jbcarioca

Another option is just to rent a car and drive yourself. If you have a smartphone Waze or Google Maps works extremely well for routing and traffic congestion. there are tolls but those you can manage easily with no Portuguese.

The biggest advantage of driving yourself is to get around easily once you get to Petropolis.

Several times I have helped friends do that, who spoke zero Portuguese. Everyone survived quite well. I do not recommend this choice for people who are not comfortable with heavy urban traffic and undisciplined drivers, but I do recommend it for everyone else.

Speaking Portuguese is a big advantage but is not necessary. Since the last few years there has been a growth in numbers of people who have some English in major tourist areas. if you have a need somebody will be an English speaker anywhere you go in Petropolis/Itaipava.

there are many who argue that this is a bad option, most of whom have never tried it. You will be amazed how many more options you'll have and how much more time you'll have. By the time you take a taxi to the Rodovia from Copacabana you can be halfway to Petropolis.