Company: Reunidas
Type: Semi-leito
Price: $R57 each
Duration: 6 hours

Details: Our first long distance (6 hour) coach ride departed from the colonial town of Paraty. As we settled into our pre-booked semi-leito seats we were immediately impressed by the premium feel and decent amount of leg room we had compared with British coaches. As it was a beautifully clear and hot day we had boarded the bus in our flip flops and shorts, but as we looked around we noticed that everyone else had extra layers and blankets - we’d totally overlooked how cold the air con gets on the coaches! Our warmer clothes were stowed deep in the belly of the bus, but thankfully with a bit of huddling and quick sunbathing during rest stops we managed to avoid frost bite! The journey along the Rio—Santos highway, with picturesque views of the coast to our left and lush mountains on our right made for a lovely few hours travel. As we approached São Paulo we were met with torrential tropical rain, something we came to realise was not uncommon in the monstrous city. Despite the weather the bus arrived safely on time at Tietê, the largest terminal in South America, before jumping on the metro to our hostel.