Rio to Buzios
 

Can someone recommend me a way to get to Buzios without renting a car? Is Shuttles common? I would be carrying luggage so i do not want to do a regular metro bus.

Also estimated cost if you know it.

Bus is the most common way of going there. There are plenty of departures every day from the bus station.

Taxi.

Below is a link with some information for you

http://www.buziosturismo.com/eng/comochegar_index.php

Assuming you are staying at a pousada they can easily arrange transfers.

Certainly not the cheapest option out there. I'm not even sure that most taxi drivers would be up for the trip without a surcharge.

Rio-Buzios RT in May for the day. No surcharge.

If the subject of price is a concern, better then not to go to Brasil. The USD exchange then was roughly equal to the CHF. ( $1.USD = R$1.5, today $1.=R$1.72 ). It is very expensive.

Everywhere the subject of price is a concern, and yet people go to visit anyway.

How much did that taxi fare cost to get from Rio to Buzios each way a few months back?

R$ 150. from Ipanema (Rua Visconde de Piraja).
Return at night was a different driver.

Very little negotiation involved. We speak Portugues which always is helpful, but we are obviously Europeans.

If this is your first time to Brasil, and you are staying at a hotel, it might be wise to let the concierge negotiate and hire the taxi or a driver. There are good limousine services available in Rio, Sampa, and most major cities.

Another option is to fly. TEAM airlines operates flights from SDU to BZC on weekends in Let 410's, 19 passenger planes.

For further information call: (21) 3318-1616
or website www.voeteam.com.br

There are also a number of air taxi options.
Líder Táxi Aéreo - Tel: (21) 2431-5545
Helistar Táxi Aéreo - Tel: (21) 3325-6300
Aeróleo Táxi Aéreo - Tel: (21) 2543-1260
Starjet Tel: (21) 7894-5910 / 3325-5180
KS Táxi Aéreo - Tel: (21) 2431-2305
Team - Tel: (21) 3318-1616
Zeus Taxi Aereo - Tel: (11) 6676-4198 / (11) 9187-8622 (plantão)

For weekend travel one of those can be reasonable, including the helicopter options. The pricing varies greatly with loads, etc, but it is quick and more pleasant than driving IMO.

Most often I do drive myself. As long as you go off hours driving is OK too. renting a car is not difficult and the route is quite well marked and obvious. A GPS might relieve anxiety. Although I know you did not want to rent a car, that is the most convenient way because you'll have a car while you're there.

Lastly several pousadas in Buzios arrange vans/small busses from Rio to Buzios and return. Those have individual pricing, but friends who have used them say they are better than the public busses and they do take you right to your Buzios pousada.

Thanks for the replies. I decided I am just going to rent a car.

Remember that with Hertz Brazil they want you to sign some indemnities, and an international drivers license is needed, not for renting, but in case of police or an accident. They also rent some pretty basic cars so upgrades don't really cut it, you'll need to rent at least middle of the line for such a trip.

For clarification:
1) the basic class does not have a/c and has a 1 liter engine;
2) one class upgrade gets you a/c;
3) two class upgrade gets you power steering and a 1.6 liter engine too.

And so it goes. They do not have a large inventory so make sure you rent the class you want. I am PC and almost never am upgraded without a plea, and sometimes not then.

It is not terrible, but you need to be aware because you'll be driving a long distance.

Have fun!

Hijacking the thread a bit, but what kind of fuel do the rentals take? I'd hate to rent a car in Brazil just because they sold too many types of fuel for me to want to mess with in a rental. I'd be the person putting unleaded gasoline in a natural gas car.

Almost all rentals are flex fuel and accept either ethanol or gasoline. No natural gas cars are in rental fleets here AFAIK. Given current prices I'd use gasoline while driving and refill to return the car with ethanol. They are clearly marked so you'll not have a problem with that.

jbcarioca posted some really good advice.

Rent a car with a GPS ( make sure you´ll get at least a 1.4-1.6L engine ), they´re all flex fuel ( take gas and/or ethanol in whatever combination, rule of thumb if ethanol is below 70% the price of gas go for it, otherwise don´t ) and enjoy the drive.