Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) is Brazil's busiest airport, sitting around twenty-five kilometers northeast of central Sao Paulo, and it hosts one of the country's largest concentrations of car rental desks, with counters covering international and local operators inside the terminal complex. Given the scale of Sao Paulo and the distances between neighborhoods, business districts and outlying attractions, a rental car picked up here can be a practical option for visitors planning to drive beyond the city center, though many travelers who intend to stay purely within Sao Paulo itself opt for taxis or ride-hailing given the intensity of local traffic.
From GRU, the drive into central Sao Paulo typically takes forty-five minutes to over an hour depending on time of day, following the marginais - the elevated expressways that trace the Tiete and Pinheiros rivers - which carry some of the heaviest and most congested traffic in South America during peak hours. Beyond the city, toll rodovias fan out toward the coast, the interior wine and coffee regions, and neighboring states, offering a smoother driving experience than the city core once you clear the metropolitan sprawl.
Driving is on the right throughout Brazil, and Sao Paulo operates a rodizio traffic restriction scheme that limits certain vehicles from parts of the city on specific weekdays based on license plate digits, a detail worth checking with your rental company since it can affect city-center driving plans. Toll rodovias require either cash, an electronic tag, or a card at plazas depending on the route, and fuel stations are plentiful throughout the metro area, but choose your route into the center carefully, since Sao Paulo's traffic density makes navigation apps and off-peak timing far more valuable here than in most Brazilian cities, particularly on a first visit to the country's largest metropolitan area.