You can easily take a bus at Rio International Airport (GIG) to Leblon District. The air-conditioning airport bus runs every day from 5:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m., departs every half hour and costs R$12; US$6; €5 paid in cash (only Brazilian currency accepted — you can get cash with your card at an ATM or exchange major foreign currencies such as US dollars or euros at the airport).
Note that from Rio airport to Leblon Beach by bus is quite a long ride, the travel time takes from 1:15 minutes to 2 hours, since Leblon is one of the last neighborhoods the bus goes by, hence it takes so long. Besides, if you land during rush hours (morning on weekdays) there will be a few sections along the route with heavy traffic in the direction “airport-Leblon”.
Taking the airport bus is the cheapest choice for solo travelers on a budget who can not afford a yellow taxi at approximately 47-56 reais (23-27 U.S. dollars or 20-24 euros). Note that there is no train or subway line from Rio airport to Leblon.
You can take the same bus back to the international airport (GIG) or to Santos Dumont (SDU; Rio-São Paulo shuttle airport). The bus stop on the Leblon Beach avenue (Avenida Delfim Moreira) is in front of major hotels such as Marina Palace and Marina All Suites. By convention the bus driver stops at these hotels if he sees a traveler standing with luggage in front of it ; there is no real bus stop station, information panel, schedule, itinerary or anything that indicates that the bus stops there!
There is no precise bus schedule on the way back to the airport, although there should be a bus approximately every 30 minutes. If by any chance you arrive at the bus stop right after one has gone, you might need to wait 30 minutes for the next one. For that reason, is not usual to see travelers giving up and taking a yellow taxi.
Bottom line is if you are on a budget or want to experience the bus, allow enough time on the way back to airport.
Learning how to go by bus from the airport to Leblon and vice-versa is only a fraction of the information you should learn when travelling to Rio. Read all the important, updated and relevant information on transportation in My Rio Travel Guide – The Essential How-To Visitor’s Guide to Rio de Janeiro.
Read related articles:
- ► Cost of taxi from Rio de Janeiro airport to Leblon
- ► Rio de Janeiro Airports
- ► Rush hour time in Rio de Janeiro
