We are senior travelers who love South America and will be traveling in Brazil for a month. Our flight out of Panama was scheduled to arrive in Brasilia at BSB around 7 a.m. Sunday, November 1 (All Saints Day), with an ongoing flight to Cuiaba for a week in the Pantanal. We have just been notified by Copa Airlines that the flight has been changed to a 1:22 a.m. arrival at BSB. Since our Gol flight to Cuiaba does not leave until noon-ish, we will have a long wait in the middle of the night. The next day, Monday, November 2, is All Souls Day. Will the airport restaurants be open? And, as far as I can tell from my research, there is no Club or waiting area that we might use that will be open. Do you have any suggestions on where we might park ourselves for all those hours? Also, do you think we can check our baggage through from Panama to Cuiaba (Copa to Gol)? Or do we need to collect it after going through customs at BSB and then re-check it with Gol?

I confess that we are "lurkers" here. We have learned/enjoyed so many helpful aspects of travel and thank you in advance for any reassurance you can provide about this hiccup in our schedule.

Nothing is open all night afaik. Get a hotel room. There is a Hotel Zone in the center of the city, the center of the two wings of the Plano Piloto airplane shaped layout of the original city. Take a taxi to get there. The airport is at the far end of the Asa Sul (south wing of the Plano Piloto.
It is safe to travel that route at that hour by taxi. I doubt you can check your luggage through, but that is a question for Copa to answer; contact them. During the morning, you could see the government buildings (the famous Neimeyer architecture) also in the center of the city. There are also a couple of upscale shopping centers with restaurants not too far from the hotel zone.
Any more Brazil questions, please ask.

Samba, many thanks for your common sense response. I have made a hotel reservation. Just wish I had thought of it myself (blush)!

At your invitation, here is another question: do you know if Brasilia taxi drivers accept US$ or only BRL? The recommendations seem to be to avoid using ATM's in airports/stores, etc. and using only those inside banks. If that is indeed the case, we will get some BRL here before leaving.

Obrigado novamente

It is not legal to use currency other than the Brazilian real for transactions in Brazil. However, with the real falling rapidly in relation to the dollar, you might find someone willing to disregard this, but not sure I'd count on it.

What you may have read about airport ATMs applies to those at GIG airport in Rio, which have had a longstanding problem with cloning. Never saw a report about those at any other airport. The advice about those in bank lobbies is given because those locations are usually better supervised, making it harder to install cloning equipment. Banks usually eventually reimburse any funds stolen, but it certainly can be a major inconvenience during a trip. Bring an alternate card or two just in case.

Glad you've opted to stay overnight.

I have to say we are architecture fans and we loved our trip to Brasilia. Even though you're only passing through you'll still get a chance to see some of the iconic buildings as you drive in and out of town. I highly recommend you stop to see at least the cathedral which is magnificent. We also liked the Supreme Court and Foreign Ministry buildings.

Samba, many thanks for your comments. And please excuse the delay in responding...houseguests with all the accompanying brouhaha! We are getting some reals prior to our departure, which just makes sense. Much appreciated.

Well traveled, you are so right! It really would be short-sighted to fail to take advantage of a few hours of Brasilia's iconic architecture. I think I was just so focused on getting to the Pantanal that I overlooked this. And DH and I remember well the coverage of the design and building of Brasilia (yes, we really are that old!). Thanks for the heads up!

The best piece of architecture in the whole city IMO I the JK bridge. Try to find a taxi driver to take you over it.
I do like the atmosphere and light inside the cathedral though; the rest of the Neimeyer stuff has not aged as well as, say, the Corbusier building in Cambridge. There is an architect's miniature version of the city layout (Plano Piloto) in a below ground exhibit/museum (just after the cathedral iirc, going toward the senate bldg). You can also go up the TV tower in the very center of the city plan to see the layout and view.

real (singular) ray-ahl
reais (plural) ray-ice

Samba:

Samba,

Busted! I knew when I typed in "reals" that I should have checked the plural

We have learned that the real is a "restricted" currency, which means that our local bank cannot obtain them for us. Instead, we were referred to a centralized/national office which handles the exchange.

The JK bridge is a thing of beauty. Is it lit at night? And, yes, some of the architecture has not aged well. But at the time...it was a great leap forward, past the boring and dreary and/or fussy buildings that the post-war boom produced.

Thank you again.

You ought to be OK at ATMs at that particular airport or there might be an exchange booth still open in the airport, although the rate there may not be the best. The Panama airport exchange booth may also have reais to sell you. The hotel in Brasilia certainly takes credit cards; it's just the taxi getting there for which you'd need some initially.