As you may know, I’m a huge fan of Uber in Los Angeles because it’s such an inexpensive way to get around town, especially to the airport. Most recently, Uber launched UberPOOL in Los Angeles which makes it even cheaper! Using UberPOOL, you can get from Santa Monica to LAX for only $5 or from Downtown LA to LAX for $15 and vice versa. I wrote about My Experience Using UberPOOL To Get From LAX Airport To Downtown Los Angeles.
During my recent South America Mileage Run Vacation to Foz do Iguacu, I had a 23 hour layover in Sao Paulo. My flight out of Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) was at 7am and I wanted to get to the airport by 4:30am to check out the new LAN TAM Sala VIP Lounge at GRU Airport’s Terminal 3. The problem was that there was no viable public transportation running that early in the morning and the last Airport Bus Service departure was at 11:30pm and doesn’t start up again until 6am. I was stuck having to call a cab, but I realized there was Uber in Sao Paulo, Brasil.
I’ve had positive experiences using Uber internationally in Singapore, London, Bogota, Lima, and Mexico City. This time, I wanted to try out Uber in Sao Paulo and this is My Experience Using Uber to Get From Sao Paulo to Guarulhos International Airport.
Sao Paulo doesn’t have the inexpensive UberX service and only has UberBLACK which has a base fare of R$5 ~ $1.67 USD + R$0.40 per minute ~ $0.13 USD + R$2.42 per kilometer ~ $0.81 USD.
Even though Sao Paulo only has UberBLACK service, it’s relatively comparable to the prices (if not cheaper) than UberX in Los Angeles. From the Brooklin Novo/Itaim Bibi/Morumbi neighborhood where the Sheraton Sao Paulo WTC Hotel was located, I was quoted a fare of R$105-139 ~ $35.04-$46.39 USD to GRU International Airport.
The price quote of 105-139 Brazilian reais ~ $35.04 – $46.39 USD wasn’t too bad at all because it takes 45 minutes to get to Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) without any traffic.
I hailed an UberBLACK car at 3:36am in the morning so I could arrive to the airport before 4:30am. In less than 10 seconds, an Uber driver confirmed my pick up which had an estimated wait time of 10 minutes.
I love how Uber displays the driver’s picture, type of car, and license plate which makes me feel more secure about the ride (especially in Brazil).
The professional Uber driver pulled up at 3:50am and I was on our way to the airport with an estimated time of 42 minutes.
In the end, I got to the airport safely at 4:25am and the fare was R$139 ~ $46.39 USD which was pretty good considering it was a long 42 minute ride. Uber in Sao Paulo is still much cheaper than taking an $80-$100 USD regular taxi from the taxi cab stand because of the extra night time surcharge.
I highly recommend UberBLACK in Sao Paulo as a taxi alternative. Have you used Uber in Sao Paulo or Uber in Brazil yet?