Welcome to AIESEC
This reception wiki was made to help the trainees from community exchange program that are coming to SĂŁo JosĂŠ do Rio Preto in Brazil!
BRAZIL: THE PERFECT PLACE TO LIVE Multiculturalism and an exchange experience. The natural beauty is famous around all the world and it attracts thousands of tourists every year. More than that, Brazilian people are one of the most special attractions here. They can surprise you through the sympathy and happiness.
São José do Rio Preto São José do Rio Preto is an amazing city located at São Paulo state. The city is located 440 km from São Paulo capital city and it has a population of 434 039 people.
HOW TO ARRIVE IN
RIO PRETO?
You have two options: Come to Rio Preto by Plan. In this Case you will get the plan in São Paulo (Guarulhos-international or Congonhas-national airport) to São José do Rio Preto airport.
Come to Rio Preto by Bus. After arrive in São Paulo Internacional Airport “Guarulhos”, you have to go to the Barra Funda bus station in São Paulo and than you get a bus to São José do Rio Preto.
BUS FROM SÃO PAULO TO SÃO JOSÉ DO RIO PRETO From the Guarulhos airport to the “Barra Funda Bus Station” The first things you need to do is going through the immigration and getting your luggage. Please keep the luggage tickets until the end of your trip because the inspectors may ask it in the way out of the airport. The next step is go from São Paulo International Airport of Guarulhos - GRU to the bus station called Barra Funda.
The next step is buy the bus ticket. You can pay with credit card or with money. In case you want to change your money to buy the tickets you have to go at “Casa de Cambio” or change houses. At the change houses, they just change paper money so you should not bring coins to change per Brazilian Money (called Real). In case you need more information, you can find a information desk at the airport.
It is the best place to get information because most of the people from Brazil do not speak English. To get the bus called “Airport Service” to arrive at “Barra Funda Bus Station” you have to walk out from Terminal 1 and go to the sign "Airport Bus Service". The ticket from Airport to “Barra Funda Bus Station” cost RS 40,00. You can check here how to arrive at “Airbus Service” over the red indication. The bus from Airport to Barra Funda is similar to this:
You can also buy the ticket at “Ônibus – Vendas de passagens”. Remeber that the airport stops in differents places. Barra Funda is your destine so do not forget to ask to the drive if you are in the right place
In case you need change from “Guarulhos Airport” to “Congonhas Airport” you can also get the Airbus Servise by the same price.
From Barra Funda Bus Station to São José do Rio Preto When you arrive at the bus station you have to look for the Company "Cometa". That is the place you will buy your ticket to arrive to São José do Rio Preto. It is probably that the attendant will not speak English. In this case, it is a good idea to write in a paper that you want to buy ticket for the next bus to São José do Rio Preto as is written below: "Olá, gostaria de comprar uma passagem para o próximo ônibus para a cidade de São José do Rio Preto, por favor". After get your ticket by R$ 96,00(approximate), you have to go to the platform that is indicated on your ticket. All the platforms are downstairs. You can see some picture from the Bus station bellow:
Your ticket will be like the one on the picture. Here you can find information like day, departure time, armchair and platform. You must write your name (Nome) and your Passport number (Nยบ Documento) at the bottom of the ticket.
After you find your bus, it is necessary to show your ticket and a document with photo to the driver. Normally, the bus stops in differents cities during the trip. In case you are not sure if the current city is São José do Rio Preto, it would be a nice idea to ask to the driver. As it is not normal to find people that speak English, you can ask in portuguese "Chegamos em Rio Preto?". In case he says "Sim", you arrived! Normally the time of travel is around 6 hours. The picture below illustrates the Bus Station in São José do Rio Preto. Now you can be sure that you arrive in the right place!
COMMUNICATION To call someone from the same city you just need type the telephone number. To make a national distance call you need type: 0 + telephone company code + area code + telephone number Area code of Rio Preto is 17, Telephone company code can be 15, 21 or 41. International calls: Type: 00 + telephone company code (can be 21) + Country code + city code + telephone number To make collect calls: 9090 + telephone number To make collect calls for different area code: 90 + telephone company code + city code + telephone number. You can bring your current cell phone and buy pre-paid Sim Card for your mobile phone. The brands used to communication are: TIM, VIVO, CLARO, OI. They have the GSM system. You can buy the Sim Card buy R$ 10,00 and buy credits to make voice calls, text messages and connect on the internet 3G. The most popular company is TIM. You can acess the 3G during all day long by R$ 0,50 and send how many messages you want during all day for R$ 0.60.
CONTACT Marcela Prado – VP iGCDP marcela.prado@aiesec.net marcelabprado 551799773-1991