Day trips from Rio de Janeiro
Five trips from Rio, from an imperial summer palace in the mountains to a colonial port the tide deliberately floods.
- Best half day
- Niterói
- Best full day
- Petrópolis
- Worth a night
- Paraty and Ilha Grande
You leave Rio by coach rather than car — the services are frequent, cheap and all go from the same station. The one trip that genuinely fits into half a day is Niterói, across the bay; everything else needs a full day, and two of the five are worth a night.
Niterói — half a day, 20 minutes by ferry
The city across the bay from which you finally see all of Rio. The contemporary art museum is Niemeyer's disc on a stem above a rock and is reason enough on its own; below it is the best view of Sugarloaf and Corcovado in one frame. The ferry leaves Praça XV every half hour and costs what a metro ride costs.
Petrópolis — a full day, 2 h by coach
Eight hundred metres higher than Rio and ten degrees cooler, which is why Emperor Pedro II built his summer palace here. You tour the Imperial Museum in slippers pulled over your shoes, so the parquet survives. In the same town is Santos Dumont's house, which he built without a kitchen — his meals were brought over from a hotel.
Paraty — 4 h, worth a night
A colonial port between Rio and São Paulo, no cars in the centre, with streets the tide deliberately floods to clean them. Schooners run out to the islands, and the hills behind hold waterfalls and cachaça distilleries. In one day it is eight hours of coach for four hours on the ground — hence two nights.
Ilha Grande — 4 h, a night is compulsory
An island with no cars and no tarred roads, and paths between beaches. Lopes Mendes is reckoned one of the finest beaches in Brazil and is two hours on foot or a boat ride away. Until 1994 there was a prison here, which is why the island was never built on.
Búzios — 3 h, a long day or a night
A fishing village that Brigitte Bardot turned into a resort in the sixties, with twenty beaches on a small peninsula. Today it is one street of restaurants and boutiques and quiet coves all round. You come for the water, not the town.
What not to do
- Paraty or Ilha Grande in a day. Eight hours of travel for four hours there. Two nights, or do not go.
- Petrópolis on a Monday. The Imperial Museum is closed, and it is the reason for the trip.
- Búzios at a summer weekend. The whole coast pours in; the same beach is empty on a Wednesday.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Which trip from Rio is best if you only have one day?
Petrópolis, if you want something other than a beach — two hours by coach, an imperial palace and ten degrees of cooler air. If you want the view, Niterói for half a day at the price of a ferry ticket.
Can Paraty be done in a day?
Technically, but it is eight hours of coach for four hours there. Paraty works in the evening and early morning, when the streets are empty — go with two nights or do not go.
Do you need a car for trips from Rio?
No. Coaches from the Novo Rio terminal are frequent, cheap and cover everything listed. A car only earns its keep beyond Paraty, towards the São Paulo coast.
Ready for Rio de Janeiro?
Where to next
Where to stay in Rio de Janeiro
→Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon, Santa Teresa or Botafogo — the district changes the price, the quiet, and how…
São Paulo · 360 km
→A city with no postcard and the best restaurants on the continent — you come for the table, not the view
How well does Rio de Janeiro suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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