs are thirty percent more expensive than the regular taxis, but they are reliable; companies include Central de Táxi ( Phone 021/593-2598), Coopertramo ( Phone 021/560-2022) and Transcoopass ( Phone 021/590-2220)

Rio de Janeiro guide
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