Sao Paulo - Post Report Question and Answers
What have been the highlights of your time in this country? Best trips or experiences?
Anything not in Sao Paulo. Lots of cool places to visit throughout South America, and of course flights to Portugal are plentiful and affordable. Everyone posted to Sao Paulo will probably go to the Iguacu waterfalls at least a few times, and many other cool nature places to visit in Brazil, Argentina, Peru, etc.; but if your budget doesn't allow for it and you're mostly stuck in Sao Paulo, you'll really need to be a gritty city person or have some hobbies that will help you get through the tour. It's a real grind living here. It's not a particularly pretty or walkable or safe city. Also, the food is not for everyone. Staple Brazilian food is quite boring and consists of lots of beans, rice, and meat, and most food tends to be very salty and desserts very sweet (Brazil was built on slavery and sugar cane plantations...), and it can be challenging, even in Sao Paulo, to find decent and authentic non-Brazilian cuisines, and those challenges are only exacerbated in less cosmopolitan parts of Brazil. - Jun 2024
Birdwatching. Beach trips. Ilhabela was my favorite. Just be sure t=you buy the local mosquito repellent when you get there... - May 2021
Quick weekend jaunts to the beach. Most of my time in Brazil was during COVID so I probably have a skewed sense of reality as I spent a lot of time at home. - Apr 2021
The beaches! Especially the northeast. All the restaurants, museums, and nightlife. - Aug 2019
The highlights for us were school events and community events sponsored by The American Society of Sao Paulo. Our trips outside of Sao Paulo were the most memorable. Inter-country flights are actually inexpensive and readily available. Our favorites were Rio for New Years and Carnaval, Paraty, Iguacu Falls, Bonito, Campo Grande, Campos do Jordao, and The Amazon. All were family friendly (but enjoyed by our single and young couple friends as well). - Nov 2017
Getting to know Brazilians. There are so many places to visit in Brazil. You will not get to all the destinations you want to visit. - Apr 2017
Flying within Brazil is relatively inexpensive. Rio is a quick trip and a cheap flight, generally. Other highlights were Buzios, Paraty and exploring the Northeast. There's no shortage of great places to visit. - Apr 2017
Awesome playground at Consulate where my kids love to play. The beach is 2 hours away and that's pretty nice too... but don't expect an amazing beach. It's just so-so. - Jan 2017
Visiting Iguacu Falls. Learning about the historical similarities between Brazil and the US. - Jan 2017
Best beaches in the world. Great travel opportunities. Easy weekend trips to Rio and to the beaches in Sao Paulo state. It's a huge, beautiful country, and the domestic flights are reasonable. - Aug 2015
Emu das Arts is awesome. The beach is an easy hour drive. Hiking, biking is within a reasonable distance, but don't expect to walk out your door and find anything but another high rise. Short day trips are easy to come by, pretty cheap and worth the trip. Rio is only a 45 minute plane ride and flights are readily available and pretty cheap. - Aug 2013
The people were really the highlight. We made a lot of Brazilian friends while living in SP. Travel wise, Brazil is a huge country, bigger than the continental U.S. So, there is a lot to see, and your only limit is your budget and free time. There are many places you could visit outside the city for the weekend. Rio de Janeiro is fairly close and an easy long-weekend trip (we went there many times). I recommend taking a trip to Fortaleza (or Jeri Coa Coara) or to Foz do Iguacu. The Pantanal is a better place for seeing wildlife than the Amazon. Of course, there are many things to do within the city, from museums to theaters to neighborhood markets and festivals. - Dec 2012
Traveling around Brazil – trading chaotic and concrete city life for nature and beach - Jan 2012
strong sense of community with Brazilians not found in other posts - Jan 2012
Waiting for my trip to the deep Amazon. - Jan 2012
