You can rather easily get from Rio de Janeiro International Airport (GIG) to Ipanema by bus. The modern airport bus from the company Real departs every 30 minutes from the airport and gets to Ipanema Beach one hour to one hour and a half later, depending on the traffic.
The first bus departs from Rio airport at 5:30 a.m. and the last one at 11:30 p.m. You buy the one-way ticket (R$12; US$6; €5) on the spot, in cash (Brazilian currency called “Real“).
Note that if there is no traffic (such as on weekdays from 12 noon to 3 p.m. and any time on weekends and holidays) you can get from Rio airport to Ipanema in as little time as 25 minutes if you take a yellow taxi (R$47-56; US$23-27; €20-24). On the other hand, by airport bus takes minimum one hour no matter how good the traffic is since the bus takes a much longer route than the taxi.
Whether or not to take the airport-Ipanema bus will depend on your budget, on hotel’s room availability upon your arrival, and above all how tired you are after a possibly long overnight flight.
Important: The airport bus would drop you off at Avenida Vieira Souto, which is the beach avenue on Ipanema Beach. If you hotel is on that avenue, you will be dropped off at the hotel’s door. Otherwise, you will need to walk maximum 10 minutes to your hotel since Ipanema has only 7 short blocks.
Undecided whether or not to take the bus from Rio de Janeiro airport to Ipanema? Learn more about transportation to/from GIG airport as well as other important and updated travel information in My Rio Travel Guide – The Essential How-To Visitor’s Guide to Rio de Janeiro.
Read related articles:
- ► Taxi from Rio de Janeiro Airport to Ipanema
- ► Rio de Janeiro Public Transportation
- ► Taxis in Rio de Janeiro
