Are 2.5 hours enough for a layover in Rio?

Upvote:1

I flew Amsterdam-Rio last year, it landed more or less on time, maybe 20 minutes late, but there was an incredibly huge queue at the passport control, that took slightly over an hour. In case your flight is also an hour late, you'd miss the connection, and the flights to Iguassu are more expensive in the last minute. I really wouldn't recommend that connection leaving you 2.5 hours altogether, but as Joe Blow suggested, in case there's a later flight on the same day, that would be my choice.

Needless to say, make sure to check that your second flight is from the same airport in Rio.

Upvote:3

Layoverguide for Rio suggests a minimum of four hours as a slot to allow a tiny viewing bit of the city. So assuming an hour outside, that still allows three, but that's tight for you.

Another traveller online suggests that they've gotten through customs in 30-60 minutes on several occasions, however have once missed a flight with a 1h45 layover.

You never know. Your first flight could be delayed three hours and then you're in trouble. If you CAN get a flexible fare that allows last minute changes, great, otherwise it's probably not worth the risk - book the next morning and maybe even leave the airport and explore overnight, if you're not one to suffer tiredness.

Alternatively you could get a hotel for the night and get rid of some of the jet-lag.

Upvote:4

I'm back from my trip, and I thought I'd share my experience. The first flight departed on time, but landed half an hour late due to strong winds on the landing site. I started getting quite concerned about making it by then, with only 2 hours to departure and a check-in to do.

Moreover, there was quite a line at the passport check (it was quite fast anyway), and the luggage took some time to come out at the belt. Even though I was getting close to departure time, passing the customs was very fast, luckily, since they weren't doing much checking.

Anyway, despite the delay in landing I managed to check in on time with some rushing, but more time would be advisable to be on the safe side.

P.S. My second flight was delayed two hours, so I wasted a lot of effort :)

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