Transfers from GIG to Copa, recommendations??
 

Hello All,

Anyone have recommendations for a private car transfer company to pick up from GIG and take us down to Copacabana.

The company have a car/driver sorted for us for the rest of the trip but for reasons unknown we've got to sort ourselves out in getting to Copa.

Any help appreciated!

You can safely take a regular yellow taxi from the airport. Expect to pay about R$60, more if more traffic or further toward Ipanema. Alternatively, the company can spring for 40% more and you can take a pre-paid taxi (for which you can pay by credit card). You will be solicited for this service by a number of attractive young ladies as you exit through the international area of the airport. Get your receipt slip and show it to the driver outside. Private car/driver service seems excessive for this short trip IMO.

There are kiosks for the main pre-paid/flat rate taxi companies as you leave Customs and in the main hallway. As noted, you can pay by credit card. Pay in advance. Metered taxis are found outside the main entrance. Pay in Brazilian Reais what the meter shows (hear there are flat rates to some destinations-- ask). Private car services, such as arranged by a hotel, are the most expensive.

I used Rio Airport Transfers when I went 3 years. Just looked at my files and online and they are still charging the same! £95 for a round trip for 2!

I think I could have got cheaper on arrival but I'm the type that doesn't want to faff about. The girls as you exit seemed to be offering discounts to people walking by, but that may have been because of the time of day.

The taxi ride in was at around midday on a week day. Took about 35 mins. Howver going back was at 6pm on a Monday night and took 90 mins due to the traffic. Don't know if a metered taxi would have cost more in that scenario.

95 GBP is about 550 reais (at current exchange).
That taxi ride in a regular yellow taxi (per car, not per person) is about 60 reais, maybe 90 by pre-paid taxi.
That's a lot of faff, or whatever other name you wanna call it.
Btw, a month's minimum salary, on which many people support a family, is about 200 reais more than that 35 minute ride.

I'll use a yellow cab if they are reliable then. Thanks for the help everyone

Turn right out of the arrivals hall, and get the 2018 Premier bus. It wil only take about 20 minutes more than a taxi and costs 14.50 Real. Free wifi on board so you can trackwhere you are. The password is on the poster behind the driver.

Good to know the bus still operates. I used to take this all the time but haven't been for 8 years and was a good way to go as a single traveler.

Totally recommend this especially if your trip coincides with heavy rio traffic. Last week my Leblon-GIG in a yellow taxi ran 78 reais in somewhat heavy traffic and I wished I had just taken the bus seeing as my taxi had no radio and poor ac. Totally unacceptable.

At the airport if I take a taxi I always go up to the departures level and get in a taxi that someone is getting out of. On the arrivals level, while not common, I and friends have gotten in taxis with rigged meters so I just avoid it at this point.

Just to throw another data point out there, today on my GIG to Leblon taxi ride in zero traffic, literally zero, the total came to 60 reais plus a few reais for our suitcases. So take this as the absolute minimum you can expect.

A little OT...

Taxi fares will increase 10.5% in January 2016.

Common yellow taxis charge more during the entire month of December.

All other months they charge (bandeira 2) from 21:00 to 06:00, and Sundays/holidays. (When the driver turns on the meter a number 2 will show instead of the normal 1, this costs about 25% more).

Uber is not yet available FROM the airport but a good option when returning to GIG. I paid 69 reais for Uber Black with a 1.3X surge price. (The base fare was 53 reais). It was a typical 44 minute trip from Copacabana-GIG. A new clean Nissan Sentra with great air conditioning. (No yellow taxi lottery).

Disclaimer: I have no financial interest in Uber other than being a satisfied client.

An increase happens every year.
Often it takes awhile to reset the meters on all taxis, so the driver may hand you a printed fare card and ask for more than the meter shows.
Please realize that this is not some scam, merely normal practice.

How do I know if the meter has already been adjusted and not to pay the additional fare from the card?

Thanks for bringing this up, do the meters change over the same day with some type of internal clock or could a dishonest driver charge more from the card if his meter was adjusted before the others.

First of all, begin with the assumption that the taxi driver is the run of the mill honest family man out to make a living for his family, and not some scam artist primarily out to cheat passengers out of a few cents.
(yes, a few cents----ex: a typical fare GIG to Copacabana with some traffic could be R$60 --10% is R$6 = U$1.52 at today's exchange rate--Nobody likes to feel ripped off, but this is really pocket change. Can hardly buy a coffee at home for that.)

Afaik, if the fare on the card matches the fare on the meter, the meter has already been set.

As I understood it, the driver has to bring the taxi somewhere official to have the meter changed/updated. That is why there is sometimes a delay in getting all the taxis in Rio updated at the very same hour the fare change goes into effect.

On the meter, there is one of those plastic/wire tamper proof clips. The clip is colour-coded according to the current adjustment in price, if you know the newest colour you should know if the meter is up-to-date and the card should not be used. Offered as a bit of trivia, I do not know, nor worry to much, what January's colour is to be. As one perpetually late, I just worry about getting through the gawd-awful Rio traffic in time to catch my flight. An hour and 20 minutes December 21st, copacabana to GIG!