Our first real “getting out of Santos” trip with Eva! The mission: not just to have fun, but to see if it’s even possible to drag a toddler across town without losing our minds.
Verdict: tiny human passed the test)
The Road Trip: Santos → São Paulo
The drive is roughly two hours, give or take depending on how many cars decided to join the party. There are plenty of buses from different companies. We chose Cometa because they stop at José Menino, close to our home — no need to go to the bus station.
I bought tickets at the stop near our house a day before — online booking didn’t work properly. Bonus: a couple of reais cheaper than on the websites.
The drive itself is lovely and scenic: the farther from the coast, the more the landscape changes. My little adventurers were thrilled, and I was too. Surprisingly, the thing that impressed me most were the pine trees — I even brought home three cones)
Zoológico de São Paulo
Our first stop was the zoo. I’d read it’s one of the largest in Latin America, so expectations were high.
We bought tickets in advance on the zoo’s website. There are often combo deals and promotions; we got 50% off as São Paulo state residents — they asked for proof of address.
We also booked a shuttle from Jabaquara bus station to the zoo. Luckily only one-way, because the line at the shuttle stop was insane. We ended up calling an Uber instead — much faster. On the way back, the bus took a sneaky route through restricted areas, bypassing traffic, which was clever, even if a bit confusing why others waited for hours.
We got a real taste of what a weekend in São Paulo during school holidays is like, stuck in traffic and waiting in queues.
Lev was thrilled, but Sasha and I were less impressed. Eva didn’t mind — she loves being carried in a sling, and the destination is less important.
The zoo is huge but oddly organized: not the best conditions for animals, and few places to rest in the shade for visitors. There’s a small fenced grassy area, otherwise it’s paths along fences. I hoped for something like the Melaka Zoo, but it felt more like Hochimin Zoo or a bigger version of Grodno’s.
On a hot, sunny day, many animals were hiding, we didn’t see a single capybara. Flamingos were abundant though, and we even caught a little scuffle.
The giraffe enclosure is spacious and offers great views from all angles.
Lev was eager to see some axolotls, and they had an entire pavilion for them.
The zoo also has a dinosaur park and a botanical garden, and we nearly splurged on a combo ticket for both. Glad we didn’t — with the crowd that day, we just wanted to breeze through and find somewhere a bit quieter.
Also, a lot of Google reviews mention that at the dinosaur park, you have to pay extra for pretty much every little attraction, so the fun factor can be… questionable
Overall, our feelings about the zoo were mixed — we probably wouldn’t go back.
Parque CienTec da USP
After the zoo, we just wanted a calm spot to relax and have a snack. Looking at the map, we realized how big São Paulo really is, and ended up just crossing the street to the university park Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia at the University of São Paulo. The pine trees caught my eye)
Collected pine cones, enjoyed the views.
The park is free, you just provide your name at the entrance.
It’s full of cute science exhibits, a planetarium.
And even tiny planets from our solar system.
Including the former Pluto.
For the school holidays, they even had a fun educational program going on.
We could wander anywhere, sit anywhere—just soak it all in.
Shady spots, calm vibes, beautiful scenery.
In the end, we spent as much time in this park as we did at the zoo.
Then we crossed back to the zoo, caught our transfer to the bus station, demolished a whole table of food at a nearby café, and headed happily back to the coast.
One day was enough to realize we wouldn’t want to live in São Paulo, and also that it’s smarter to plan trips outside school holidays if you want to actually enjoy the places. Most importantly, Eva loved traveling—and that, for us, was the real win. Tchao!
Tchao!