From the airport, you can take a pre-paid taxi for which you will be aggressively solicited as you exit the international area, or a regular yellow taxi outside the terminal (with the name and phone number of its "cooperativa" printed on the back fender). Pre-paid is twice the price, and IMHO one is no safer, more convenient, cleaner, etc than the other, despite some claims you might read. The Rio taxi drivers I know personally are stable family men just looking to make an honest living and not to rip anyone off. There is also the Real bus, but late at night, not recommended.

Getting around can be done by relatively inexpensive taxi. Leblon is a little further from the major sights than Copacabana or Ipanema though, so expect to pay a bit more.

A good resource for ideas for things to do, if you have time after the major sights of Corcovado and Sugarloaf is www.ipanema.com.

We ate at this churrascaria in Ipanema and loved it

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g303506-d1099703-Reviews-Churrascaria_Carretao-Rio_de_Janeiro_State_of_Rio_de_Janeiro.html

I'd spend one day seeing the main sites (Sugarloaf, Corcovado, etc) and one day walking from Leblon to the end of Copacabana just taking my time.

We had a great driver who took us around one day - would you like his contact information?

VidaNaPraia, so how much should I expect to pay a regular yellow taxi at that hour from GIG to Leblon? Do I need to negotiate with the driver ahead to agree on the price first?

Elizabeth_S, yes, I would love to get the contact information of your driver. Thanks in advance.

Depending on your specific hotel, you may be able to take Shuttle Rio http://shuttlerio.com.br/home/en/index.php/ from GIG. We stayed at the Sheraton Rio in Leblon and payed R$15/pp. They were organized, prompt and friendly.

_____________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

Orlando_Vic, that's where I'll be staying as well. The problem is my flight will be arriving around 12:30AM and the shuttle stops running by then

But...you could take them back to the airport.

_____________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

fatbully, you do understand that the Sheraton Rio is not really in Leblon, and is pretty isolated, which means that constant taxi rides, sometimes in heavy traffic, are really the only alternative not only to get there initially, but to visit the sights? Orlando_Vic, did you experience this or did you think it was not inconvenient at all?

VidaNaPraia, yes, I'm well aware that I will be using taxi as my only alternative to get around. My concern is that being a foreigner (not speaking Portugese) who goes to Rio for the first time, I don't know if the yellow taxi driver will take a long detour before taking me to the hotel. The hotel actually suggested that I should pay 180BRL for a pre-paid taxi (transcoopass??) just to be safe!!

fatbully - I can't comment on the location of your hotel, but we spent 4 weeks in Brazil earlier this year and found the suggested hotel/airport transfer costs so high ("so you're safe") as to be ridiculous.

"Orlando_Vic, did you experience this or did you think it was not inconvenient at all?"

No, it wasn't an inconvenience because we had a private guide (Rio Plus Tours) and she picked us up each morning.

_____________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

Here's the contact info for our driver Roberto ... Given our relatively short time in the city we did hire an English speaking driver for a day - Roberto was great. He picked us up at our apartment and took us to Corcovada first thing in the morning (before the crowds) and then we wended our way down the mountain, stopping at several other beautiful view sites, then through Santa Teresa, Lapa (and the infamous tile staircase) the modern church downtown and ultimately he dropped us at Sugarloaf (the neighbourhood at the base is quite fun). It was 60 Reals an hour and well worth it for us.

Our driver/guide can be contacted via Allen Brooks, an American ex-pat who owns a few private vehicles....very easy to deal with him via email and obviously language is not an issue.

allenbrooks30@gmail.com

I recently stayed at the Sheraton Rio Resort in Leblon. The cost of the taxi from the airport was 62 Real or about $30US. I used the regular yellow taxi outside the terminal. The queue wasn't long (less than 2 minutes)