Santos Dumont Airport (SDU) is the second most important airport in Rio, used mainly to connect the two largest cities in Brazil — Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. In fact, there are shuttle flights all day long from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The greatest advantage of Santos Dumont Airport is that it is right in Downtown Rio (the business district, and also old Rio). On the other hand, very few international travelers use it as most domestic flights land on/take off from GIG (the international one), and not from SDU.
How to get to SDU in Rio de Janeiro
By taxi
Most hotels in Rio are in Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon, and Leme, which are the most popular neighborhoods along the coast of Rio de Janeiro. A taxi ride from any of these areas to SDU will cost approximately R$ 30-45 (Brazilian money), and take approximately 15-40 minutes depending on the neighborhood and time of the day.
Other neighborhoods that have hotels are Flamengo, Largo do Machado, Catete, and Botafogo. These neighborhoods are closer to SDU (except Botafogo), but not as nice to stay at as the other areas along the coast mentioned above.
The farthest away area (where there are several big hotels such as Sheraton Barra and Windsor Barra) is Barra da Tijuca. The neighborhood is quite far from Santos Dumont Airport (roughly 26 km/17 miles). The problem is not so much the distance but the time spent on traffic to get from Barra da Tijuca to Santos Dumont Airport. Spare easily 40 minutes to 1 hour and a half to cover the route. Count on R$ 60.
By bus
Another alternative is to take the Real Premium air-conditioned bus that goes along all the neighborhoods mentioned above. Bear in mind that it takes about half-hour of waiting at the bus stop until you see it coming. Ask for the bus stop directions at the hotel concierge.
By subway
Rio de Janeiro Downtown is served by the subway, and has several stations. However, the closest station (Cinelandia) is easily a 20-minute walk from SDU (not recommended at night, very early morning, or on weekends). Besides, Rio has only two lines of subway (a third one will be ready until 2016), and many stations are far from hotels.
The bottom line is the easiest, safest, and best way to get to Santos Dumont is by taxi.
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