Rio de Janeiro · Brazil
Where to stay in Greater Rio de Janeiro
Greater Rio de Janeiro is a city in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, home to about 11,900,000 people.
- Best months
- June to August
- Nearest airport
- SDU5 km · Santos Dumont Airport
- Currency
- BRLBrazilian real
- Time zone
- America/Sao Paulo
- Language
- Portuguese, Brazilian Sign Language
About
About Greater Rio de Janeiro
Greater Rio de Janeiro, officially the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region (Grande Rio, officially Região Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro, in Portuguese) is a large metropolitan area located in Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil, the second largest in Brazil and third largest in South America. It consists of 22 municipalities, including the state capital, Rio de Janeiro.
Grande Rio is an informal way of referring to the aglomeração metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro (metropolitan agglomeration of Rio de Janeiro). It is the second most populous metropolitan area in Brazil, and one of the 20 most populous metro areas in the world.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Greater Rio de Janeiro
See
As Rio de Janeiro was the capital of Brazil during the colonial, imperial, and republican periods - until 1960 -, and Niterói was the state capital until 1975, when this status was transferred to Rio, these two cities have many historical landmarks, especially - but not only - concerning public administration. However, several of these historical sites can also be found all over Baixada Fluminense and Grande Niterói, in part due to the proximity and the historically strong relationships that these two regions have had with the center of Rio de Janeiro.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Greater Rio de Janeiro
5 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Hostel Porto Maravilha | 1.8 km | |
| Ibis Rio de Janeiro Nova America | 7.1 km | |
| Ibis Rio Porto Atlantico | 0.7 km | |
| Novotel RJ Porto Atlantico | 0.7 km | |
| OYO Hotel Vital OYO Rooms | 2.4 km |
All 5 hotels in Greater Rio de Janeiro, with their history and operators
When to go
The best time to visit Greater Rio de Janeiro
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Greater Rio de Janeiro are June to August. February is the warmest month, with average highs of 32 °C; January is the wettest, with about 250 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Greater Rio de Janeiro: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Santos Dumont Airport (SDU), about 4.7 km from the city centre in a straight line; Rio de Janeiro Galeão – Tom Jobim International Airport (GIG, 11 km) and Francisco de Assis Airport (JDF, 125 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
The two major airports are Galeão - Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport (International and domestic flights), in the neighborhood of Galeão, in the Governador Island, North Zone of the capital city, and Santos Dumont Airport (Only domestic flights), in downtown Rio. The main port of the state is the Port of Rio de Janeiro, located in the downtown area of the capital, along the neighborhoods of Caju, Santo Cristo, Gamboa, and Saúde - the sea cruises dock at the port section between the last two.
Getting around
Since the Central Zone is the metropolitan core and, as such, polarizes the entire metro area of Rio de Janeiro, it is served by a large number of urban lines of buses, vans, trains, subways and ferries to the neighborhoods of the South, North, West and South-west zones of the municipality of Rio, as well as to the surrounding municipalities of Guapimirim, Magé, Duque de Caxias, São João de Meriti, Belford Roxo, Nilópolis, Mesquita, Nova Iguaçu, Queimados, Japeri, Paracambi, Seropédica, Itaguaí, Mangaratiba, Niterói, São Gonçalo, Itaboraí, Tanguá, Maricá, Rio Bonito, Cachoeiras de Macacu, and Saquarema.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
SDU · Santos Dumont Airport
GIG · Rio de Janeiro Galeão – Tom Jobim International Airport
JDF · Francisco de Assis Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Greater Rio de Janeiro
Stay safe
Although Greater Rio is not even among the most dangerous urban centers of Brazil, the favelas in this region have had historically a peculiarity. Since the early 1970s, a low-intensity armed conflict for the control of illicit activities in the favelas involving heavily armed drug trafficking organizations and illegal paramilitary groups, as well as government forces, has taken place in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Greater Rio de Janeiro: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Greater Rio de Janeiro?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Greater Rio de Janeiro are June to August. February is the warmest month, with average highs of 32 °C; January is the wettest, with about 250 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Greater Rio de Janeiro?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Santos Dumont Airport (SDU), about 4.7 km from the city centre in a straight line; Rio de Janeiro Galeão – Tom Jobim International Airport (GIG, 11 km) and Francisco de Assis Airport (JDF, 125 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Greater Rio de Janeiro?
Brazilian real (BRL).
Nearby
Destinations near Greater Rio de Janeiro
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.