Airfares...Sao Paulo to Rio?
 

Do 21 day advance airfares in Brazil work the same way as in the US? I thought I read somewhere that there is really no advantage to buying in advance from strictly a cost standpoint. The Brazil Airpass wouldn't be a savings since we only need a roundtrip from GRU to GIG during Xmas week which right now is over $400. If on the other hand we could take our chances and just buy them that day at more reasonable price then that is what we will do....any advice? Thanks!

Do a search using RIO instead of GIG, that will get you both of the airports in Rio, including the domestic airport in town.

There is a domestic airport in Sao Paulo called Congonhas, CGH. I don't know the code that would cover both airports in S.P.

Waiting to buy could mean that the flights are full and you won't get on. You can take the bus between the cities.

It is quite easy to get from GRU to CGH, by the way, using The Airport Bus.

The airport code for Sao Paulo is SAO. travelocity shows fares of $240 on TAM and Varig. The other airlines to check are VASP and Gol. It's a busy route and only a 55 minute flight, so I would never pay $400, and I think $240 is a bit too high.

Thanks mrwunrfl for the add'l options...your right gol is much cheaper if we flew out of CHG instead of GRU...you said there's an airport bus...how far apart are the two airports? I wouldn't even mine grabbing a taxi since either...

Have you ever flown GOL or know anything about it?

Lastly, is the Rio domestic airport closer to Impanema then GIG?

Thanks for your advice/help

George, the Rio domestic airport Santos Dumont is closer to Ipanema and the Sheraton hotel than GIG Tom Jobim international airport. If it takes 45-50 minutes from GIG then it should take about 20 - 25 minutes from Santos Dumont. I don't know the distance between the Sao Paulo airports.

Bus or taxi from GRU to CGH would be okay. I only took The Airport Bus from GRU to Praca Republica. The bus to CGH would take longer I think, maybe an hour and a half? I don't really know. I'd take the bus to get to CGH since it would be more comfortable and probably safer to travel in than a taxi, and pretty much just as convenient. You might have to wait a half hour for a bus vs no wait for a taxi.

Going to Rio, if you fly into SDU instead of GIG, then I advise getting a window on the right side of the plane. (From watching planes arrive I noticed that almost all flew over the city and had the beach and Pao de Azucar to the right.)