Travel Information
Meeting Location
The VLMG-6 meeting will be held at the National Institute for Space Research - INPE, in the city of São José dos Campos, Brazil. São José dos Campos is a major city in the state of São Paulo, being one of the most important industrial and research centers in Latin America. It is located about 80 km (50 miles) from São Paulo International Airport and it has a population of 630.000 people. The city was rated one of the top 25 Brazilian cities for quality of life, and offers a wide variety of shops and services.
Travelling to São José dos Campos
The nearest international airport is Guarulhos International Airport (GRU), wich is located in the city of Guarulhos, about 80 km from São José dos Campos.
There are only two terminals in this airport, but most major airlines operate from there. To obtain further information about Guarulhos International Airport please visit http://www.aeroportoguarulhos.net/en/
Transport from Guarulhos International Airport to São José dos Campos - Sunday 7 October 2012
Transport from Guarulhos International Airport to São José dos Campos on Sunday the 7th of October will be arranged by the Local Organizers. If you are planning to arrive on Sunday the 7th, please contact Cacilda Aravequia (cacilda.aravequia@cptec.inpe.br) as soon as possible, to let her know of your arrival time. She will organize the pick-up schedule to attend all participants in the most efficient way possible.
If you are arriving on a different day (other than the 7th of October), you can either take a taxi or a coach from the airport to São José dos Campos.
Taking a taxi from Guarulhos International Airport to São José dos Campos
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A taxi trip from Guarulhos International Airport to São José dos Campos costs approximately R$300 (around 150 USD). If taking a taxi, you are advised to use a certified company. We suggest using the company "Guarucoop". Guarucoop has reception desks at the airport exit gates in Terminals I and II, at the arrivals level (lower floor). You can access the company website at http://www.guarucoop.com.br Besides this company is trusted to have bilingual receptionists and drivers, you are advised to print and take with you the Taxi Instructions document, which includes English/Portuguese instructions indicating that you are going to São José dos Campos and the address of the hotels (make sure you know wich hotel you have booked). |
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Taking the coach from Guarulhos International Airport to São José dos Campos
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A coach trip from Guarulhos International Airport to São José dos Campos takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes, and costs R$16.30 (around 10 USD). The company that makes this trip is called "Pássaro Marron". The ticket booth is located outside the airport exit gate in Terminal II, at the arrivals level (lower floor). There is no guarantee that the staff at the ticket booth will be able to speak English, so you are advised to print and take with you the Coach Instructions document, which includes English/Portuguese instructions indicating that you are going to São José dos Campos. |
Ticket booth - GRU Airport |
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The table below shows coach departure times from GRU:  |
Note: Pássaro Marron is replacing old coach models (white) with new ones (red). The coach you take will look like one of the above. |
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Pássaro Marron coaches may stop in many places before arriving at São José dos Campos coach station, called Terminal Rodoviário Frederico Ozanan. The station may not be the last stop of the coach you take, but you must leave the coach at this station. From Terminal Rodoviário Frederico Ozanan you can get a taxi to the hotel. You will find taxis in front of the station and the trip to the hotel will cost you about R$20 (approximately 12 USD). Again, you may consider showing the Taxi Instructions to the driver, as not all taxi drivers speak English. |
Terminal Rodoviário Frederico Ozanan |
Accommodation
Special conference pricing is available at two hotels located at Jardim Apolo neighbourhood in São José dos Campos. These hotels stand side by side and are close to shops and restaurants. Transport to and from INPE will be provided by the local committee.
Once you have chosen the hotel of your preference, please send the Hotel Registration Form to Cacilda Aravequia (cacilda.aravequia@cptec.inpe.br) who will take care of all bookings for the VLMG-6. There are only a certain number of rooms reserved in each hotel and the deadline for bookings are different (IBIS – July 2012, MERCURE – September 2012). Please do not use the online reservation service available at the hotels websites if you would like to take advantage of the special rates for this event. After the deadline (upon availability) you can make your own bookings through the hotels websites.
IBIS São José dos Campos Colinas Hotel
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Hotel address Av Dr Jorge Zarur 81 Torre I Jardim Apolo 12243081 SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS BRAZIL Tel. (+55)12/39042400 Fax. (+55)12/39042401 R$148 Breakfast included |
For further information please check the IBIS Hotel Website.
MERCURE São José dos Campos Hotel
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Hotel address Av Dr Jorge Zarur 81 Torre II Jardim Apolo 12243081 SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS BRAZIL Tel. (+55)12/39042300 Fax. (+55)12/39042301 R$199 Breakfast included |
For further information please check the MERCURE Hotel Website.
Additional Tour
For those planning to stay a bit longer in Brazil, either to participate in the IPWG Workshop (15-19 October) or to visit the Country, the Local Comitee is organizing a three days trip to Paraty.
Paraty is a preserved Portuguese colonial (1500-1822) and Brazilian Imperial (1822–1889) town with a population of about 36,000. It is located on the Costa Verde (Green Coast), a lush, green corridor that runs along the coastline of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Paraty has become a popular tourist area in recent years, renowned for the historic town and the coast and mountains in the region.
This three days trip will be held in the period between the two meetings (VLMG-6/IPWG), from 12 to 14 October. Costs for this trip are of responsibility of interested participants.
Due to the tourist agency's requirement for a guaranteed minimum number of participants in advance of the trip, interested participants should contact Daniel Vila daniel.vila@cptec.inpe.br to express their interest and receive additional information. Participation in this trip needs to be booked in advance.
You can find more information about Paraty at http://www.paraty.com.br/us/
 Trindade - A charming village in Paraty |
 Paraty's colonial architecture |
 The Atlantic Forest surrounding Paraty |
Visa Requirements
Foreign citizens travelling to Brazil as tourists or to attend conferences may need to have a “Tourist Visa”. For a list of countries for which Brazilian visa is required, please click here. This list was last updated in February 2012, so if in doubt, please consult your nearest Brazilian consulate or embassy.
It is important that you comply with Brazilian immigration laws on arrival in country and satisfy the Federal Police (the Brazilian immigration authority) of your intended purpose of visit. It is particularly important to be able to demonstrate that you have sufficient money to fund the duration of your stay, that you have details of your accommodation and a return airline ticket or evidence that you are going to leave the country by other means of transport. If you do not, then you risk being denied entry into the country.
Finally, it is important that you retain your immigration landing card that is required to leave the country – if you lose it you could be subject to a fine. It is also important that you have enough cash to pay the airport tax (R$65 payable in cash only) if this has not been paid with your airline ticket, which is a requirement to leave the country.
Entry Requirements - Yellow Fever Certificate
If you have recently visited a country, which is known to suffer from outbreaks of Yellow Fever, you will need to show that you have been vaccinated against the disease.