Travel in Rio is pretty easy, although one can get in a bit of trouble if you end up in the wrong part of town. Cabs are the best way to travel. It's about $2.50 to get in the cab, and the distance charges are quite reasonable. Always check to make sure the cabbie is using the meter and ask him/her to if he/she starts off without it. Few will speak anything but Portuguese, so if you don't, write your destinations on a piece of paper and give it to the driver. I was surprised to find how often cabbies didn't know my hotel's location or the location of the business (a major firm) I was visiting, so carrying a map is always a good idea.

Cabs are also a reasonable means of going to see some sights. If you want to take in Corcovado or Sugarloaf, you can either arrange it with a tour company (see http://ipanema.com/) or just take a cab. The latter is much cheaper, but you'll have to negotiate tickets, transportation, etc., for yourself.

If you want to get away from Copa or Ipanema and try another beach out, I recommend Barra da Tijuca. Barra is a beautiful, wide, white sand beach about 25-30 minutes from Copa. The best way to get there is by minibus. If you stand on the main beachfront roads in Copa or Ipanema, you'll notice little minivans passing frequently, stopping and picking up folks, with cardboard destination signs. These are truly "mini" vans...they cruise the beaches and other parts of town and are an alternative to taxis. The cost from Rio to Barra de Tijuca is 3 reais (it would probably be 20 via cab). Look for a van with a "Barra" sign in the front window and flag it over and ask if it's going to the beach (praia). If the sign says "Recreio" on it, it's beach-bound for sure. You can also take the vans to the shopping centers, such as Barra Shopping or Rio Sul Shopping, or to the Hard Rock Café in Barra. When you're ready to head home, you can flag down almost any minivan and ask if it's going to Copa or Ipanema. The majority are, even if the sign says Centro, Rio Sul, or something else. These minivans seem to have no shocks or seat cushioning whatsoever...your butt will get a real workout.

Another travel option for some locations you may want to visit is the Metro subway system. It's a very clean, efficient, and safe subway system. I use it when I want to head into the Centro area to visit the museums and the termas there. At this point there is only one Metro stop in Copacabana, at Praca Cardeal Arcoverde. You can take a cab to the station and take the subway on from there. The subway costs about 2.96 reais for a "duplo" (round trip ticket) and 1.50 for a "unitario." Eventually the subway system may extend down to Ipanema, and another station in Copacabana (at Rua Siqueira Campos, next to Terma L'uomo) should open sometime around February 2003. For more info on the Rio Metro system, including a map, see http://www.metrorio.com.br/index.asp. Once the Siqueira Campos station opens, this Metro line will become known as the "Terma Shuttle" since many of us will use it to run between the Centro and Copacabana termas (see below).

I am a little bit confused by the metro description. I believe the metro goes all the way to Siqueiro Campos near terma Luomo.
Great report otherwise. A must for Rio newbie.

The Siqueiro Campos station is not open yet; it was originally supposed to open last June, but now they are saying Feb. '03. We'll see. They ran a train into the station in September, but construction on the above-ground part of the station was still underway then.
BD

Bwana,
Thanks for all this great info. I appreciated you showing me the metro system on our trip to 4x4 in September. I posted a little bit about how to do it in a prior post. I had a little more detail than your report--but again, all my knowledge I learned from you. Here is what I said:

Metro: Metro Line 1 runs from the beaches in Copacabana north to the city center. If you are headed downtown in the afternoon or returning from downtown the metro will save a lot of time.

Prices for one way (Unitario are R$ 1.47) and roundtrip (Duplo) R$2.94. When you enter the Metro purchase tickets at the counters. THen walk through the turnstile by inserting your ticket and going through. If you have a one way ticket the turnstile will keep your ticket. For roundtrip your ticket will be returned.

The southern end of the metro in Copacabana is called “Cardeal Arcoverde”. To get there from ask a Taxi to take you to “Metro Arcoverde” and he should deposit you at the steps. Arcoverde is the end of the line and you will only have one option in terms of direction, (note you want to go north or “Zona Norte” from any other station there will be another option for “Zona Sul” which is the direction to take when returning).

From Copacabana take the metro north to downtown. For convenient access to Termas 65 and 44 exit the metro at “Uruguaiana”. When you exit the subway you will have to walk through another turnstile. Do not insert your ticket (even though there is a place to do so) or else the turnstile will keep it and you have lost your return fare. The Uruguaiana exit is under an outdoor flea market. You will be given the option of exiting towards several streets. Exit to “Uruguaiana”.

Exit the metro and you should see Uruguaiana straight ahead of you. Take a right and follow Uruguaiana to the end of the square to “Rua Buenos Aires” which runs perpendicular to Uruguaiana. Walk straight ahead on Rua Buenos Aires for several blocks and you will find Terma 4x4. You will know you are there when you see the sign for the “Whiskeria”.

To return south from 4 x 4, exit the terma, turn right on Rua Buenos Aires and walk several blocks to the square. Enter the metro, take the line south or “Zona Sul” and get off at the end of the line.

Good info, GCL. It will be great when the Siqueira Campos station opens so we can just shuttle back and forth between 4X4 and L'uomo! Maybe would could petition to have them build tunnels from the stations to the termas.

I read and enjoyed your report alot. Can't wait to get back into town...