Sao Paulo or Santos a few questions.

[springaussie]

I am flying from Iguaza Falls to Sao Paulo(GRU) arriving 1620 on a Thursday and leaving from Santos on the Sunday 1700 on a TA to Rome via Rio and Salvador.

I am trying to work out the benifits of staying in Sao Paulo or Santos?

If I stayed at Santos I could go to the beach, ride a tram and visit a coffee plantation.

$100USD would be the maximum I would like to spend per night with breakfast. Suggestions please.

What would be the benifits of Sao Paulo or a mixture of both?

Would I be safe at GRU for 2 hours waiting with my bags for the bus to Santos from 1630 - 1830?

Or would I be better off getting the Metro from downtown Sao Paulo to Santos if safe? I am a train buff so getting the Metro etc could serve 2 purposes.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Glen

Brisbane Australia.

[Lirio]

Sao Paulo is an expensive and cosmopolite city. It has plenty of museums, art galleries, historical buildings, parks, zoos, great malls, upscale restaurants, theatres and many more. Being a huge city, expect heavy traffic all day long.

 

For hotel options I would refer to Tripadvisor.

 

Beaches in Santos are regular, but you can go to Guarujá and other close beaches which are more interesting. You also can visit the coffee museum and an Aquarian.

 

Besides that, there is not much to see in Santos, one of the largest port areas in South American, so expect a lot of traffic and business all over the clock.

 

The road from Sao Paulo to Santos is very interesting in terms of engineering and the tropical forest around it, so the trip between the two cities is very pleasant.

[tampasteve1]

I overall agree with the above. Except that Sao Paulo is not really expensive to an American or Australian. The city overall is more expensive than most cities in SA, but compared to other world class cities it is rather reasonable. I spent a week in Sao Paulo and Santos a few years back and foudn Sao Paulo quite reasonable, we actually stayed in a nice hotel about 2 miles from GRU and it was $125 per night including breakfast. There was a BRT stop outside of the hotel, but other than that the only transit available was taxi. The metro is clean and safe, but for such a huge city it is not extensive enough.

 

Sao Paulo has great shopping, parks, museums, a cathedral, Japanese Town, etc. it is def. worth a few days. I would liken it to the Chicago of South America. A great city with amazing sights, but not top on most people's lists to visit.

 

Santos is a nice little city on the coast. The beach is nice, but a bit cold if you go in the winter months. The aquarium is a fun diversion, but it is rather small (about 1.5 hours to see). The coffee museum and tram are probably the most interesting parts of the city to see.

 

I also am a transit/rail fan, so if you can add a few systems to your list, then go for it! Sao Paulo also has commuter rail, so you might want to check that out.

 

Steve

[springaussie]

Santos is a nice little city on the coast. The beach is nice, but a bit cold if you go in the winter months. The aquarium is a fun diversion, but it is rather small (about 1.5 hours to see). The coffee museum and tram are probably the most interesting parts of the city to see.

 

I also am a transit/rail fan, so if you can add a few systems to your list, then go for it! Sao Paulo also has commuter rail, so you might want to check that out.

 

Steve

 

Is Santos Imgrantes Metro stop in the area of the cruise ship terminals, trams etc?

[tampasteve1]

Is Santos Imgrantes Metro stop in the area of the cruise ship terminals, trams etc?

 

Nope....Santos Imgrantes Metro station is a stop on line 2, a station on the metro that happens to have the same name. The city of Santos is in the State of Sao Paulo, but it is about 70K from the city of Sao Paulo. I am not sure if you can get there by passenger train or not, but I do not think so. There is a nice highway/interstate that connects the two cities though. The cruise ships embark/disembark in Santos the city as Sao Paulo itself is not on the coast.

 

As for transit in the cities:

Santos the city has a small tramway opened for tourists in 2000 (or so), Sao Paulo has metro, commuter rail, BRT in seperated lanes, and a 30K elevated busway.

 

Steve

[springaussie]

Nope....Santos Imgrantes Metro station is a stop on line 2, a station on the metro that happens to have the same name. The city of Santos is in the State of Sao Paulo, but it is about 70K from the city of Sao Paulo. I am not sure if you can get there by passenger train or not, but I do not think so. There is a nice highway/interstate that connects the two cities though. The cruise ships embark/disembark in Santos the city as Sao Paulo itself is not on the coast.

 

As for transit in the cities:

Santos the city has a small tramway opened for tourists in 2000 (or so), Sao Paulo has metro, commuter rail, BRT in seperated lanes, and a 30K elevated busway.

 

Steve

Thanks Steve.

I am now thinking about spending 2 nights in Sao Paulo and one in Santos so I can ride the tram and have a swim etc.

Can you remember your Hotel name in Sao Paulo?

Glen

[tampasteve1]

2 nights in SP will get a good feel for the mega city. We stayed at the Bourbon Convention Ibirapuera (which at the time was part of the Blue Tree chain), it is actually near Congonhas Airport rather than GRU as I wrote incorrectly previously. It is in a good, safe location next to a large shopping mall, within walking distance to Ibirapuera park (a huge city park), and there are lots of restaurants close by too.

 

A quick check on Hotels.com seems to show that the hotel is much more expensive now (in the summer time in Brazil). I stayed in July and it was cheaper, so it must depend on when you are going.

 

Steve

[Lirio]

Prices in Sao Paulo and around in Brazil are higher because of the growth in the economy. Make reservation in advance, because currently it is very difficult to get a room in Sao Paulo.

 

I go there almost every week.

 

This is the official site for tourism in SP: http://www.cidadedesaopaulo.com/sp/en

[springaussie]

I am now booked into Sao Paulo for 3 nights.

What is my best value option to get to Santos Port for a 1700 departure Sunday 13 March for 1 person?

I am staying in Sao Paulo CBD.

thanks

Glen

[Lirio]

The cheapest option is the bus. There are hundreds of departures per day.

[springaussie]

The cheapest option is the bus. There are hundreds of departures per day.

Thanks

It looks like it will be the bus.

[springaussie]

Has anyone caught this bus Sao Paulo - Santos?

[Wotan758]

Please note that you have to take a taxi from your hotel to the bus terminal (Jabaquara) and another taxi from the Bus terminal in Santos to port. In São Paulo, if you staying near the Metro, you can take the Blue line to its end at the Jabaquara terminal.

 

At your hotel, try to negotiate with a taxi driver a ride to Santos. I usually pay around R$140/150, which is a little more than 2 taxi riders and bus fare, but much, much more comfortable.

 

Has anyone caught this bus Sao Paulo - Santos?

[Wotan758]

Please note that you have to take a taxi from your hotel to the bus terminal (Jabaquara) and another taxi from the Bus terminal in Santos to port. In São Paulo, if you staying near the Metro, you can take the Blue line to its end at the Jabaquara terminal.

 

At your hotel, try to negotiate with a taxi driver a ride to Santos. I usually pay around R$140/150, which is a little more than 2 taxi riders and bus fare, but much, much more comfortable.

 

I noted that you are cruising out of Santos with Royal Carib.

They offer a bus transfer from São Paulo Congonhas Airport (Domestic city airport) to Santos. I use this transfer in a few occasions.

Chech with your TA.

[springaussie]

Please note that you have to take a taxi from your hotel to the bus terminal (Jabaquara) and another taxi from the Bus terminal in Santos to port. In São Paulo, if you staying near the Metro, you can take the Blue line to its end at the Jabaquara terminal.

 

At your hotel, try to negotiate with a taxi driver a ride to Santos. I usually pay around R$140/150, which is a little more than 2 taxi riders and bus fare, but much, much more comfortable.

Thanks

When should I negotiate with the taxi driver the day before or when I am ready to go?

[Lirio]

Better to negociate at least a day before. I guess Royal Car. also has a bus from Guarulhos, but this airport is too far.

[CMBBR]

My husband and I are just back from a 6 day cruise on RC Vision of the Seas (Santos/Rio/Salvador/Búzios/Santos) and 4we decides to take a suttle - the company was recomended by RC to passangers from Brazil. The site is http://www.turismonuevomundo.net/ and despite beeing in Portuguese it will probably not be too difficult to schedule the transfer. The price was 104 dollars for two people both ways. They provide the transfer from both airports, Guarulhos (international) and Congonhas (domestic flights).