HELP!! Three days before cruise Sao Paulo/Santos

[AVACTION]

We will be arriving in Sao Paulo on Wed. 11/3/15 late in the evening for a cruise departing Santos on Sunday 15/3/15, has anyone been to Sao Paulo or Santos before and can recommend things to do with the three days (Thursday, Friday, Saturday). I have already booked a room at the Santos Mercure for the night before the cruise leaves but due to restrictions on award seats we have to fly into Sao Paulo on the Wednesday. Any ideas for a couple in their fifties??

[VidaNaPraia]

It's up to you, but São Paulo is not IMO a very touristic city. It's an urban business jungle of skyscrapers with places to spend one's nice salary on pricey food, partying into the wee hours, and designer duds, museums not of expected quality for a world-class city that size, and two parks, one very tired one, and a small lush one. There are a couple of New York Times articles called "36 hours São Paulo" that you can Google and which give you an idea of what is possible.

If it were me, I would get on a flight to Rio from the domestic in-town Congonhas airport the next morning and spend my free days there, where there is a lot to see and do (even if the ship subsequently stops there for a short visit). See http://www.ipanema.com for info on sights and neighborhoods in Rio.

Or you could head toward Santos and relax there or at a nearby beach for a few days, but many of the cruise ports usually seem to be beach destinations as well.

[Fattony]

It's up to you, but São Paulo is not IMO a very touristic city. It's an urban business jungle of skyscrapers with places to spend one's nice salary on pricey food, partying into the wee hours, and designer duds, museums not of expected quality for a world-class city that size, and two parks, one very tired one, and a small lush one. There are a couple of New York Times articles called "36 hours São Paulo" that you can Google and which give you an idea of what is possible.

If it were me, I would get on a flight to Rio from the domestic in-town Congonhas airport the next morning and spend my free days there, where there is a lot to see and do (even if the ship subsequently stops there for a short visit). See http://www.ipanema.com for info on sights and neighborhoods in Rio.

Or you could head toward Santos and relax there or at a nearby beach for a few days, but many of the cruise ports usually seem to be beach destinations as well.

 

That would seem to be a pretty rushed visit to Rio, assuming the first day upon arrival would be mainly for rest. And assuming you could use miles to fly to Rio on Wed. R.T. between SP and Rio could add a lot of rushing around, and cost. Any chance you could see Rio at another point? If not, could you get to Rio before Wednesday?

 

I'm not very familiar with Sao Paulo, but we have friends who love it, for the museums, restaurants and shopping.

 

If you arrive at GRU very late on Wednesday, you may want to stay at a hotel in Guarulhos, near the airport. There are several (e.g., Marriott, Caesar Park, Dobly). Then 2 1/2 days until you head to Santos. I'd do some research on what there is to do in Sao Paulo. Lots of guide books, online info, etc. available. BTW, it would help if you gave your interests when asking what there is to do.

[AVACTION]

Thank you for your helpful replies. We will probably spend the night in Sao Paulo, a quick city tour and then head for the coast.

[VidaNaPraia]

OK, then.......

In São Paulo, I would go up in the Edificio Italia or the Banespa building to get a perspective of the city's skyscrapers from their heights. If you like art museums, there's the Pinacoteca in Jardim do Luz (neighborhood) and MASP (on Av. Paulista in the upscale Jardins neighborhood with its chic shops, restaurants, etc., across from the lush Trianon Park). If you like crafts and want to devote most of a day, you could go to the nearby village of Embu. The Mercado Municipal could be interesting for you, and even one of the large shopping malls.

Take taxis or the metro to get around during the day (and always taxi at night, and no real need for a guided tour).

 

For beach time conveniently near Santos, you could look into Guaruja, said to have some of the nicest beaches in the area.

 

Wikipedia can give you info on these places and YouTube has many videos that show them to you.

 

And again, these NYT articles:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/travel/13hours-saopaulo.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/travel/14hours.html?pagewanted=all

 

http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/23/you-will-love-so-paulo-please/

 

http://www.nytimes.com/travel/guides/central-and-south-america/brazil/sao-paulo/overview.html

[Fattony]

From what I've heard from friends, I'd spend more time in SP, the largest and, arguably, the most cosmopolitan city in South America, than Santos, an industrial port city.

[CruseKrazy]

If you are Catholic or even if you are not, a visit to the nearby town of Aparecida to see the Our Lady of Aparecida might be interesting. It is the 2nd largest cathedral in the world and She is the patron Saint of Brazil.

 

More info here:

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Tourism-g780033-Aparecida_State_of_Sao_Paulo-Vacations.html

 

We are thinking of going from Santos for a visit but it is about 3 hrs by car each way and not sure if we will have the time on our 10 hr stopover in Nov.

 

As an alternative, the port town of Paraty might be more relaxing then S.P.

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Tourism-g303503-Paraty_State_of_Rio_de_Janeiro-Vacations.html

 

D.

[VidaNaPraia]

Paraty is 6 hours by bus from São Paulo. Beaches in the town, which has a small historic a Colonial center, are not so great, but there are schooner trips to better, and Trindade beach is also an option. There are buses from Paraty to Santos.

[lovelyladi]

We spent 2 days b4 a cruise in Sao Paulo. Fabulous city. We hired a private guide from our Hyatt hotel for 1 day...wish I could remember her name. Great tour showing us what we wanted to see.....neighborhoods, markets, cultural centers, soccer arenas churches and honestly spoke of life in Brazil. On our own we went to fabulous restaurants, a beautiful mall and saw favelas and extreme poverty and great wealth. Favela tours are available and supposedly safe.

Sao Paulo is a dynamic huge city...growing and changing

[VidaNaPraia]

We spent 2 days b4 a cruise in Sao Paulo. Fabulous city. We hired a private guide from our Hyatt hotel for 1 day...wish I could remember her name. Great tour showing us what we wanted to see.....neighborhoods, markets, cultural centers, soccer arenas churches and honestly spoke of life in Brazil. On our own we went to fabulous restaurants, a beautiful mall and saw favelas and extreme poverty and great wealth. Favela tours are available and supposedly safe.

Sao Paulo is a dynamic huge city...growing and changing

 

Afaik the faddish looky-loo favela tours have not yet become a fact of touristic life in any city besides Rio, where their romantic lights twinkle apparently tantalizingly from the hillsides overlooking the adjoining better off areas of the city. The appeal is lost on me. Perhaps I know more than enough through experiencing the harsh reality of daily life for resident friends. I hope "tours" never take hold anywhere else. São Paulo's poor are on sufficient display (IMO) from the shuttle bus coming in to the city from the airport, with conditions to turn anyone's stomach (and also move the hardest foreign heart).

[Artemis]

SP has so much to offer! Santos, not so much. If you don't line up something in advance, then hopefully your hotel staff can help. We loved the vibrancy of the city and the many different things to see. Without knowing your interests, it is hard to recommend itineries, but a little homework is good, e.g., http://www.frommers.com/destinations/sao-paulo/626370#sthash.rRAuNXmu.dpbs