Travel to Rio de Janeiro means arriving at Rio de Janeiro Airport, GIG, which has been, since 1999, officially named Rio de Janeiro-Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (Antonio Carlos Jobim was the famous Brazilian composer who wrote “The Girl from Ipanema”). Rio-GIG is the principal international airport serving the city. It is located on Governador Island, about 20 km (12 miles) from the city center. Although GIG it is not Brazil’s busiest airport (that honor belongs to São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport–GRU), it is the oldest and largest.
The year 2016 was a big one for the airport. During that year, Rio was the site of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, which elicited an influx of additional passengers. The airport is actually popularly known by its original name, Galeão International Airport, for it was first named for the adjacent Praia do Galeão or Galleon Beach (Jobim uses that popular name of the airport to refer to it in his noteworthy composition “Samba de Aviao”).
Travel to Rio de Janeiro
Since 2014, the airport has operate by Rio Galeão, a concessionary consortium form by the Brazilian investor Odebrecht and the Changi Airport Group. There is also minority participation by the government-owns company Infraero, which was previously the airport’s operator. The new concessionary has been using the sleeker brand nameRIOgaleão–Aeroporto Internacional Tom Jobim.
The Galeão International Airport is locate 12 miles from the city center of Rio de Janeiro. Transpoert is best arranged through taxi or, as of March 2018, Uber. Cabify is another car-hailing service that can be used as an alternative to taxis.
For those who want to grab a cab, prices are usually fix according to destination. Copacabana, for example, the price ranges from R$ 80 to R$ 120 in the summer ($20 to $30). You pay in cash or card and the company sends you to a safe and generally more educate taxi driver. This is recommend for foreign visitors who do not speak Portuguese.
To Things to Do in Rio de Janeiro
Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer)
This is one of Rio’s iconic attractions. Visuals of the mountain-mount statue have not just become synonymous with Rio, but with Brazil. Indeed, not just the visuals, but the attraction itself, has become popular throughout the world. You can take a train or van or even hike up to the attraction. Of one thing you can be sure — from the vantage of the El Cristo Redentor site, you will receive the best views of the city.
Sugarloaf Mountain
You can also visit and experience Sugarloaf Mountain, which can found in the Urca neighborhood. It is frame and surround by the ocean and accessible by cable car (and by foot for the more adventurous). As with the El Cristo Redentor site, from here there are fantastic views of the city and ocean. A tip for visiting Sugarloaf Mountain. It’s probably best to visit it somewhat before sunset for the incredible views of the city at dusk.
Ipanema
This legendary beach and lionize locale continues from Copacabana beach. It is separate from Leblon beach by the Jardim de Ala Canal. Find a seafront promenade there with large hotels, restaurants, and sidewalk cafes. There are many things to do on this beach, from browsing art galleries, to seeing films in cinemas, to enjoying avant-garde theater to shopping and people watching.
Jardim Botânico (the Botanical Garden)
This 350-acre campus combines an ecological sanctuary with showcase gardens and a scientific laboratory. The highlight of the park is the Orchidarium. It is fill with more than 2000 species of orchids, wooden bridges, koi ponds and bonsai. The park also features a UNESCO biosphere reserve which contains over 8,000 species of plant life with birds and animals like toucans, Marmoset monkeys, and more. One way to tour the garden is via the facility’s electric cart tours.
São Bento
Sao Bento is locate on the hill just above the harbor. It is among the finest Benedictine complexes in Brazil, known for its artistically powerful and striking interiors. Beautiful, intricate wood carvings cover the church’s walls and ceilings. There is also the noteworthy silver work of one Mestre Valentim, the 18th century Brazilian artist and urban, along with a collection of 14 paintings by the 17th century monk Ricardo do Pilar.
Expert Tips for Travel to Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro is the second-largest city in Brazil (after Sao Paolo) and, of course, offers a plethora of historic sites to explore and iconic attractions to enjoy. The Portugese began colonizing Brazil promptly at the very start of of the 16th century. Rio was one of the cities they found. It became a major port for outgoing gold and other metals produced from inland mining areas. Not surprisingly, the city offers stunning coastlines, stately and majestic monuments, and even plenty of vibrant nightlife, for tourists and travelers to experience. Several top things to do in Rio are listed below.
Best Time to Travel to Rio
One can enjoy an enlightening, enjoyable and memorable time in Rio all year round. However, December through March is usually consider the city’s peak season for visitation. It’s a better time to visit Rio, thanks to the more consistently warm and sunny weather — the better to hit the beaches — during those months. If one arrives or stays into February, he/she can even experience Carnival. However, advise that, over the carnival period, it is harder to find an affordable place to stay unless you book ahead. Good alternative periods in which to visit Rio, thanks to at least moderate conditions: during the Southern Hemisphere’s autumn, that is April through May, or its spring, October through November.
Getting Around Rio
The best way to get around Rio is on foot, since so many major attractions can be reached on foot. Of course, you can also opt for a taxi. They’re certainly about the best way to go from the airport to hotels. Not to forget the subway, a fairly easy, clean, safe and swift way to make the rounds of the major attractions. Renting a car is not advisable as some roads are filled with a mélange of disorienting street signs
- Since to best-appreciate Rio, you’ll likely a pedestrian much of the time, be sure to wait for cars to stop before you cross the road — even when you have the green light indicating that you may cross.
- You should definitely avoid making any jungle trek alone: the Amazon jungle is huge, quite dangerous and nothing even an experience traveler should undertake to explore alone — that without at least a guide.
- Brazil and Rio are slowly transcending their reputation for personal robberies and burglaries — especially those perpetrated by youth living in Rio’s slums, the notorious favelas. Although tourists and travelers are now somewhat safer from muggings, thefts of various kinds still do occur. Try to keep belongings in a place where you can safely monitor and control them and where it will otherwise be hard for someone to just grab and run away with them.
- Drink bottle water whenever and wherever possible. The tap water is not quite safe to drink.
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