Rio Airport Transportation Question

[trbarton]

I'm flying to Rio for a 14 day cruise. I'm arriving a few days before & a Brazilian friend suggested using UBER. I'm aware of the taxi options but am interested in UBER. Has anyone used UBER in Rio before & or if so how did it work & what did you pay. I'm staying in the Copacabana area.

 

Thanks!

 

Tom

[VidaNaPraia]

I'm flying to Rio for a 14 day cruise. I'm arriving a few days before & a Brazilian friend suggested using UBER. I'm aware of the taxi options but am interested in UBER. Has anyone used UBER in Rio before & or if so how did it work & what did you pay. I'm staying in the Copacabana area.

 

Afaik Uber is not allowed to pick up at airport terminals at GIG. Apparently you must arrange to meet at a location outside the airport. If you have reasonably fluent Portuguese, this might be easier to arrange.

And just to recap other options:

Regular yellow taxis gotten from the taxi line outside the terminal are reliable, safe and relatively cheap. GIG to Copacabana should run around R$60-70, depending on traffic and how far along in Copacabana you're going.

There is also an inexpensive, comfortable shuttle bus that runs along the main beachfront street in Copacabana.

Another option is the more expensive radio taxis for which you will be enthusiastically solicited as you exit the international area of the airport.

[trbarton]

Afaik Uber is not allowed to pick up at airport terminals at GIG. Apparently you must arrange to meet at a location outside the airport. If you have reasonably fluent Portuguese, this might be easier to arrange.

And just to recap other options:

Regular yellow taxis gotten from the taxi line outside the terminal are reliable, safe and relatively cheap. GIG to Copacabana should run around R$60-70, depending on traffic and how far along in Copacabana you're going.

There is also an inexpensive, comfortable shuttle bus that runs along the main beachfront street in Copacabana.

Another option is the more expensive radio taxis for which you will be enthusiastically solicited as you exit the international area of the airport.

 

Thanks for your information. It has been suggested to pre-pay for your taxi inside the terminal so you don't get taken on a joy ride. Is this a good idea? Yes I read that the yello taxis on the 2nd floor are better & cheaper as you mentioned.

 

Thanks again.

 

Tom😎

[VidaNaPraia]

Thanks for your information. It has been suggested to pre-pay for your taxi inside the terminal so you don't get taken on a joy ride. Is this a good idea? Yes I read that the yello taxis on the 2nd floor are better & cheaper as you mentioned.

 

If the "suggestion" was made by a certain individual destination "expert" on a certain other forum, for your "peace of mind", ignore anything he says; he's spent less time in Brazil than you and gets most of his info from the internet.

 

I actually know a few drivers of regular yellow taxis in Rio. Good family men trying to make a decent, honest living for their families, not scam artists, taking tourists for joyrides.

(If you arrive in Rio with pre-conceptions about being a target for scam artists and robbers, you will have a miserable stay, constantly looking over your shoulder, and might be creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.)

 

There is a taxi rank at arrivals for these regular yellow taxis. These are the ones I mentioned in my previous post.

 

If you want to go upstairs to departures, it is sometimes possible to bargain for a lower flat fare with a driver who does not want to deadhead back to the city. However, you should speak fairly good Portuguese.

Edited December 21, 2016 by VidaNaPraia