R$40–70 by taxi from REC T1 to Rodoviária Recife
If you’re landing at Recife/Guararapes (REC) T1 and heading straight inland by intercity coach, your first hop is getting to Rodoviária Recife, about 17–20 km away. There’s no dedicated airport–Rodoviária coach. You either pay for a taxi/app car (usually around R$40–70 depending on traffic and surge) or piece together metro plus bus for under R$10.
Metro + bus: cheapest option under R$10 total
The budget play is taking the Recife Metro from Aeroporto station on Line Sul, then connecting to a city bus toward Rodoviária. Expect around 45–70 minutes total door to door in normal conditions, with tickets for metro and bus together usually under R$10. Regulars suggest this combo mainly in daytime, especially if you’re carrying a big backpack rather than roll-aboards.
Taxi and app rides: faster, especially with luggage
With traffic moving, a taxi or rideshare from REC T1 arrivals to Rodoviária can take as little as 30 minutes, but at evening rush hour it can stretch to nearly 60 minutes. Reddit threads mention typical fares in the R$40–70 range for app cars, sometimes more late at night. If your intercity bus leaves after 22:00, this is the option locals usually recommend.
What regulars actually do for REC → Rodoviária
Backpackers on r/brazil talk about flying into REC, then grabbing an intercity coach the same day to spots like Caruaru or Petrolina. Many add a full extra hour of buffer between scheduled landing and bus departure to cover baggage claim plus traffic. Regulars also use metro/bus only in daylight and switch to taxi or app rides after about 18:00, especially when carrying visible luggage.
Watch out for the station itself
Rodoviária Recife sits outside the main Boa Viagem/center hotel belt, and locals flag heavy traffic on the access roads around 17:00–19:30. Google reviews mention dated facilities and patchy food after roughly 21:00, so don’t count on a hot meal before a late coach. Several posts suggest staying inside the terminal building at night rather than waiting outside on the forecourt.
One last timing tip
If your intercity coach is critical—say a once-a-day departure upstate—treat REC plus transfer like a connection and build at least 2–3 hours between scheduled landing and bus departure. That buffer covers a 60-minute taxi run, slow bags at T1, and a quick bathroom or snack stop at Rodoviária before you board.