Getting Around Jundiaí
Jundiaí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, located north of São Paulo. For a visitor, the city is fairly manageable: the center and its attractions can be explored on foot, while the surrounding countryside and natural areas call for a car, a ride-hailing app, a shared ride, or a local tour agency.
Walking
The city center and its attractions can be easily explored on foot. If your plans are focused on the central area, you can reasonably leave the car behind and simply walk between points of interest.
Beyond the center, however, walking becomes impractical. To explore the countryside and the nature around the city, you will need an Uber lift, a shared BlaBlaCar ride, or one of the tour agencies that operate in the city.
Rail: CPTM Trains
Jundiaí is one of the few places outside the São Paulo metro area where it is possible to arrive by train. The city has a connection at Jundiaí station with the Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM).
- Line 7-Ruby departs from Luz station in São Paulo and terminates at Jundiaí.
- The fare is the same as a regular CPTM/Metrô ticket, making it a very cheap option.
- The service is a stop train, so it is slow — the journey takes at least 1½ hours, and a transfer at Francisco Morato station can add further time.
- The train can get overcrowded at peak hours. Keep track of your valuables if people are brushing up against you.
- The route passes through some rough-ish neighbourhoods, but security at every stop does a good job of keeping everything under control.
- The ride offers views you simply don't get from the motorway, such as favelas on the sides of hills and dirt football pitches, plus the occasional buskers and serenaders wandering up and down the carriage.
The Jundiaí railway station (Estação Jundiaí) is on Praça Mauá. It sits about 1.7 km from the city center proper, and roughly the same distance from the Museu da Companhia Paulista — so plan on a walk, a local bus, or a taxi at either end.
Buses and Public Transport
Jundiaí has a system of public transportation with a one-way ticket costing R$5.00 (about US$0.97) as of 2023. Most of the buses have wheelchair lifts, and a few have monitors that broadcast videos about the city and education.
The network is organized around terminais (terminals), which connect the lines and make users' transportation faster and cheaper: circulation within the terminals to the linhas alimentadoras (feeding lines) is free, and those feeding lines carry passengers from the terminals to their respective destinations.
For regular users, there are reloadable electronic cards available on registration:
- Yellow card — for regular users; reloadable.
- Blue card — for students, charging only half price for each ticket.
- Grey or green card — for the elderly or disabled, allowing free admittance.
Intercity Buses
Getting to Jundiaí by bus is a far more comfortable option than the CPTM train. The intercity bus terminal is Terminal Rodoviário José Alves, at Av. 9 de Julho, 4000. From there, a local bus or a taxi is necessary to reach the city center.
- From São Paulo: buses depart from the Tietê terminal and are provided by Viação Cometa, costing about R$17.50.
- From Campinas: buses are provided by LiraBus or VB Transportes and cost about R$14.
- Buses from both São Paulo and Campinas are quite frequent and seldom require reservation.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Taxis are a practical option for short connections — for example, between the intercity bus terminal and the city center, or between the railway station and the center. Ride-hailing is also available: Uber is specifically noted as a way to reach the countryside and the nature around the city, where walking and regular public transport won't get you. Shared BlaBlaCar rides are another option for the same purpose.
Getting In from the Airport
Jundiaí Airport serves the city and region for small airplanes. Note that this is a small-aircraft facility rather than a major commercial gateway, so most visitors will arrive via São Paulo's airports and continue overland.
From São Paulo, the practical options are:
- By car: Jundiaí is easily accessible from São Paulo (about 50 minutes) or Campinas (about 40 minutes) via Rod. Anhanguera (SP-330). From São Paulo, a frequently used alternative is to take Rod. dos Bandeirantes (SP-348) and change to Rod. Anhanguera shortly before arriving in Jundiaí.
- By train: CPTM Line 7-Ruby from Luz station — cheap but slow, with a possible transfer at Francisco Morato.
- By bus: Viação Cometa services from the Tietê terminal, the more comfortable intercity option.
Practical Tips
- Base yourself centrally if you want to walk to the main attractions; the railway station and the Museu da Companhia Paulista are both a short distance outside the center proper.
- Use the terminals to your advantage: free circulation between terminal and feeding lines keeps costs down and journeys quicker.
- If you plan to visit the Serra do Japi or other natural areas, arrange a ride-hailing trip, a shared ride, or a tour agency in advance — these destinations are not walkable from the center.
- On the CPTM train at peak hours, stay alert to your belongings.