Known for its thermal waters and water parks, Olímpia is one of the main tourist cities in São Paulo, receiving thousands of visitors throughout the year. But do you know the best way to get to Olympia? We will explain the best ways for you to plan your trip and enjoy the parks (water and others) and the city's large resorts!
How to get to Olympia?
Although Olímpia receives many tourists from Minas Gerais and even Rio de Janeiro, it is São Paulo people who visit the city the most, located 430 km from São Paulo. Residents of the capital of São Paulo, in fact, are the most frequent visitors to Olímpia.
In this post, we will provide more details on all the ways to get to Olímpia from São Paulo. And there are three main ways: by plane, by car or by bus.
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São Paulo to Olympia by plane
The quickest way to get to Olímpia from São Paulo is by plane. And, depending on how far in advance you purchase your air ticket, the cost may be the same or even cheaper than a car trip, for example.
The closest airport to Olímpia is in São José do Rio Preto, 55 km away. Olímpia will also gain an airport in the near future, scheduled to open in 2026. And the city's residents and workers know that the number of tourists will increase as soon as the new airport opens.
From São Paulo, you can take flights from the Airports and Guarulhos and Congonhas and also at Viracopos Airport, in Campinas. Latam, Gol, Voepass and Azul have direct flights to São José do Rio Preto, a trip that takes around 1h15.
We found airline tickets for less than R$400 when purchased in advance. Considering that a car trip costs more than that (as we will see later), if a person is traveling alone it may be worth going by plane.
Arriving in São José do Rio Preto, the traveler can go to Olímpia by taxi, app car (an Uber trip costs around R$100, which is more advantageous) or by bus. If you choose a bus, you will need to go to the local bus station to take transport to Olímpia. Three operators (Andorinha, Itamarati and Rápido D'Oeste) run the route and the cost is around R$22. Just don't forget that at Olímpia Bus Station you will still need to travel to the hotel, so consider this extra cost .
Also at São José do Rio Preto airport, an option is to rent a car. It could be a good alternative if the idea is to get around a lot by car in Olímpia.
Is there Uber in Olímpia?
If you don't have a car, know that in Olímpia there is practically no Uber. Application drivers work with two other companies, GP CAR and the Decar, which are more advantageous for them, but a little more expensive for users. To give you an idea, on my return trip from Olímpia to São José do Rio Preto the price was almost double what Uber charged on the way there – but I ended up getting lucky and got an Uber, which is rare in Olímpia.
São Paulo to Olympia by car
An option often used by São Paulo residents is to travel by car. In normal traffic, you can cover around 430 kilometers in less than 5h30. But, considering possible stops and even a little congestion, we can consider an average of 6 hours on the road.
To get to Olímpia, the most common route is to take Rodovia Bandeirantes and then Rodovia Anhanguera to continue on to Rodovia Washington Luís, Brigadeiro Faria Lima and Armando de Sales Oliveira. You can also take most of the route just via Anhanguera, but the route ends up being a little longer.
In total, on the first route we show, the driver will encounter nine toll booths ahead, spending around R$100. We can consider an additional tank (or a little more depending on the car's consumption). A round trip to Olímpia, then, would easily cost more than R$550.
If a person is traveling alone, it may actually be more advantageous to choose to fly to Olímpia. Maybe it'll even break even financially, depending on the ticket you find, but you'll save time and won't have the fatigue of driving for six hours on the road.
São Paulo to Olímpia by bus
I consider this the worst option, as going from São Paulo to Olímpia by bus is not that cheap and you can even get a plane ticket for a similar price (depending on the season).
Buses from the company Danúbio Azul depart from the Tietê Bus Terminal daily at three times, 7:10 am, 1:30 pm and 11:55 pm. The trip lasts between 6:50 am and 7:30 am. Tickets cost between R$177 and R$210.
Considering that a round-trip ticket on the bus can cost R$420 and we found flights for less than R$400 to reach the final destination in just over an hour, which do you think is more worth it?
Driving around Olympia
Olímpia usually receives many tourists during vacation months, holidays and also weekends. On special dates (long holidays, July, December and January, mainly), the city is crowded. The parks are super crowded and, of course, getting around by car is more complicated – including finding parking spaces.
The good news is that almost all parks and hotels in Olímpia have free parking (Hot Beach is one of the few exceptions). But, if you don't have a car, the best way to get around is with local apps, such as GP CAR and Decar.
Free parking at Thermas dos Laranjais
The values between the two vary a lot and the tip is to have both apps downloaded on your smartphone. When you need to use it, do a simulation and see which one is cheaper. No app driver works with Uber in the city, so don't waste time trying – you'll only get it if someone from the neighboring city is traveling through Olímpia at that moment, which happened to me when I needed a car to return to São José do Rio Airport Black. The driver himself said I was lucky, so it's worth trying in this case to pay less.
Where to stay in Olympia
The city of Olímpia has a huge variety of accommodation. There are everything from simpler hotels to large resorts with exclusive entrance to the region's main water parks, Thermas dos Laranjais and Hot Beach.
Check out some hotels, resorts and inns in Olímpia below.
Have you ever been to Olympia? Did you travel by car, plane or bus? And how did you get around the city? Tell us in the comments what your experience was like.
