edit Rio de Janeiro Travel Guide

• Carnaval - the greatest reason for visiting Rio. A livey party that lasts almost two weeks.

• Pão de Açúcar - the Sugar Loaf mountains, Brazil's top landmark, with an aerial tramway to the top; unmissable.

• Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas - a large lagoon in the middle of South Zone, with great views to Corcovado and Ipanema and Leblon beaches; there are skating and jogging fields all around it.

By plane

• International and most domestic flights land at Galeão - Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport (better known as Galeão International Airport) (IATA: GIG) (ICAO: SBGL), Tel: 3398-5050 (fax 3393-2288). This airport is 20 km away from the city center and main hotels.
• Santos Dumont Airport (IATA: SDU) (ICAO: SBRJ), Tel. +55-21-3814-7070 (fax. 2533-2218). Gets flights only from Sao Paulo and a few other domestic destinations. Located right in the city center, by the Guanabara bay. Airlines that service Santos Dumont are: GOL, Varig, TAM, OceanAir, and Team.

Air-conditioned bus service operated by Real departs every 20-30 mins from 0530-2200 and runs between both airports, the main bus terminal and further along the beachfront in Botafogo, Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon, and has its terminus at the Alvorada terminal near Barra Shopping in Barra da Tijuca. The full run takes at least 60 mins, often double. Single ticket R$ 6. Plenty of luggage space, comfy. A smaller bus, also by Real, same price, runs directly every 30 mins from Alvorada to Galeão by Linha Amarela in as little as 35 minutes, traffic allowing.

Taxis, though considerably more expensive (ex: Galeão - Copacaba R$ 70), are also a convenient way to reach the tourist areas.

• Flying to Rio de Janeiro from the USA and in general from anywhere in the world is getting expensive. Airlines charge fuel surcharges between $25 and $85 each way.

From the US, there are non-stop flights to Rio de Janeiro only from Houston with Continental Airlines, Miami with American Airlines, and from Atlanta with Delta Airlines. From New York, Dallas, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco and most of the USA, you have to make a stop in Miami or in Sao Paulo to get to Rio.

The best seasons to travel to Rio de Janeiro with low airfares are from February (after Carnaval) to May and from August to November. Tickets from New York, for instance, can cost as low as US$699.00 including taxes.

By train

Rio's glorious Central Station, or Central do Brasil, made famous by a movie of the same name, serves mostly local commuter lines (SuperVia), so it's unlikely that you'll arrive through here. It's worth a visit just to see it, though, you can get there either by bus or subway (subway is better; get off on Central station, line 1).

By car

Rio is connected by many roads to neighboring cities and states, but access can be confusing as there are insufficient traffic signs or indications of how to get downtown.

The main interstate highways passing through Rio are:

• BR-116, which connects the city to the southern region of Brazil.
• BR-101, which leads to the north and northwest, and
• BR-040, which will take you in the central and western areas.

By bus

The long-distance bus depot, Rodoviária Novo Rio, is located in the North Zone's Santo Cristo neighborhood. Taxis and coach buses can get you to the South Zone in about fifteen minutes; local buses take a bit longer. Frescão air-conditioned coaches can be caught just off the bus station. The coaches connect the station to the city center and main hotel areas of Copacabana and Ipanema. Bus companies include :

• Itapemirim
• Penha
• Cometa
• 1001
• Expresso Brasileiro

By boat

Ferries (barcas) connect neighboring Niteroi to Rio de Janeiro and arrive at Praça XV, in the city center.

By Taxi

A cab is one of the best ways to move around Rio. All legal cabs are yellow with a blue stripe painted on the sides. Taxis not designed like this are special service cars (to the airport or bus stations) or illegal. Rio has some of the cheapest taxi systems in the world, so don't bother spending a little more in exchange of speed and safety. Most of the tours in the South Zone will cost around R$15, and the car can usually hold four people. You can ask a cab for a city tour, and arrange a fixed price (may be around US$20). Major taxi companies include Central de Taxi, Ouro Taxi and Yellow Taxi.

After getting into the taxi, check to see if the taximeter has been started (as of December 2006, it charges R$ 4.30 for the minimum ride, called bandeirada). If not, ask the taxi driver to do so. You may be ripped off by some taxi drivers. Avoid the blue, green, and white taxis as they tend to charge considerably more for the same ride.

Prior to arriving at the airport, it may also be useful to pre-book your transportation to your hotel. Although there are not many reputable companies offering this service online, some, such as Rio Airport Transfer, allow you to book and pay before you leave home. For those of you visiting Rio de Janeiro for the first time, this is highly recommended as it means you will have someone waiting for you on the airport concourse, and you will avoid the hassle of haggling with the local taxi drivers

By Car

Traffic within some parts of Rio can be daunting, but a car may be the best way to reach distant beaches like Grumari, and that can be an extra adventure. Avoid rush-hour traffic jams in neighborhoods such as Copacabana, Botafogo, Laranjeiras, and Tijuca, where moms line up their cars to pick up their children after school. In Rio, most road signals are placed after the curve you were supposed to take, and do not help unless you already know how to go there. Buy a map, and have fun.

By Mass Transit

By Foot

Police

In Brazil, every state has two police forces: the Civil (Polícia Civil) and Military (Polícia Militar). Only the latter wear uniform (in Rio, it is navy blue). The city of Rio also has an unarmed Civil Guard, dressed in khaki. Policemen can usually be trusted, but corruption in Brazil is still rampant and a few officers may try to extort you or demanding a little bribe. When this happens, it is usually very subtle, and the officer may typically say something about "some for the beer" (cervejinha). If you are not willing, refuse and ask for another officer. Don't ever try to bribe a policeman on your own - most of them are honest and you might end up in jail.

The local emergency dial number is 190.

Fire Department

Hospitals

Crime

Sadly, most people know Rio for its violence and crime. The drug lords and the slums or favelas are the tip of very old social problems. The favelas are areas of poor-quality housing, slums usually located on the city's many mountain slopes, juxtaposed with middle-class neighborhoods. Avoid the downtown area, especially Saara, after dark. Never go to Copacabana beach at night, you will get robbed. After midnight, you probably want to stay off Avenue Atlantica in general as there will only be prostitutes and beggars out at those times. Also, avoid Avenue Atlantica in front of the Praça Lido park, 3 blocks NE of the Copacabana Palace Hotel. Try walking on the beach side, or even better, detour inland. This is the only block without any businesses, making muggings far more likely.

Favelas can potentially be unsafe in Rio. These slums grew from being impoverished neighborhoods but are now large areas ruled by drug lords. If you want to keep your nice vision of Rio, you don't need to go there. However, they are amazingly huge, and a new experience for some-- there are some travel agencies who take people on tours there. If you want to go, pay one of those agencies. Never, never go to a favela by yourself, or with an unknown guide. The tour operators have "safe-conduct pacts" with the local drug dealers. If you don't have one, you'll be in trouble.

Smoking

• Niteroi - The ferry between Rio and Niteroi, a city across the bay, is a pleasant and cheap trip (as of December 2006, R% 2.10). There are a couple of kinds of boats, ranging from very cheap and slow (called barca) to fairly cheap and fast (called catamarã, catamaran). Niteroi does not have many tourist attractions, but it does have a wonderful unique view of Rio and an intriguing contemporary art museum, which looks like a flying saucer jutting out over the sea (designed by famous architect Oscar Niemeyer). Also, it has one of state's the most beautiful beaches, Itacoatiara, which can be reached by the bus numbered 38.
• Buzios
• Ilha Grande
• Paraty
• Paqueta -- Though not exactly outside of Rio, because it is an island and can only be reached by a 70 minutes ferry ride, this district of Rio makes an excellent (and inexpensive) day trip.
• Petrópolis - In the mountains outside Rio. A good place to cool down when Rio becomes too hot.
• Teresópolis - Another mountain town, near Petrópolis.