Safety Tips for São Paulo

The scam everyone falls for: Those taxi drivers hanging around GRU arrivals quote R$250-300 as "fixed rates" to jardins/vila madalena when normal uber is R$65-85. They're part of the infamous airport taxi mafia. Walk past them. Don't even make eye contact.

Airport bus hack for budget: Take official Airport Bus Service from Terminal 2 to Tietê Bus Terminal (R$40-45, runs every 30-60min). From Tietê, metro line 11-coral to luz station (R$4.40). Total cost R$48 vs R$250+ surge uber. Yeah it's slower (90min vs 45min) but you save R$200.

Uber surge timing matters: Don't request from inside GRU pickup zone during rush hours (7-9am, 5-7pm weekdays) when surge hits 3-4x. Walk to departure area first, cuts surge by 30%. Normal price to jardins is R$65-85 but can hit R$200+ during peak times.

Connectivity survival: Buy TIM or Claro SIM at arrivals (R$30-50 for 15GB) because GRU's "free wifi" cuts out exactly when you need uber directions most. Download offline maps before arrival - são paulo's massive size means getting lost costs serious money in surge pricing.