During the 90s, the Trem da Prata (Golden Train) transported passangers between Rio and São Paulo. Unfortunately, the train went bankrupt – not surprisingly, given that it took 6 hours to travel from one city to another, and its cost was only slightly cheaper than the plane.

With the train gone, the only two public transport alternatives to travel between the two largest cities in Brazil are the plane and the bus.

1. FLYING

All the main Brazilian airlines have flights on the Rio-São Paulo shuttle. During the day, there is a flight every 20 minutes. Shuttle flights operate from the Santos Dumont airport in Rio and the Congonhas airport in São Paulo – and not from the international airports in both cities. Flight time is under 45 minutes.

2. BY BUS

The bus trip lasts approximately 6 hours and goes from the Rodoviária Novo Rio bus station in Rio to the Terminal Tietê bus station in São Paulo. There is a bus every 15 minutes. Some of the companies doing the trip are Itapemirim, Expresso do Sul and 1001. Buses are very comfortable.

We have written a blog post on the Novo Rio bus station and another one on the terminal Tietê bus station in São Paulo.

[Don't forget there is a list of all the questions & answers published in the blog here]

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