What is the cheapest and quickest way to get from Guarulhos Airport to Sao Paulo city centre?
In the table below, we've listed the approximate prices and driving times to the Avenida Paulista area. For the metro, times are given when travelling to Luz station on the northern edge of the centre.
| Price | Travel time | |
|---|---|---|
| Metro 13 | 5 brl | 31 minutes - direct express trains 70 minutes - slow trains with 2 changes |
| Express buses | 46,50 brl | 90-120 minutes |
| Taxi | 160 brl | 90-120 minutes |
| Uber | 90 brl | 90-120 minutes |
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Public transport to the centre of Sao Paulo
Between Guarulhos Airport and downtown, you can choose low-frequency express buses or the metro, running non-stop once an hour or with 3 transfers once every 20 minutes.
Metro - line 13
The airport is served by the overground metro line 13, operated by CPTM.
However, the station is not directly at the terminals. It is located on the southern edge of the airport and a free yellow shuttle bus runs from the station to all terminals approximately once every 15 minutes.
Line 13 runs to Engenheiro Goulart station, where you change to line 12 towards Tautapé (transferring to line 3 to the centre) and Brás (transferring to lines 7 and 10).
About once an hour, express services run without changing to Tautapé, Brás, Luz, Palmeiras - Barra Funda stations.
- Frequency
- 20 minutes regular trains of line 13 to Eng. Goulart
- 60 minutes express trains to Tautapé, Brás, Luz and Barra Funda stations
- Journey time
- 31 minutes express trains to Luz station in the centre
- 70 minutes line 13 to Eng. Goulart + line 12 to Tautapé station + line 1 to Sé station near Sao Paulo Cathedral
- Last trains from the airport
- 0:00 - express train to Barra Funda station without change
- First trains from the centre
- 4:05 - Line 12 from Brás station + change at Eng. Goulart to line 13
- 4:54 - line 3 from Sé station + change at Tautapé station to line 12 + change at Eng. Goulart to line 13
- 5:04 - direct express train from Luz station
Tickets and fares
Tickets can be purchased at all stations at the ticket office, where you can pay with card or cash.
A single ticket with any number of transfers throughout the Sao Paulo metro network costs just 5 brl.
You can use this ticket to get anywhere in Sao Paulo, as there are no turnstiles at the vast majority of stations.
Official information can be found on the website: cptm.sp.gov.br
Express buses
The most convenient connection is by red, blue and white buses Airport Bus Service.
These buses run on several different routes and only stop at terminals 2 and 3. You'll also need to take the free green or yellow shuttle buses to terminal 1.
You can buy tickets at the kiosk at the bus stop (cash and card payments are possible) or online at airportbusservice.com.br, where you can also find detailed timetables.
Prices are about 25% lower when bought online.
- Praca da República - Avenida Paulista
- Price - 46,50 brl
- Runs 7-8 times a day
- Journey time - 50 minutes on Praca da República or 90 minutes on Avenida Paulista
- Last bus from the airport - 21:00
- Rodoviária do Tiete (bus station) - blue metro line 1
- Price - 42,50 brl
- Runs 1x per hour
- Travel time - 55 minutes
- Last bus from the airport - 21:20
- First bus from Tiete - 6:10
- Rodoviária da Barra Funda (bus station) - red metro line 3
- Price - 42,50 brl
- Runs 1x every 90 minutes
- Journey time - 80 minutes
- Last bus from the airport - 21:05
- First bus from Tiete - 6:00
Local buses
There are also local buses from all terminals to the surrounding neighbourhoods, but they are not very useful for foreign visitors.
The formerly popular EMTU 257 line to Tautapé metro station, where there is a transfer to the metro 3 to the centre, becomes meaningless once the train to the airport becomes operational.
The price of a bus ticket 7,50 brl is higher than the price of a metro ticket from the airport to the centre.
Taxi / Uber
Only official taxis can run from Guarulhos airport, which you pay for at a stand outside the terminal.
You can pay by card and cash, you don't pay anything to the taxi driver anymore.
It is often significantly cheaper to use the Uber mobile app, which can also provide a ride to/from the airport.
Here are the approximate prices when travelling downtown on Avenida Paulista.
- Taxi - 160 brl
- Uber - from 90 brl
To Congonhas Airport
If you are transferring between Guarulhos and Congonhas airports, use the following modes of transport:
Express bus
There is a special service between the two airports. Airport Bus Service. (line 258).
Tickets can be bought at the kiosk at the bus stop (cash and card payments are possible) or online at airportbusservice.com.br, where you can also find detailed timetables.
Prices are about 25% lower when bought online.
- Price - 46,50 brl
- Frequency - 40 minutes
- Travel time - 90-120 minutes
- Last bus from Guarulhos Airport - 22:30
- First bus from Congonhas Airport - 6:20am
Taxi / Uber
Some bus services tend to sell out, in which case the only other option is a taxi or Uber.
Generally, the prices are slightly lower with the Uber app, through which you pay on average around 105 brl.
Airline buses
Until 2021, LATAM and Gol operated free buses for their passengers between the two airports.
These routes were cancelled due to the Covid pandemic and have never been reinstated.
