Getting There By Road

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Driving into the city is a daunting prospect. Routes such as the freeway into São Paulo from Santos have high accident rates while car jacking can be an issue around the outskirts of São Paulo. Traffic lights may be ignored particularly at night if a driver fears for their safety. The minimum driving age is 18 and foreigners require a valid national driving license. Vehicles drive on the right-hand side of the road and speed limits are 120kph (74mph) on highways into São Paulo and vary between 40kph (24mph) to 90kph (55mph) within the city.

Emergency breakdown services
Car Club Do Brasil (tel: (21) 2262 4800; www.carclubdobrasil.com.br).

Routes to the city
Major highways converging on the city include the SP-150 (Anchieta) and SP-160 (Imigrantes) from Santos on the coast. The BR-116 (Dutra) features tolls and is accessible from Rio but a more scenic coastal option is BR-101, then SP-55 from Rio, via Santos. Another alternative for drivers from Rio is the Senna highway (SP-070) - a faster toll road. The SP-330 (Via Anhangüera) connects the city from northern regions of the state and from Minas Gerais state.

Driving times to the city
From Rio - 5 hours; Salvador - 20 hours; Brasilia - 12 hours; Foz do Iguaçu - 12 hours.

Coach services
With numerous bus companies serving destinations from all over Brazil, the three major coach stations resemble small cities. Terminal do Tietê (Avenida Cruzeiro do Sul, Santana) includes services to Rio and international departures. Terminal do Jabaquara (Rua Jequitibás, Jabaquara) has regular buses to Santos. Terminal da Barra Funda (Rua Mário de Andrade, Barra Funda) includes destinations in western Brazilian such as Foz do Iguaçu. For stations and operators, consult terminal operator Socicam (tel: (11) 2223 7199;www.socicam.com.br).