Adam1222

Booked the current IGU deal, have a 12 hour overnight in Sao Paolo on a Saturday night. (9pm to 9am)
I am assuming I have time to go into the city and have a night out. Is SP a good city for that or should I stick with an airport hotel?
Thoughts on where to stay if I do want to gay it up?

82saint

Traffic is a nightmare. It took me 3 hours to get to the airport from the city. Bumper to bumper every inch of the way. Unless you are traveling on weekends or at extreme off hours, I would use an airport hotel.

carlosdca

Absolutely agree with this recommendation.

While someone here may jump and say "there was no traffic when I was there"; the truth is that the traffic is usually BAD to and from the airport. Even without traffic, it can take you a good 45mins to the city (up to 3 hours with traffic).

Sao Paulo is a gigantic metropolis, everything is spreadout, including the happening gay clubs/bars. It is not that you can go to a specific street and check out several bars at a time, it is not the Castro or West Hollywood or 17th St in DuPont Circle. You won't find that gay cluster in Sao Paulo (there is sort of one in downtown but it is dreadful, bordering dangerous/unsafe).

you will also need to take cabs, since you don't want to drive in Sao Paulo. There is no easy public transportation at night. You will spend a fortune in cabs (since everything is so spreadout).

If you HAVE to, check out the WEEK (mega gay club in the middle of nowhere) from 1AM to 4AM, then head back to the airport. Good luck with that.

My recommendation: Stay by the airport.

Adam1222

Thanks. I ended up canceling and rebooking with 2 nights in Rio instead.

TeamCarryOn

Two nights in Rio is better but a 12 hour layover in Sao Paulo isn't as bad in my opinion as others have stated.

On a Saturday night, it will take you about 1.5 hours to get to ave. paulista on an airport bus. Once there, I recommend checking into the IBIS Budget Paulista which is on Consolacao. From there, it's a short walk to Rua Augusta and Rua Frei Coneca where there are many gay bars and clubs. At night, it's safe to walk on these streets because they are extremely crowded but of course, mind your wits. So, party your night away and get up/be ready by 6am to catch a taxi back to GRU.

OR, if you want a more adventurous night: head straight to Hotel Chili Peppers and spend your evening at the hotel before heading back to GRU.

carlosdca

I probably missed something big time here because I walked around this area and there are not more than a handful of bars (not sure if gay or not, but not super happening anyway) in this area. And I don't think it is unsafe, but it is kind of quiet (late night). Which specific bars do you recommend in Rua Augusta or Frei Coneca?
Paulistas don't walk, AFAIK, they drive.