How to get safely from Rio de Janeiro airport to your hotel
Getting to your hotel, pousada or hostel in Rio de Janiero safely is a key to starting your tour of Brazil on a happy note. So what are your options?
There are basically only two sensible choices how to get to your hotel from the Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport of Rio – by taxi and by a bus.
Not all taxis to be had at the Rio airport are recommended. It is best not to use the ordinary taxis, which are yellow with a blue stripe. There are many of them waiting outside the airport but you could best be overcharged if you do not know the route and the driver will take you the long way to your hotel.
You should never accept an offer from a professed driver scouting right by the exit door from the Customs. These people may be drivers with a car indeed but not a taxi and you could very well end up being taken for more than just your possessions.
The best though not the cheapest taxi service is that offered through the taxi booths still within the airport, and you should book one right after getting some Brazilian currency, the real. Their charges will be at least 25% more than the yellow taxi rate but they are safe. They are radio-dispatched taxis and their vehicles are white with red and yellow stripe.
If you don’t mind taking a bus there is a very good option. A company called Empresa Real has buses that leave from right outside the arrival hall every half hour and charge is only R$5 to Copacabana and Ipanema beaches. When asked they will stop at any point along the beach beachfront boulevard. The only problem is that if you still have to walk a few blocks down the street where your hotel is and have lots of luggage, their service may not be as convenient or safe, as carrying all your luggage you will stick out like a sore thumb and may possibly attract attention of an alert thief scanning the street for his next victim.
Remember, think safety first arriving in Rio de Janeiro and starting out your Brazil tour!
