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Meet halfway in Rio de Janeiro

For a group meeting in Rio de Janeiro, the fairest points are usually MetroRio stations that link networks - Central do Brasil, Carioca, Botafogo or General Osório - where the Metro meets the SuperVia trains, the VLT or Line 4 to Barra. togather times each person door to door and finds the spots where nobody is stuck with a much longer trip.

  • MetroRio
  • BRT
  • VLT
  • SuperVia trains
  • Buses
  • Cycling
  • Walking
Find your meeting pointSee the fairest spots

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Where groups actually meet in Rio de Janeiro

Interchanges that work as a fair midpoint for most groups. togather will not always land on one of these - it answers for your actual starting points - but they are the ones that come up again and again.

  1. Central do Brasil

    MetroRio lines 1 and 2, SuperVia trains and VLT

    The main rail hub, where the Metro meets the suburban trains, and the fair answer for a group with people coming in from the North Zone or the Baixada.

  2. Carioca

    MetroRio lines 1 and 2 and VLT

    In the middle of Centro, served by both Metro lines and the VLT, which makes it about as reachable as any single point for a group spread across the city.

  3. Botafogo

    MetroRio lines 1 and 2

    Where Line 2 trains end in the South Zone, and a good middle for a group split between Copacabana, Flamengo and the North Zone neighbourhoods along Line 2.

  4. General Osório

    MetroRio lines 1 and 4

    In Ipanema, where Line 4 from Barra da Tijuca joins Line 1, and the fair pick for a group split between the South Zone beaches and Barra.

  5. Jardim Oceânico

    MetroRio Line 4 and BRT TransOeste

    The Barra end of Line 4, linked to the BRT, and fairer than the South Zone for a group living in Barra da Tijuca, Recreio or further west.

  6. Maracanã

    MetroRio Line 2 and SuperVia trains

    Beside the stadium in the North Zone, joining Line 2 to the suburban trains, and the natural choice for a group based in Tijuca, Vila Isabel and the north.

  7. Siqueira Campos

    MetroRio Line 1

    In the heart of Copacabana, and the right call when most of the group already lives in the South Zone and the plan is a meal or a walk on the beachfront.

How to pick a fair meeting point in Rio de Janeiro

Rio is squeezed between mountains and the sea, and that geography is why the map’s midpoint so often fails. A point that looks central can sit on the wrong side of a hill, reachable only through a tunnel or the long way round. Two friends a few kilometres apart, one in Copacabana and one in Tijuca, can be separated by a ridge that turns a short line on the map into a long trip.

The Metro is what threads the city together, and the stations that link it to other networks matter most. Central do Brasil joins lines 1 and 2 to the SuperVia trains and the VLT, and Carioca brings both Metro lines and the VLT into Centro. General Osório is where Line 4 arrives from Barra, which makes it the hinge between the South Zone and the west.

Beach-side groups meet at General Osório

Centro is not always fair. A group living in Copacabana, Ipanema and Barra is better served by General Osório than by a ride downtown, and a group mostly in Barra and Recreio by Jardim Oceânico. A group split between Tijuca and the North Zone does better at Maracanã, where Line 2 meets the suburban trains. A group from every corner usually lands somewhere in Centro, near Carioca.

On a sunny weekend the pull is always towards the beach, and the South Zone traffic shows it. A tunnel that is quick on a Tuesday can be slow on a Saturday, so togather times each trip on the real route and the real transport, Metro, car or on foot, then shortlists spots where everyone’s journey is similar. Add the starting points and see whether Centro or the coast comes out ahead.

Meeting halfway in Rio de Janeiro - questions

Where is a fair place to meet halfway in Rio de Janeiro?
Usually a station where networks meet rather than the map's middle - Carioca or Central do Brasil for Centro, Botafogo or General Osório for the South Zone, Jardim Oceânico for Barra. togather works out which.
Does it work if some of us take the BRT or drive?
Yes. Set the mode per person. BRT corridors are part of the transit network, and driving times come from real road routes, so a driver crossing the city through the tunnels is not treated as though they were as close as the map suggests.

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