One night in Rio

09/14/22 @Kurterino.  We had the same problem in São Paulo last year returning from the US, and I'm anticipating it again, either there or in Rio, this November.  Easy international air travel to and from provincial Brazilian cities, even the biggest ones, was an early casualty of the pandemic, and the airlines don't seem to be in any hurry to bring it back.  It's like we're back in the 1970s, when all international flights landed in Rio, and travelers fanned out from there.

Last year we just ended up camping in the Guarulhos terminal, and this year may be a repeat:  schlepping all the luggage around a huge city for a few hours in a bed didn't seem like much of a tradeoff; paying for extra legroom on the ongoing flight, on the other hand, was a good investment.   I hope that you can find a better solution.

I'm looking at flights to Salvador, and as you might know (or not), prices are considerably higher than the last few years. However my preferred airline has a few interesting offers price-wise, unfortunately they include a very long layover in Rio, about 20 hours. Obviously I would need to spend the night in a hotel, and not knowing Rio at all, I wonder how someone who does, would do it. Airport hotels in many cities are very expensive, with prices on an international rather than a local level, so I would probably rule them out. Which area would you recommend, and how much will it realistically cost, Uber ride included?
-@Kurterino

Let us do some checking for you. Sometimes the BH can find different routes.

From where to where?

I find it hard to believe that there is a 19 hour period with no flights between GRU and SSA .... GOL, AZUL, and LATAM all fly that route, usually with several flights per day...... heck, in a pinch you could take Novo Horizonte in that amount of time......

09/14/22. He's going into GIG, not GRU.

09/14/22 @Kurterino. We had the same problem in São Paulo last year returning from the US, and I'm anticipating it again, either there or in Rio, this November. Easy international air travel to and from provincial Brazilian cities, even the biggest ones, was an early casualty of the pandemic, and the airlines don't seem to be in any hurry to bring it back. It's like we're back in the 1970s, when all international flights landed in Rio, and travelers fanned out from there.
Last year we just ended up camping in the Guarulhos terminal, and this year may be a repeat: schlepping all the luggage around a huge city for a few hours in a bed didn't seem like much of a tradeoff; paying for extra legroom on the ongoing flight, on the other hand, was a good investment.  I hope that you can find a better solution.
-@abthree

In my case I would arrive early/mid afternoon and wouldn't leave until the next afternoon, 21 hours later, so no, I definitely wouldn't wanna wait at the airport, that's just too long.

I find it hard to believe that there is a 19 hour period with no flights between GRU and SSA .... GOL, AZUL, and LATAM all fly that route, usually with several flights per day...... heck, in a pinch you could take Novo Horizonte in that amount of time......
-@Inubia

Yes there are plenty of flights on the same day, but I'm flying on a ticket from Europe , and as it happens, the flights that continue the same day cost several hundred $ more, like 1250 instead of 900 for this particular date. So I'm seriously considering it, but of course I'll have to deduct whatever this night in Rio is going to cost me, and see if the remaining savings are still worth the hassle.

i usually select flights for convenience, but since I have lots of time, and the savings could be substantial, im looking at options that I wouldn't normally consider…

I find it hard to believe that there is a 19 hour period with no flights between GRU and SSA .... GOL, AZUL, and LATAM all fly that route, usually with several flights per day...... heck, in a pinch you could take Novo Horizonte in that amount of time......
-@Inubia
Yes there are plenty of flights on the same day, but I'm flying on a ticket from Europe , and as it happens, the flights that continue the same day cost several hundred $ more, like 1250 instead of 900 for this particular date. So I'm seriously considering it, but of course I'll have to deduct whatever this night in Rio is going to cost me, and see if the remaining savings are still worth the hassle.
i usually select flights for convenience, but since I have lots of time, and the savings could be substantial, im looking at options that I wouldn't normally consider…
-@Kurterino

So flying from Europe to the US? then GIG? Or Europe to GIG then SSA.

{ can have the wife check flights and you can see your prices. what she finds.

Just let me know, Now bookings in Brazil do go away after 12 hours but she can give flights and times

I find it hard to believe that there is a 19 hour period with no flights between GRU and SSA .... GOL, AZUL, and LATAM all fly that route, usually with several flights per day...... heck, in a pinch you could take Novo Horizonte in that amount of time......
-@Inubia
Yes there are plenty of flights on the same day, but I'm flying on a ticket from Europe , and as it happens, the flights that continue the same day cost several hundred $ more, like 1250 instead of 900 for this particular date. So I'm seriously considering it, but of course I'll have to deduct whatever this night in Rio is going to cost me, and see if the remaining savings are still worth the hassle.
i usually select flights for convenience, but since I have lots of time, and the savings could be substantial, im looking at options that I wouldn't normally consider…
-@Kurterino
So flying from Europe to the US? then GIG? Or Europe to GIG then SSA.
{ can have the wife check flights and you can see your prices. what she finds.
Just let me know, Now bookings in Brazil do go away after 12 hours but she can give flights and times
-@Texanbrazil

No, I'm flying from Geneva (GVA) to Salvador (SSA), but there aren't any direct flights from Geneva anyway, the best I could do is one transfer.  But one-transfer-flights are over 1500$ right now for my dates (November plus 3 months), and that's almost twice what I'm usually paying. KLM does have a few acceptable flights price-wise, but they all include either a night in Amsterdam or a night in Rio. A night in Amsterdam would cost me about 100$, but at least I know the city a little bit. I think Rio should be cheaper , but I do wanna make sure before I book.

So if anyone can help my with my original question, that would be great, because I doubt that you'll find better flights than I did (but thanks anyway).

No problem. we have 3 people who go to Switzerland from Foz to make cheese every year!

I am no help in Rio. Too many years have gone by.

Yeah, I have always up until recently have gone through MIA > REC or ORL > REC but you are right. lately im either going to the deep south or rio or SP  GRU airports.

No problem. we have 3 people who go to Switzerland from Foz to make cheese every year!
I am no help in Rio. Too many years have gone by.
-@Texanbrazil

I mean, I'm not asking for a hotel recommendation, but maybe just an idea which area of the city would be a good place to look for a hotel, eg not too far from the airport, a ‘safe' area, and not the highest priced one, of course.

09/15/22 I mean, I'm not asking for a hotel recommendation, but maybe just an idea which area of the city would be a good place to look for a hotel, eg not too far from the airport, a ‘safe' area, and not the highest priced one, of course.
-@Kurterino

Totally reasonable question.  I think that what's hanging people up about it is that when most people who know Rio think about a "good, 'safe' area" for a hotel, they think Zona Sul -- Botafogo, Flamengo, and especially the Atlantic beaches of Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon, etc. -- which practically by definition are pretty far from the airport.  Personally, I would not stay anywhere in Zona Norte, which is the area most adjacent to the airport.

In recent years we've been using  AirB&Bs for travel within Brazil, but back when I used hotels, I always had good luck with Hotels.com, in terms of both price and safety.  The reviews are helpful, and the pricing is usually pretty good.  Not everything in Zona Sul is super-expensive, and Rio is a pretty compact city, so getting back and forth to the airport should not really be a problem, if you allow enough time.  And if all you really want is a place to crash comfortably and use the wifi, the Rio Airport Hotel looks ok for that.

09/15/22 I mean, I'm not asking for a hotel recommendation, but maybe just an idea which area of the city would be a good place to look for a hotel, eg not too far from the airport, a ‘safe' area, and not the highest priced one, of course.
-@Kurterino

Totally reasonable question. I think that what's hanging people up about it is that when most people who know Rio think about a "good, 'safe' area" for a hotel, they think Zona Sul -- Botafogo, Flamengo, and especially the Atlantic beaches of Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon, etc. -- which practically by definition are pretty far from the airport. Personally, I would not stay anywhere in Zona Norte, which is the area most adjacent to the airport.

In recent years we've been using AirB&Bs for travel within Brazil, but back when I used hotels, I always had good luck with Hotels.com, in terms of both price and safety. The reviews are helpful, and the pricing is usually pretty good. Not everything in Zona Sul is super-expensive, and Rio is a pretty compact city, so getting back and forth to the airport should not really be a problem, if you allow enough time. And if all you really want is a place to crash comfortably and use the wifi, the Rio Airport Hotel looks ok for that.
-@abthree

The Rio Aeroporto is a little bit expensive, but considering that I would save the two taxi /Uber rides , still acceptable. I'll have to think this over really well, I always put convenience before saving a little money, so this would be a first for me. Decisions, decisions….

“One night in Rio” sounds like a chapter from a memoir.

“One night in Rio” sounds like a chapter from a memoir.
-@KenAquarius

I chose the title because it reminded me of the 80s song One Night in Bangkok

@Kurterino

Ah yes l remember it well. I heard it just the other day on the 80s station.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cKkBcmm2cE

So thanks to everyone who chimed in, I ended up finding a slightly more expensive flight, but with no overnight overlay. I would have saved at least between 50-100$ by taking the longer flight, that didn't seem to be worth it.

It's a flight for 1140$ with very short overlays, actually almost a little too short for comfort (I'll only have 50 minutes in Amsterdam to get through security and passport control, to the gate, there's no room for delays. But if there is a delay, the airline will be responsible, since it's all on one ticket, so worst case I'll be stuck in Amsterdam up to 24 hours…).

Funny, less than a year ago, I wouldn't even have considered buying a flight for over a 1000$, 900 was more or less the maximum I ever had to pay since 2009, for intercontinental flights.

@Kurterino I had the same dilemma going to Scotland also with KLM. I opted to stay in SP for 10 hours instead of staying overnight in Rio because there aren't a lot of hotels located close to the airport so you would need to venture closer in to the city where the price of hotels are not cheap in my opinion. Plus safety is always an issue in Rio, so if you are more familiar with Amsterdam, I would choose  that option, it also might end up being the more affordable one.

Oh I didn't see your last post! Great everything worked out!

Have you tried just booking to either Rio or SaoPaul then getting a separate ticket from there to Salvador. Sometime that just as cheap. Also check to Brasilia or even Manaus. Then to Salvador. Sometimes splitting flight is just as cheap

Have you tried just booking to either Rio or SaoPaul then getting a separate ticket from there to Salvador. Sometime that just as cheap. Also check to Brasilia or even Manaus. Then to Salvador. Sometimes splitting flight is just as cheap
-@NewBrazil

Thanks for the suggestion, but I seriously doubt it. I think that's almost never less expensive, except maybe in certain Asian countries, where you can get tickets for international flights for  considerably less than 100$. In Brazil however, I've seen prices for national flights usually over 200US$, which is definitely too expensive to make that work.