Brazil - How long to GIG and GRU airport in cab?

I've never been to Brazil and besides being excited about the upcoming trip, I was also curious as to the time to allocate for a cab ride from:

1) To GIG airport from Leme on Monday morning (flight leaves at 10:20 am)

and

2) To GRU airport from the Jardins on Saturday evening (flight leaves at 9:00 pm).

Should I leave 2.5 hours before the flight - I will have luggage to check.

Thanks!

I've never been to Brazil and besides being excited about the upcoming trip, I was also curious as to the time to allocate for a cab ride from:

1) To GIG airport from Leme on Monday morning (flight leaves at 10:20 am)

and

2) To GRU airport from the Jardins on Saturday evening (flight leaves at 9:00 pm).

Should I leave 2.5 hours before the flight - I will have luggage to check.

Thanks!

2.5 hours seems very adequate.

1) To GIG Monday a.m, most traffic will be the other way around, coming to Rio de Janeiro city, so you will not experience any problems.

2) To GRU Saturday p.m, again, this is weekend so you wont experience any traffic.


In both cases, under normal scenario, you will be able to make the trip in 30min.

Rgs,

2.5 hours seems very adequate.

1) To GIG Monday a.m, most traffic will be the other way around, coming to Rio de Janeiro city, so you will not experience any problems.

2) To GRU Saturday p.m, again, this is weekend so you wont experience any traffic.


In both cases, under normal scenario, you will be able to make the trip in 30min.

Rgs,

No traffic - that's great!

Thanks!

I will never forget that last year I did GRU>CGH in about ~15min on a week day by taxi. I arrived with AZ in GRU, which was the first intercontinental landing in GRU early in the morning, ~4.40am. My baggage was quickly on the baggage belt, immigration was empty (I was on Magnifica hence the first pax to actually pass though immigration), customs again fast, plenty of taxis available, no traffic. However...try to do the same after 6.30am and the journey will be considerably longer, especially if you are heading for CGH....

I am always very lucky with GRU and always have good experiences. KLM arrives in GRU late afternoon, when the airport is still iddle: immigration/customs/baggage very quick, the traffic to Sao Paulo is okay because the heavy flux is from Sao Paulo. I am also used to taking cabs weekends Sao Paulo city > GRU to get the KLM departure about 9pm and it always takes me less than 30min.

This is why I also prefer the daylight AF CDG-GIG A330, arriving in GIG late afternoon and departing later in the evening. The reasoning is the same, you are counter-flux regarding the traffic.

Rgs,

I do Copacabana-GIG on Monday mornings quite frequently. Leme is the same distance since I am on one side of Avenida Princessa Isabel and Leme is on teh other side of it.

I allow one hour and have never run longer than that. BTW, I also make that trip sometimes on friday afternoons, the absolute worst time to do it. I allow two hours then, and usually make it in about an hour.

To GIG you have safety if you allow an hour for Monday morning, just as hardiwv says..

I do Copacabana-GIG on Monday mornings quite frequently. Leme is the same distance since I am on one side of Avenida Princessa Isabel and Leme is on teh other side of it.

I allow one hour and have never run longer than that. BTW, I also make that trip sometimes on friday afternoons, the absolute worst time to do it. I allow two hours then, and usually make it in about an hour.

To GIG you have safety if you allow an hour for Monday morning, just as hardiwv says..

Very good reminder. Regarding Rio, note that if passenger is in Lagoa, Ipanema or Leblon, you have to mind the traffic around Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, which sometimes gets jammed before the Rebouças Tunel. Also when you have big shows in Copacabana the traffic around Lagoa gets jammed and you have to allow extra time to get to GIG (I remember I landed in GIG in the evening of the show of Roberto Carlos and it was a headchache to get to Ipanema and my taxi driver was really good). There are other situations which may slow down the traffic around Lagoa, for example, the giant Chirstmas Tree in Lagoa attracts a lot of people in the evenings of weekends which again could lead to traffic jams.
;)

All in all, as you said, if you allow 1h you will be okay, especially for the times mentioned by doubled79.

Rgs,

Traffic conditions in Rio are highly volatile, as there are only two corridors (Lagoa+Rebouças and Aterro+Perimetral) connecting the densely populated Zona Sul with GIG and most other exit routes from the city (Ave. Brasil, Red Line, Rio-Niterói Bridge). Any accident or broken vehicles usually causes a large scale disruption.

There is a tool one can use to check traffic conditions before hitting the road:

http://transito.rio.rj.gov.br/

These are real-time images from cameras along the main routes. Not all routes are covered, not all cameras work all the time, but I have found them very useful.

- - -

I also use these cameras to check the weather at home while traveling, specially just before my trip back.

Traffic conditions in Rio are highly volatile, as there are only two corridors (Lagoa+Rebouças and Aterro+Perimetral) connecting the densely populated Zona Sul with GIG and most other exit routes from the city (Ave. Brasil, Red Line, Rio-Niterói Bridge). Any accident or broken vehicles usually causes a large scale disruption.

There is a tool one can use to check traffic conditions before hitting the road:

http://transito.rio.rj.gov.br/

These are real-time images from cameras along the main routes. Not all routes are covered, not all cameras work all the time, but I have found them very useful.

- - -

I also use these cameras to check the weather at home while traveling, specially just before my trip back.

I think you summarised it quite well. And thanks for sharing the very useful link.

The construction of the BRT from Barra to GIG will certainly make it easy to travel from Barra to GIG, but as you said, solutions are needed in terms of easing the two Zona Sul "exit corridors" (Lagoa/Rebouças and Aterro/Perimetral) connecting densily populated Zona Sul with GIG. The Rebouças Tunel, for example, dates from 1967 (!!!) and had to cope with all added traffic over the last 4 decades!

Reaching SDU is a different story, if you are in Ipanema/Lagoa/Leblon, you have two main options: either via Copacabana or via Humaitá (which is my preferred option).

Rgs,

I will never forget that last year I did GRU>CGH in about ~15min on a week day by taxi. I arrived with AZ in GRU, which was the first intercontinental landing in GRU early in the morning, ~4.40am. My baggage was quickly on the baggage belt, immigration was empty (I was on Magnifica hence the first pax to actually pass though immigration), customs again fast, plenty of taxis available, no traffic. However...try to do the same after 6.30am and the journey will be considerably longer, especially if you are heading for CGH....

I am always very lucky with GRU and always have good experiences. KLM arrives in GRU late afternoon, when the airport is still iddle: immigration/customs/baggage very quick, the traffic to Sao Paulo is okay because the heavy flux is from Sao Paulo. I am also used to taking cabs weekends Sao Paulo city > GRU to get the KLM departure about 9pm and it always takes me less than 30min.

This is why I also prefer the daylight AF CDG-GIG A330, arriving in GIG late afternoon and departing later in the evening. The reasoning is the same, you are counter-flux regarding the traffic.

Rgs,

Not trying to be picky here but the distance GRU-CGH is about 40km, that would mean an average speed of 160km/h to allow you to do it in 15minutes...

Wow - what a wealth of information!

Wow - what a wealth of information!

We all know there is no such thing as a simple answer at FlyerTalk. YMMV!:D

Not trying to be picky here but the distance GRU-CGH is about 40km, that would mean an average speed of 160km/h to allow you to do it in 15minutes...

It will depend on which route you take. I have timed the taxi ride and it took me a little bit more than 15 min, but certainly less than 20 min! This is why I said, I will never forget it. Plus the taxi drivers of Guaru Coop cannot drive above 120km/h.

It has been such a perfect travel that I was booked on G3 CGH-NVT departing 09.28 and could check in for G3 CGH-NVT departure 06.34! :p

I arrived at about AZ 04.40am, passed immigration, collected my baggage, cleared customs, walked to taxi kiosk, paid the taxi, caught the Guaru Coop taxi, paid fee for changing G3 flight to earlier one....and......before the departure of my flight, I had a cup of coffee at Casa do Pao de Queijo in CGH :cool: ... which departed on time....BUT....when G3 was due to prepare for landing in NVT the airport closed and flight had to divert to FLN.... all pax got bussed from FLN airport to NVT airport and when we arrived in NVT the G3 09.28 flight had already landed :mad:

Rgs,

Rgs,

It will depend on which route you take. I have timed the taxi ride and it took me a little bit more than 15 min, but certainly less than 20 min! This is why I said, I will never forget it. Plus the taxi drivers of Guaru Coop cannot drive above 120km/h.

It has been such a perfect travel that I was booked on G3 CGH-NVT departing 09.28 and could check in for G3 CGH-NVT departure 06.34! :p

I arrived at about AZ 04.40am, passed immigration, collected my baggage, cleared customs, walked to taxi kiosk, paid the taxi, caught the Guaru Coop taxi, paid fee for changing G3 flight to earlier one....and......before the departure of my flight, I had a cup of coffee at Casa do Pao de Queijo in CGH :cool: ... which departed on time....BUT....when G3 was due to prepare for landing in NVT the airport closed and flight had to divert to FLN.... all pax got bussed from FLN airport to NVT airport and when we arrived in NVT the G3 09.28 flight had already landed :mad:

Rgs,

Rgs,

Please send me the contact info of your driver. Brazil is in dire need of F1 talent.... :D

Please send me the contact info of your driver. Brazil is in dire need of F1 talent.... :D

Dire need? We have all those go kart heros, the taxi who can get the ancient Fiat up to 160 may still beat them though. I do not wish to be in the cab.

Dire need? We have all those go kart heros, the taxi who can get the ancient Fiat up to 160 may still beat them though. I do not wish to be in the cab.

Right but we are having trouble converting them into F1 champs. Also we should not forget that the most common training grounds for Brazilian racers has been impaired in the major cities: regular streets.

Right but we are having trouble converting them into F1 champs. Also we should not forget that the most common training grounds for Brazilian racers has been impaired in the major cities: regular streets.

Well said. let us now agitate for better streets. The minor problem might be the number of candidates who kill themselves and other in their fathers M5's in Rio suburbs.

Is it safe to assume that going from the JW Marriott Copacabana to GIG on a Sunday afternoon would take ~ 30 min.? Our flight GIG-GRU leaves at 19:00. I was thinking of leaving the hotel no later than 16:30 (with bags to check). Obrigado!

Is it safe to assume that going from the JW Marriott Copacabana to GIG on a Sunday afternoon would take ~ 30 min.? Our flight GIG-GRU leaves at 19:00. I was thinking of leaving the hotel no later than 16:30 (with bags to check). Obrigado!

I would allow 45 minutes although you'll probably make it with 30. Depending on the Sunday in question. If there is a 18:30 soccer game at Maracana you will need to allow an hour. Otherwise max 45 minutes at that time. Just check about the game before hand.

I would allow 45 minutes although you'll probably make it with 30. Depending on the Sunday in question. If there is a 18:30 soccer game at Maracana you will need to allow an hour. Otherwise max 45 minutes at that time. Just check about the game before hand.

Thanks jbcarioca. I thought Maracana was closed for World Cup renovations until 2012? :confused: I had considered doing a tour there next month until I heard it was closed.

Thanks jbcarioca. I thought Maracana was closed for World Cup renovations until 2012? :confused: I had considered doing a tour there next month until I heard it was closed.

Maracana is closed. All games are at Engenhao. I went there two weeks ago to watch Botafogo-Flamengo.

Maracana is closed. All games are at Engenhao. I went there two weeks ago to watch Botafogo-Flamengo.

Od course it is. I was having a long-distance memory. Oops!!!
The game today Fla-Flu was awful 1-1 decided on penalties, and that players were in the rain and did not play well at all. You'd think I'd not forget something like that.

Od course it is. I was having a long-distance memory. Oops!!!
The game today Fla-Flu was awful 1-1 decided on penalties, and that players were in the rain and did not play well at all. You'd think I'd not forget something like that.

Flu's goal was thick offside. Fla's goal was a pearl. So a fair result...!

Yes, and now the super-classic derby in the final: Flamengo-Vasco!

Força Flamengo!!!!!

Flu's goal was thick offside. Fla's goal was a pearl. So a fair result...!

Yes, and now the super-classic derby in the final: Flamengo-Vasco!

Força Flamengo!!!!!

So sorry you're with the dark side, including your view of the game. So sorry, you seem like such a nice person, but...

So sorry you're with the dark side, including your view of the game. So sorry, you seem like such a nice person, but...

...but what? :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JYpMGy3qwE

I rest my case... :p

It will depend on which route you take. I have timed the taxi ride and it took me a little bit more than 15 min, but certainly less than 20 min! This is why I said, I will never forget it. Plus the taxi drivers of Guaru Coop cannot drive above 120km/h.
I've done CGH-GRU in 25-30 mins on the airport transfer bus on a Sunday evening. Not sure what route we took but I'm sure an aggressive taxi driver could easily better that at 5am. ;)

So sorry you're with the dark side, including your view of the game. So sorry, you seem like such a nice person, but...
I agree, it's always sad to see naive tourists being preyed on by unscrupulous Flamenguistas. :(

Not only does he miss out on the best looking torcida in Brasil and the opportunity to sing Horto Magiko, the second best song in football (Thanks Panathinaikos), he misses out on nights like these http://youtu.be/LwFp_OJcMkQ