Rushfan1

I’ve got a pair of relatives flying to GIG from Europe in late April and will be arriving early evening. Despite their IBIS hotel being really close to Santos Dumont airport, I would like them to take the quickest and most direct route to their hotel.

I know after you clear customs there are the screaming ladies in the taxi booths offering tickets for their cab service. Is it best to bypass them and then buy the taxi ticket outside of the secure area? If not, is there a recommended choice of which of the booths to hit?

Incidentally what is the going fare for a taxi from GIG to close to SDU?

C010T3

You don't really have to bypass them. I think, but I'm not sure, that they are all licensed by the city for special taxi transportation services. Only six of them are licensed by the city for that. Those are:

COOTRAMO
http://www.cootramo.com.br/

TRANSCOOPASS
http://www.transcoopass.com.br/

TRANSCOOTUR
http://www.transcootour.com.br/

ROYALCOOP
http://www.royalcoop.com.br/index.html

COOPERTRAMO
http://www.radio-taxi.com.br/

COOPATUR
http://www.coopatur-radiotaxi.com.br/index.php?to=home

They all have regulated fares by the city's Department of Transportation.

From GIG to the city center, where the Ibis and SDU are located, the fare is R$ 76,00.

If you take the conventional taxi (yellow with a blue stripe) that runs with the taximeter, you only pay at the destination. They also have a fare table when the origin of the ride is either GIG or the central bus station.
From GIG to the city center, the fare is R$ 36,50 from 06h00 to 21h00, but from 21h00 to 06h00 it costs R$ 44,00. Not many cabs respect that fare. They usually start the meter anyway even though it's forbidden from GIG and from the bus station. It's not all that bad, since the fare ends up being almost the same.

If your relatives don't carry a lot of luggage, they could take the bus to SDU, from where they would walk to their hotel.

It's either Premium Auto Ônibus or Real Auto Ônibus on lines 2018, 2101 and 2145, but beware, because the line numbers are not shown on the bus displays. You should ask the driver. Just ask for Santos Dumont, which is better understandable for him. If you see a blue bus like this, it's one of the lines:



The only reason for asking is to make sure it's not line 2918.

http://premiumautoonibus.com.br/site/

SoCal

Why do you "know" there will be screaming ladies at the radio taxi booths (a couple right after Customs and a couple more in the main airport hallway)? Saw it on a post here? A bit of hyperbole, to put it mildly. I've never heard anything approaching a scream, and nothing more than asking if I wanted a taxi (I've also been approached by individuals trying to drum up business for regular taxis outside).

You ask for the quickest and easiest. That would be the radio taxis, since you know the rate in advance and can pay by credit card. But you pay noticealy more than with a regular taxi. If they will have some Reais, then they can simply walk outside the terminal to a line of waiting metered taxis (I think someone there will direct them to the next taxi and MAY give a general estimate of the fare). The last time I took a metered taxi in Rio there was no rule about a flat fare to downtown. Best to have some smaller bills (not just 50s, and certainly not a 100), since taxi drivers don't always have a lot of change.

Cheapest is the aforementioned Real bus. I don't remember it stopping at Santos Dumont on the way from the airport, just the way back, but I could be wrong. If it does go to the airport, that'd be a good place form which to grab a taxi ride for the short ride to their hotel (I wouldn't walk). I don't know how close to the hotel the bus's route goes.

C010T3

They used to shout back in the early 2000s. It was really embarrassing, but it still is, since they continue saying "taxi, taxi, taxi" every time somebody goes by. They were forbidden to do that for a while and they kept using objects to make noises instead.

The rule has been in effect since January 29th, 2008, but nobody takes it in consideration, since the city has never started an information campaign.

I would never take a taxi for such a short ride. I strongly advise anyone against it, since it will only piss off the cab driver. It's a 400m walk! If they manage to take the 2018 line to Alvorada via SDU, they will be able to get off the bus closer to the hotel, on Av. Franklin Roosevelt, but for someone that doesn't know the city, it will be pretty difficult to know the time to get off, since this bus line does not have designated stops along the way. It has an itinerary, but it will only stop where the passengers tell the driver to.

IAN-UK

Taxi. From the screamers

Rushfan1

Despite this being the most expensive, it is the best option under the circumstances.

C010T3, a special thanks for your outstanding posts! Incidentally if I have ever taken a super short taxi ride (i.e. late at night), I always made it very worthwhile for the taxi driver. Indeed it's not correct that they wait in a queue for such a long time only to get the minimum fare.

IaninDC

The screaming ladies are long gone. When I arrived at GIG on a Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving, it was rather calm and organized. We took the Real Bus down to the Sheraton although the Omnibus mentioned above is just as good. The trip in non-rush hour between GIG and SDU is around 20 minutes. If you go the taxi route, the fare should be something like R$30 or so.

C010T3

Premium is the new name of Real.

RafKa

Despite the steep cost, I would recommend a taxi from the screaming ladies (and yes, they still scream or at least repeat taxi over and over)... A regular cab is cheaper, but chances are the driver will not speak a word of English, and they are dodgy taxis there, even giving locals a hard time, nevermind first-timers.

I would seriously advise against any option involving walking from SDU to the Ibis, especially if after dark. They would need to go under a 6-lane carriageway underpass, under stifling heat/ watchfull eyes of anyone who thinks there may be a jackpot. In fact, not wanting to sound overly negative, the area around the Ibis is mostly deserted and unsafe at night: would advise always taking cabs.

3544quebec

Not wishing to contradict local knowledge but don't you walk across a small park with a zillion taxi/limo drivers waiting for fares and police regularly patrolling to move along illegal parkers and the entrance to the Air Force base 20m to your right, then go over a well-traversed pedestrian bridge turn a corner and walk a block to arrive at the Ibis? Or maybe in preparation for the Olympics a 6 lane carriageway underpass has been built in the 6 months since I was last at SDU

C010T3

Nothing has changed. RafKa, if local, belongs to that crowd that drives to the corner bakery and has never walked through that part of town.

boboqui

Safety awareness should always be kept in mind while in Rio, so take a cab, better be safe than sorry!

3544quebec

You are probably more at risk of being belted by the taxi driver who has waited over an hour in the queue for your R5 fare

Edit: Belatedly realise that your suggestion is probably to take a cab from GIG not SDU significantly increasing the price of the fare from R5 and commensurately decreasing the chance of being belted by the taxi driver - but in Rio still an outside chance though

RafKa

I work in that part of town, and therefore know it very well. Well enough to know that 2 gringoes with luggage are just too tempting for a mugger. If you want to dispute "local knowledge" and not do like "those posh people", be my guest, but don't advise it to people who are totally unfamiliar with the area. And we don't know what time of the day they are arriving. Has it occured to you that they may be on the BA flight from London which arrives at 10:00PM? I've seen people get mugged for their Timex after dark downtown, why parade with a treasure trove of items?

Just get in the queue for the taxi, give him BRL 20 for his hassle, and ask to be taken to the hotel. Beats getting mugged/run over by a bus.

C010T3

If you read the whole thread, you wouldn't be writing such nonsense, but, wait... "Run over by a bus"??? I guess that it wouldn't have mattered.