Travel

CI2025 Travel Information – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Welcome to the official travel information page for the 14th International Conference on Climate Informatics (CI2025), taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Below you’ll find essential details to assist in planning your trip.

Hotel Information

For CI2025, we have not partnered with a specific hotel, as the city of Rio de Janeiro offers a wide range of accommodation types. The FGV Cultural Center is located in the neighborhood of Botafogo, in which we will suggest some options at very close distance to the venue, but there are other neighborhoods with excellent options, and easily accessible to the venue location, such as: Humaitá,Urca, Copacabana, Leme, Ipanema, Leblon.

Suggested Hotels

• Yoo2 Rio de Janeiro, Tapestry Collection by Hilton
  • Address: Praia de Botafogo, 242 - Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, 22250-040
  • Proximity to Venue: 350 m (0.22 mile)
  • Website: Hotel Link
• Ibis Budget RJ (Praia de Botafogo)
  • Address: Praça Joia Valansi, 24 - Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, 22250-200
  • Proximity to Venue: 1 Km (0.62 miles)
  • Website: Hotel Link

Bed and Breakfast

Several short-tem homestay platforms have become quite popular in the last decade, and in Brazil as well. Rio de Janeiro is not an exception and has several options. We do not advice against these platforms, but please be mindful of checking evaluation of previous hosts, security of payment and cancelling guidelines beforehand. As in any large city, these environments may be a target for scams, and can have security issues. Another point to consider regards your ability to communicate in Portuguese, as your hosts and neighbors may have limitations to communicate in a foreign language.

Transportation from the Airport

Arriving at Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro is served by two main airports:

1. Galeão-Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG)
   • Distance to Conference Venue: 28Km (Approximately 30 minutes, in good traffic time by car)
   • Transportation Options:
     • Taxi (Yellow cab, with blue stripes): They use taximeter for charging (often a ride between GIG and Botafogo is around BRL$90)
     • Taxi (Co-op service): Fixed-rate, Taxi vouchers can be bought at the arriving hall, outside customs (credit cards are accepted, and service is bilingual ENG-POR). TransCoopass Website.
     • Ride-Sharing Services: Uber and 99
     • Public Transit: There are some options, but we do not advice taking these, as it is quite far from Botafogo, and security may be an issue when carrying luggage.

Website: RIOgaleão

1. Santos Dumont Airport (SDU)
   • Distance to Conference Venue: 8 Km (Approximately 15 minutes, in good traffic time by car)
   • Transportation Options:
     • Taxi (Yellow cab, with blue stripes): They use taximeter for charging (often a ride between SDU and Botafogo is around BRL$50)
     • Ride-Sharing Services: Uber and 99
     • Public Transit: There are some options, but we do not advice taking these, as it is still quite far from Botafogo, and security may be an issue when carrying luggage.

Website: Infraero - Aeroporto Santos Dumont. Note: The page is in Portuguese, but has a button for automated translation with Google Translate

Directions to Conference Venue

Please check our Location page.

Safety

General Safety Tips

Generally speaking, the city of Rio de Janeiro is one of the largest cities in Latin America, thus facing all the challenges present in developing countries.

Our recommendation is always to be mindful of your surroundings, as well following protocols recommended by your country of origin travel advice bureau.

We have included most of the countries webpages (given CI2025 projected attendance) that were findable online. These pages always provide updated information in safety, but also in other cultural aspects that may be relevant during your stay in Brazil. If the page is not available on this list, please reach your country’s foreign affairs office for information.

Visa Requirements

Initially, we strongly recommend that you visit your country’s travel advice page, because there could be valuable information regarding the visa process for your country.

Aside that, we recommend visiting the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Itamaraty) webpage, as there are information on:

• How to know if you need a Brazilian visa;
• Where to apply for it;
• Visa type;

Citizens of Australia, Canada and United States of America

As of April 10th, 2025, the Brazilian government implemented a visa requirement for people travelling with passports of these countries upon entrance in Brazil. More information at: https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/consulado-sao-francisco/electronic-visitor-visa-e-visa

Invitation letter

If you need an invitation letter, please e-mail us, so we can proceed with such process with Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV).

Additional Information

Internet and phone access

Differently from other countries, Brazil do not allow foreign nationals without a taxpayer number to buy a SIM card for phone and internet (even temporarily). There are, however, options such as Saily which provide internet connection through local cell-towers via an eSIM. Please check with your cellphone company if they provide international roamming packages as, in some countries, this can be a more convenient option.

Phone calls while in Brazil

Brazil Country Number: +55

Rio de Janeiro (Area Code): 21

Fixed landline numbers example: +55(21)XXXX-XXXX

Cellphone number example: +55(21)9XXXX-XXXX

Phone calls using a Brazilian phone line:

When using brazilian phones, you may need to add a local operator (e.g. Vivo, TIM, etc) in between the number to make a call, as each operator charges different rates. List of operator codes:

To do a call inside Brazil:

0 (the exit code) + your Brazilian operator code (see list above) + the area code + the phone number (dropping the first 0).

Example from Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo: 0 15 11 9XXXX XXXX

0 is the inter-city exit code 15 is the operator code (Vivo) 11 is the Area code (São Paulo Metropolitan Area) 9XXXX XXXX is the pnhone number (which is a cellphone)

To do a call for a country outside Brazil:

00 (the exit code) + your Brazilian operator code (see list above) + the country code + the phone number (dropping the first 0).

Example from Brazil to Canada: 00 21 1 416 XXX XXXX

00 is the Brazilian exit code 21 is the operator code (Claro) 1 is Canada country code 404 is the area code for Toronto

Local Attractions

An extensive list of attractions, including the most-known world famous Christ the Redeemer, the Sugar Loaf mountain, and other countless tourist examples are provided at the TripAdvisor website.

Please be mindful of venue details, and plan beforehand prior to your visit, given that several places need reservation and/or tickets, as well demanding transportation arrangements.

Currency and Payments

• Local Currency: Brazilian Real (BRL)
• Exchange Rates: Brazil Central Bank Calculator . Note: This is only a reference, as rates fluctuate, and financial institutions charge other fees upon transactions as well as tax collection.
• Payment Methods: Cash, Credit Cards (Visa, Mastercard are widely accepted; Some places may accept AMEX), and local payment systems (e.g. Pix; Boleto Bancário)

Note: Brazil has highly adopted electronic payments, such as credit cards and more recently, Pix, so usage of physical cash is in decline. Be mindful of bill/coin types, and do foreign exchange in Banks and other legalized financial institutions to avoid counterfeits. The usage of electronic payment poses challenges in cybersecurity, so check in advance the provenance of webpages when doing online payment in Brazil. Also, when using credit cards in person, is common to use wireless processing machines. Do not let your credit card unattended, unless in a trusted place, and always check values charged, and request receipts of your payments. Note that in Brazil you may need to request a full invoice for expenses beforehand (before your purchase), because not all establishments provide the full version (named in Portuguese, Nota Fiscal).

Tipping

In Brazil tipping in restaurants and bars is often included in the bill, and not paying it is considered rude (often 10% of the checkout value). Other places such as hotels, and services are more flexible. For a detailed article on this, see this Wise blog post.

Weather

RIO DE JANEIRO WEATHER

• Average Temperatures: Between 28-30 April, it has an historic average of 21-28°C
• Seasonal Considerations: Please check your preferred app for alerts in the area (e.g. Accuweather)

Language

• Official Language: (Brazilian) Portuguese
• Common Phrases:
  • Good morning/afternoon/evening - Bom dia/tarde/noite
  • Thank you - Obrigado
  • An extensive article with 101 basic portuguese expressions can be found here (has some issues in accents, but is a good collection still) :)

For any further questions or assistance, please contact us by e-mail.

We look forward to welcoming you to Rio de Janeiro!