Rio de Janeiro cruise port: the Píer Mauá terminal for groups

At a glance

Where the terminal is

The terminal is in Porto Maravilha, the renovated port district at the north end of downtown Rio, next to Praça Mauá and the Museu do Amanhã. The pier is 1,050 m long, and the operator lists no fixed limit on ships alongside at the same time and a capacity of 35,000 people a day.

Two VLT light rail stops serve it. Parada dos Museus is the closer stop for the stretch from the Touring building to Warehouse 2, and Parada dos Navios for Warehouses 3 to 5. The pedestrian exit is near Warehouses 3 and 4, opposite Parada dos Navios. Cars enter from Avenida Barão de Tefé, and there is a 24-hour car park on the Boulevard Olímpico.

Inside, the terminal has check-in counters, X-ray screening for checked and carry-on bags, a tourist information office, a 24-hour bank, a medical post, shops and internet for passengers and crew. The operator lists a prepaid taxi service and special areas for coaches and tourist vans, which is where we meet groups.

The 2026/2027 season: the busy days

The terminal’s schedule (version 18, September 3, 2026) lists 127 calls on 85 days between October 24, 2026 and April 8, 2027: 53 days with one ship, 23 with two, 8 with three and one with four. ABIH-RJ, the Rio hotel association, points to December and January as the busiest months.

The schedule gives dates and ships, not arrival and departure times. On days with three or four ships we book vehicles and timed tickets earlier and allow more time on the roads around the port. For groups on board during Carnival or New Year’s Eve, see Rio Carnival 2027 and New Year’s Eve in Rio.

From the port to the airports

Galeão (GIG), the international airport, is 16 km from the terminal, about 25 minutes without traffic. Santos Dumont (SDU), the downtown airport by the bay, is 2 km away.

The VLT runs from the port to Santos Dumont, but it does not take bulky items that block the aisle, and you cannot pay cash on board. With suitcases, a group goes by road: a coach or minibus, plus a separate luggage vehicle when the group is large. Vehicle types and meeting points are on our group transfers page.

From the port to Copacabana, Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf

• Copacabana: by coach or car, or by VLT to Uruguaiana, Carioca or Cinelândia and then metro Line 1, which runs from downtown to Copacabana without a change. The metro runs Monday to Saturday from 5:00 to midnight, and on Sundays and holidays from 7:00 to 23:00. You can pay at the gates with a contactless bank card.
• Christ the Redeemer: the Corcovado train leaves from Rua Cosme Velho 513 every 20 minutes, from 8:00 to 18:00, with check-in at least 40 minutes before the booked time and no luggage storage. The official vans board in Copacabana and at Largo do Machado. Until about the end of May 2027 the escalators at the monument are being replaced, the park has halved the number of visitors allowed at the top at one time, and everyone climbs the last 80 steps.
• Sugarloaf: the cable car leaves from Praia Vermelha, Avenida Pasteur 520, in two stages, first to Morro da Urca and then to the top.

For a shore day these are usually combined with a coach and a guide. Sample timings that work back from all-aboard time are in our shore programs for cruise groups.

On foot from the terminal

A short call does not need transport at all. Next to the pier are Praça Mauá and the Boulevard Olímpico waterfront, and within walking distance:

Embarkation and disembarkation days

CLIA Brasil lists Rio among seven Brazilian ports where passengers embark and disembark in the 2026/2027 season, which on the Brazilian coast runs from October 31, 2026 to April 9, 2027.

On disembarkation day our guide meets the group outside the terminal, the suitcases go into the coach or a luggage vehicle, and the group either goes straight to the airport or tours first, with the bags locked in. On embarkation day we collect the group at the airport or hotel and drop it at the terminal within the cruise line’s check-in window. Groups that want a few days in Rio before the cruise can start from our 4-day Rio program.

How we help cruise groups and agencies

What we take care of: meeting the group at the terminal with a name sign, coaches, minibuses or vans sized to the group with a luggage vehicle if needed, airport transfers to Galeão or Santos Dumont, shore days with a local guide timed to the ship’s all-aboard time, and hotel nights before or after the cruise. We confirm the guide’s language in the proposal, and you keep one contact on our team until the ship sails or the group flies home.

We work with groups from about 10 people; groups of 50 and more are handled together with a large local receptive partner. Travel agencies get net rates or commission, on request. Our fee is already included in the price, and you pay nothing before you confirm.

For a proposal, write to us with the ship’s name, the date and times of the call, the number of people and any flights. More on working with us in for travel agencies.