Connecting at GRU
 

Have a connecting flight from ATL through GRU to NAT. I have 2hr 55min Connection. ATL to GRU is on Delta and GRU to NAT is on GOL. Is this enough time to get through immigration, customs and re-check my bags and get to the gate. Thanks for the help.

Welcome to FT, dawsondrive

Your question is similar to others that have been asked. Peruse the forum to gain additional insight.

You should be fine. Any checked bags should be checked all the way through. You will need to claim them at GRU and go through customs and recheck. 2 hr, 55 min is plenty of time if your flight is not significantly late.

I connected from France on friday (but I arrived at T3). I had only a carry on and I just needed 45 minutes gate to gate.

I suppose Delta arrives at T2, it is nearer from the Gol terminal T1 (I spent 15 minutes walking from T3 to T1).

One important thing : carry on limit is 5 kilos on Gol (my carry on was 7 but they accepted it).

jmbfrance just had this experience transfering from T3 to T1. T2 to T1 is even shorter, so unless your DL flight is extremely late you´ll be ok. Customs and immigration are done at GRU so you need to recheck your bags with Gol for the NAT leg.

NAT has a new airport now NW of the city in Sao Goncalo do Amarante where you´ll fly to. It´s about 30 minutes out of town.

If you have the time I do recommend the Old Five bar and restaurant steps from Morro do Careca in Ponta Negra beach. https://www.facebook.com/oldfive.restaurante

If you need more info on things to do in NAT just PM me.

dawsondrive, I think that you should be fine.
Note that now all international flights in GRU will arrive at Terminal 3. Probably your flight to NAT will departure at Terminal 1. Expect a 15 minutes walk from T3 to T1.
I hope you have a great trip.

Thanks everyone for your help. Feel much better. I will try and post my experience through the airport when I return just to help everyone out. Going to visit some friends that live in Natal. Was there last year but flew through Rio and that was one of the worst airports I have been through to make a connection. Charles de Gaule in Paris has to be the worst in my opinion to make a connection from the USA to another airport in Europe.

CDG used to be a hazzle a few years ago. Nowadays, you typically have a 2E - 2F connection, which is really quick and straight forward.

Just an update on my flight to Brazil. My flights all got changed due to the "Snow Storm" in Atlanta on 2/25. My Sao Paulo flight was cancelled, so I got rebooked on a flight to Rio. That flight was delayed for passengers, taking off baggage and de-icing. We were supposed to arrive at 10:17AM but arrived around 11:02AM. My connecting flight was at 1:13PM to Natal. I made it through with about 10-15 minutes before boarding. Connecting was pretty easy at GIG even with all the construction going on. After Passport Control there was a lady with GOL giving assistance with passengers for connecting flights on GOL and my name was on her list and she directed me to pick up bags, go through customs and go to the check in desk at the end of the terminal. Only 1 person waiting and there area was marked OK but could be better. Took about 5 minutes to get my bags checked and new boarding pass. Had to go to the other terminal for my GOL flight which none of the moving walk ways were working. They did have a golf cart if you needed assistance. My issue was finding my way to the security area to be checked. Not clearly marked and was behind a wall so you could not actually see the security area. But I did make it with time to spare and make my flight to Natal.

On my way back I flew through Brasilia and it was ok. Got confused where to go to get checked in for my flight to the US. I went to the side that said connections instead of through baggage pickup. Connections was only for Domestic Connections not International. So I had to find my way back to Baggage Claim where I finally found my way to the Check-ins and found the Delta desk to check. I did not have to get my bags there as they where checked to my final destination. The only beef with Brasilia is that the international gates look like you walked into the 60's. Have not been updated for quite awhile and the only thing open was the duty free store. Also, you could only go to the gate when they told you so that meant having to wait in the check in area which was ok since they did have shops and a food court in that area.

Trip was good and enjoyed my time in Brazil.