Hi,
My friend and I have about a 5 1/2 hr lay-over in Sao Paulo this week. We'd like to get out of the airport and do something, whether it's walking around in an interesting part of the city or people watching in a cafe.

Any suggestions to kill time?
Debbie

There are shops and restaurants at GRU and there is quite a bit of people watching to be done there.

Assuming that you have all your bags checked through to your next flight, you could go into town. After customs & immigration, when you come through the arrival door the money machines are on the right and the exit to outside is on the left.

Go outside and turn right, looking for "The Airport Bus". Take the bus for Republica (Praca da Republica) or Ibirapuera (Parque Ibirapuera). Figure an hour or so for the bus ride, I think.

Hi Mrwunrfl,
What part of the city should we head for--would a cab be a better idea?? Do you have any idea what that should cost?

Thanks!
Debbie

I think the taxi was US$20 or $25 to Republica. The bus fare was nominal. The bus is comfortable and safer. You might have to wait for a half hour for the bus whereas taxis are readily available.

What times of day are you arriving and departing? Where from/to? S.P. is one of the largest cities in the world and is generally not attractive.

Ibirapuera is probably more interesting than Republica, but I didn't visit there.

Author: Tammy
Date: 05/04/2000, 10:25 am
Message: Can't speak for Brasilia, but I have spent some time in Sao Paulo. The ride from the airport to the city will take about an hour or so depending on traffic and the time of day, and at least an hour to two hours to return to the airport. Traffic can be quite nasty.

My favorite area of Sao Paulo is the Jardins neighborhood. Lots of neat shops, cafes and restaurants, and a great area just to walk around and people watch.

It has been a couple of years ago since I was there, but I believe the Renaissance hotel, which is in the neighborhood was planning a bar/restaurant at the top, which would have great views of the city. While there go up to Avenida Paulista. It is one of the main, if not the main boulevard in S.P. There is an art museum there and a nice park. However, make sure you are in the park during daylight hours only. I never saw it, but I heard there were pickpockets. On the weekends, I remember there being a few, not many, local artists, and a flea market of some sort. If you are going to be in Sao Paulo on a Wednesday or Sunday, make sure and have feijauda (spelling wrong). It is the national dish, I believe traditional served on Wed and Sun of black beans and pork.

If you are going to be there on a Sunday, you might want to think about skipping Sao Paulo, and go to Embu.

If you have any questions, please feel free and e-mail me. Thanks.

Tammy

I pasted the above message from a previos post and I was looking for another post I read years ago about the same question you have asked. I do remember that the final analysis was that it would take a lot of time to go and come back and it might not be worth it since you can miss your flight if traffic is too bad. One person suggested to go to a hotel near the airport and just chill there for a couple of hours.

I know how you feel, I only have a 1 hour layover in SP airport when I go to Rio and it is boring, I can't imagine 5.5 hours but the have people giving massages all over, bars, places to eat, you can keep busy.

Are you flying into and out of GRU, that's Guarulhos, Sao Paulo's international (and some domestic) airport. Or are you using CGH, Congonhas, the domestic airport? Or both?

My guess is that the long layover is because Debbie and friend have a late night (11:30PM) flight from GRU back to the USA (Miami). Further, I'm guessing that they are arriving in S.P. at CGH around 6PM, from Foz or SSA.

A litlle too late to answer this message but for future reference it's too risky to go to SP and not be able to come back in time to take your flight. The city is far away and you never know the traffic.

The best bet is to take a taxi to Shopping Internacional de Guarulhos which is a nice shopping mall located less than 10 minutes by taxi from the airport. You would spend 6 dollars to get there. Good shopping, cheap prices and lots of people to see! There's a nice restaurant on the upper floor called Cerveijaria Paulista.

Some things I forgot to mention. The mall opens around 9 or 10 am and closes at 10 pm. In the information desk there are some English speaking receptionists that may assist you.

This is for the International airport in Guarulhos (GRU). If you are in the domestic airport Congonhas (CGH) you are in the city of Sao Paulo and will not have any problems with time going to the downtown area or Paulista Avenue. Hope this helps someone in the future!