Brasília: Getting there & around

The international airport (tel: 365 1941) is 12km (7.5mi) south of the center. To get to the airport from the city, take a No 102 bus (40min) or a No 30 minibus (25min) from the city bus station. A taxi to the airport from the center will, of course, cost considerably more.

Flying time to Rio is 1.5 hours; to São Paulo, 80 minutes. The easiest way to book a flight is through the travel agencies in the Hotel Nacional complex.

To get from the city bus station to the long-distance bus and train station, take local bus No 131.

From the ginormous train and long-distance bus station ( rodoferroviária ; tel: 363 2281), due west of the city center, there are buses to places you've never heard of, but no trains. Bus destinations include Goiânia (3hr), Rio (17hr), São Paulo (14hr) and Salvador (21hr). There are also buses to Cuiabá (18hr) and Porto Velho (42hr). Buses run north along Hwy BR-153 to Belém (34hr), but the road around the Tocantins border can be impassable during rainy season.

Buses go to Pirenópolis (3hr) and Alto Paraíso (4hr) for access to the Parque Nacional da Chapada dos Veadeiros.

There are car-rental agencies at Brasília's airport and the Hotel Nacional.

The long-awaited Metro DF, which first began construction in 1992, came into operation in late 2001. The metro (open from Monday to Friday) runs from the city bus station under the southern 'wing' of the city to the outer suburbs of Taguatinga and Samambaia. (It has little usefulness for travelers.)