Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city in Brazil, on the South Atlantic coast. Rio is famous for its breathtaking landscape, its laidback beach culture and its annual carnival.
The harbour of Rio de Janeiro is comprised of a unique entry from the ocean that makes it appear as the mouth of a river. Additionally, the harbor is surrounded by spectacular geographic features including Sugar Loaf mountain at 395 m (1,296 feet), Corcovado Peak at 704 m (2,310 feet), and the hills of Tijuca at 1,021 m (3,350 feet). These features work together to collectively make the harbor one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.
Rio de Janeiro will host many of the 2014 FIFA World Cup games, including the final, and the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, becoming the first South American city to hold either the Summer or Winter Olympics.
It is a common mistake to think of Rio as Brazil’s capital, a distinction it lost on April 21st 1960 when Brasilia became the capital. Beaches such as Copacabana and Ipanema, the Christ The Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) statue, the stadium of Maracanã and Sugar Loaf Mountain (Pão de Açúcar) are all well-known sights of what the inhabitants call the «marvelous city» (cidade maravilhosa), and are also among the first images to pop up in travelers´ minds, along with the Carnaval celebration.
The South Zone holds most of Rio’s landmarks and world-famous beaches, in an area of only 43.87 square km (17 square miles). Many of them are within walking distance of each other (for instance, the Sugar Loaf lies about 5 miles from Copacabana beach). Most hotels and hostels are located in this part of the city, which is compressed between the Tijuca Range (Maciço da Tijuca) and the sea. There are important places in other regions as well, such as Maracanã stadium in the North Zone and the many fascinating buildings in the Centre.
If you plan on staying in Rio for more than a couple of days it would be good to invest in a copy of «How to be a Carioca«(Priscilla Ann Goslin, Livros TwoCan Ltda, R$32). This is an amusing look at the people of Rio and will help you enjoy the city as well as appear less of a `gringo` when you hit the streets.
Get in
By plane:
The distance from Oslo to Rio is 10342 Kilometers / 5580.5 Nautical Miles. The journey takes approximately 13hrs, 21 mins.
International and most domestic flights land at Galeão – Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport (better known as Galeão International Airport) (IATA: GIG) (ICAO: SBGL), Tel: +55 21 3398-5050 (fax 3393-2288). This airport is 20 km away from the city centre and main hotels. While you can sometimes zoom through Immigration and Customs, be prepared for a long wait. Brazilians travel with lots of baggage and long queues can form at Customs, which are usually hopelessly understaffed.
Flights from Oslo (all airports) to Rio de Janeiro (all airports) for which only one air ticket is needed to fly the route. There are mostly direct flights, but multi-segment flights can also be included, if the airline sells them as one trip – i.e. it is airline’s responsibility to ensure there is enough time to change planes etc. Search for flights to Rio
Getting Around
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 taxis are not too expensive on a kilometre basis but distances can be quite considerable. A journey from Zona Sul to the Centro will cost around R$20, and from the airport to Copacabana is around R$75 for example. 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, it charges R$4.40 (March 2011) for the minimum ride, calledbandeirada), and R$1.60 per kilometer. If not, ask the taxi driver to do so. You may be ripped off by some taxi drivers.
If you want to avoid being ripped off then it may be worthing taking a ‘radio-taxi’, particularly when arriving at the airport. Radio Taxis, such as Rio Airport Transfer and others are usually the blue, green, or white taxis and they do cost a little more than the typical yellow taxi. The advantage of a radio taxi is that you pay a fixed rate regardless of the time of day or if there’s heavy traffic etc, this means that you do not risk the price increasing at the drivers discretion.
Buses are still the cheapest and most convenient way to get around the South Zone (Zona Sul) of the city due to the high number and frequency of lines running through the area. For the adventurous or budget traveler, it is worth asking your hotel or hostel employees how to navigate the system or which routes to take to arrive at specific locations. However, you should be mindful of questionable characters and your belongings. By night buses are more scarce, and most lines will usually not be running by the time the bars and clubs are full. Buses start at R$2.20 or 2.35 (March 2010); buses with air conditioning charge higher fares. The fare is paid in cash to a controller or the driver inside the bus, by passing through a roulette. There are no tickets, and try to have change/small bills. Some residents and students have a digital pass card. Keep an eye out for pickpockets when the bus is crowded, and don’t be surprised if your driver goes a little faster and brakes a little more suddenly than you’d like. Except for minibuses, buses now have two doors: passengers get in through the front door and get off through the back (it was otherwise until 2001-2002).
The Metrô Rio subway system is very useful for travel from Ipanema through Copacabana to Downtown and beyond, although it closes after midnight (24 hours during Carnival). The air-conditioned subway is safe, clean, comfortable, and quick, and has much better signage, etc., than most transport in Rio, making the lives of foreign tourists easier. There are two main lines: Line 1 (Orange) has service to Ipanema (General Osorio), the Saara district, and much of Downtown, as well as Tijuca. Line 2 (Green) stops at the zoo, Maracanã stadium, and Rio State University. The two lines are integrated between Central and Botafogo, so check the train’s destination if you board within the integrated section for a destination in the Zona Norte. A one-way subway-only «unitario» ticket is R$2.80 (Jan 2011). The ticket window will give you a card that you insert in the turnstile; don’t pull it out unless you’ve purchased a multi-trip or transfer pass. Rechargeable IC cards (minimum charge R$5, no deposit required) are also available and definitely worth getting if you’ll be in town for a few days.
Too see
Beaches
Despite what many foreigners may believe, there are no topless beaches. Girls can wear tiny string bikinis (fio dental), but it doesn’t mean they’re exhibitionists. For most of them, it’s highly offensive to stare. Until the 1990s, men and boys wore speedos, but since then wearing bermuda shorts or boardshorts has become more common, although speedos («sungas» in Portuguese) seem to now be making a comeback. Jammers are less common but still accepted.
- Ramos (in-bay)
- Flamengo (in-bay)
- Botafogo (in-bay)
- Urca (in-bay)
- Vermelha (in-bay)
- Leme (oceanic)
- Copacabana (oceanic)
- Arpoador (oceanic)
- Ipanema (oceanic)
- Leblon (oceanic)
- São Conrado (oceanic)
- Barra da Tijuca (oceanic)
- Recreio dos Bandeirantes (oceanic)
- Grumari (oceanic)
- Abricó (oceanic, nudist beach)
Abricó is the only official nudist beach in the city of Rio de Janeiro,it lies next to Grumari beach. Only accessible by car/taxi. An option is taking the bus numbered S-20 (Recreio) that passes along Copacabana/Ipanema/Leblon, and from the end of the line (ponto final) take a cab.