ICLR 2026 Rio de Janeiro: Travel Guide and Where to Stay
The International Conference on Learning Representations heads to South America for 2026, with ICLR taking place at Riocentro Convention and Event Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 23-27. A* ranked and one of the three flagship venues in deep learning research alongside NeurIPS and ICML, ICLR draws thousands of researchers in representation learning, neural networks, and AI. If you’re going, here’s what to know about getting there, where to stay, and navigating the city.
The venue: Riocentro in Barra da Tijuca
Riocentro is the largest convention and events complex in Latin America, spread across five large pavilions in the Barra da Tijuca district on Rio’s western edge. It’s a purpose-built events zone — large, well-equipped, and used to handling international events of this scale.
Barra da Tijuca is not the Rio most visitors picture. It’s not Copacabana or Ipanema — it’s modern, spread out, and suburban by Rio standards, with wide boulevards, large shopping centres, and a long Atlantic beach running parallel to the main avenue. Think of it as Rio’s newer business and convention district. It’s comfortable and practical for conference-goers, even if it lacks the postcard drama of the Zona Sul.
The good news: hotels near Riocentro are plentiful and well-priced relative to the famous beachfront neighbourhoods, and the area has everything you need within walking distance or a short taxi ride.
Getting to Rio
Flying in: Rio de Janeiro has two airports. GIG (Galeão International Airport) on Ilha do Governador handles the majority of international arrivals — direct flights from Europe, North America, and across South America. It’s a long way from Barra da Tijuca: the journey to the Riocentro area takes 45-75 minutes by taxi or rideshare depending on traffic, and can stretch longer during peak hours. Budget accordingly and don’t book a tight connection on arrival day.
SDU (Santos Dumont Airport) is the compact downtown airport primarily used for domestic routes and the busy Rio-São Paulo air bridge. If you’re connecting from elsewhere in Brazil, SDU is closer to the city centre but still 40-50 minutes from Barra.
From the airport to Barra da Tijuca: Rideshares (Uber and local app 99) are the most practical option from GIG. Agree on price in the app before setting off. Official taxis from the airport rank work fine but run slightly more expensive. There is no direct metro connection from Galeão to Barra.
Within Rio: The metro covers central Rio, Ipanema, and Copacabana well, but Barra da Tijuca is at the western end of Line 4 — the nearest station to Riocentro is Jardim Oceânico, about 3km from the venue. From there, taxis and rideshares cover the last stretch easily. For conference days, most attendees staying close to the venue will walk or use rideshare exclusively.
Rio in late April
April is an excellent time to visit Rio. Carnival is long finished, the main summer heat (December through March) has passed, and the city settles into a calmer rhythm. Temperatures in late April average around 25-28°C with lower humidity than midsummer — warm and comfortable rather than oppressive. There’s some chance of afternoon rain showers, which clear quickly.
This is also a less crowded period for international tourism, which means hotel prices are more reasonable than peak season and attractions like Sugarloaf and Corcovado are manageable without early-morning queuing.
Where to stay near Riocentro
The hotels below are all in or near Barra da Tijuca, within practical reach of the Riocentro venue. All prices vary significantly by booking date and availability. Full hotel listings with current availability are at workwander.tech/conference/iclr_2026.
Windsor Oceanico Hotel is a well-regarded 4-star property on the Barra beachfront, popular with conference visitors to the area. It’s about 2km from Riocentro — close enough for a taxi or short rideshare — and has the advantage of a proper beach right outside. Good pool, reliable WiFi, and a solid breakfast spread.
Wyndham Rio Barra sits directly in the Barra business strip and is one of the more convenient options for Riocentro access. Comfortable 4-star rooms, business-friendly, and within a short rideshare of the venue and the main Barra shopping and dining strip.
Radisson Hotel Barra Rio de Janeiro is another solid mid-range 4-star with a pool and good facilities, located in the heart of Barra da Tijuca. A dependable choice for attendees who want reliability without the beachfront premium.
Ibis Rio de Janeiro Barra da Tijuca is the budget pick — a clean, no-frills Ibis with good location in Barra, reliable WiFi, and the predictable Accor standard that many regular conference travellers find reassuring. Significantly cheaper than the 4-star options and perfectly workable for a short stay focused on the conference.
Getting around Barra and into the city
Rideshares work well throughout Rio and are the recommended way to get around, especially for first-time visitors. The Uber and 99 apps both function reliably. Cash is accepted in many places but cards are increasingly standard in Barra’s hotels and restaurants.
If you want to visit the more famous parts of Rio during your stay — Copacabana, Ipanema, Santa Teresa, or the historic centre — budget about 30-40 minutes each way by rideshare from Barra. The Line 4 metro from Jardim Oceânico to Ipanema/General Osório takes about 25 minutes and is a reliable option for daytime travel.
Corcovado and Christ the Redeemer: Access is from Santa Teresa via the rack railway or van from Cosme Velho station — around 45 minutes from Barra by rideshare. Book tickets in advance at the official site; the mountain can cloud over in the afternoon.
Sugarloaf (Pão de Açúcar): Cable car from Praia Vermelha in Urca, about 35 minutes from Barra. Morning visits offer the clearest views before coastal cloud builds up.
Food and practical notes
Barra da Tijuca is shopping-mall Rio — convenient but not the most characterful dining. BarraShopping and VillageMall have a full range of restaurants from quick lunch spots to sit-down Brazilian churrascaria. For a more interesting meal, the beachfront along Av. Sernambetiba has a run of seafood restaurants worth exploring in the evening.
The currency is the Brazilian Real (BRL). ATMs are widespread. Tipping is not mandatory but rounding up or leaving 10% is common in sit-down restaurants. Portuguese is the language everywhere; English is spoken in most hotels and some restaurants but don’t count on it outside the tourist zones.
Security: Rio has a well-publicised safety reputation, and it’s worth taking it seriously. Barra da Tijuca is one of the lower-risk areas of the city, but standard precautions apply — don’t walk with expensive items visible, use rideshares after dark rather than walking, and keep valuables in your hotel safe. The conference venue and the main hotel strip are both comfortable during daylight hours.
Useful links
The full conference calendar — searchable by city, date, and research area — is at workwander.tech.