Campinas
 

Hey all,
Looking heading down for my first trip to Campinas for the weekend layover. What is there to do down there, how's the hotel, nightlife, etc.?
Thanks!

Never been there, but I have heard lots of stories of people losing their marriage on that layover.

Yeah, I am looking to have some fun, maybe catch some games, see what all the hype is about, but definitely not looking to be "that adventurous". Hahaha.

The pool is fantastic for people (swimsuit) watching. The gym is huge. There are tennis courts, and archery for fitness. The concierge will set you up with transpo to/from Cambui.

I enjoyed that trip and miss flying it, but not for the reasons that some of our more adventurous crew members do. The hotel is not five star by any stretch, but it’s not bad. Resort style, and nice pool area. Gym is so/so. Spa is ok. Lots of families and kids running around. I don’t suggest walking around outside of the immediate hotel area. You can order the “FedEx breakfast” from your room and they’ll bring it to you. More food than you can eat.

Campinas itself is not that exotic as it’s an inland industrial city. I’m sure there’s some fun stuff to do but I never ventured out aside from dinner/drinks with the crew. The go-to spot is the Catedral do Chopp. It’s a fun restaurant/bar. Brazilian style steakhouse. They’ll bring a table top grill and you can cook your own little slabs of meat. They often have live music as well.

Also there’s a fantastic little trattoria style Italian restaurant called Cantina Fellini that I highly recommend.

You’ll need Uber to get to and from the restaurants. Uber is super cheap down there from what I remember.

I suppose it’s possible to get to São Paulo or the beach for the long layover but I’ve never done it.

Bring an extra coffee jug so the ramp agent can fill with hot chocolate for the flight home.

Take Imodium. You're welcome.

Its ok. Depends what your crew is into...but its an affordable weekend layover. You will have two capts so maybe the one that isnt cheap will buy you a 2 dollar beer.

bring a power adapter

is that the one for the runs or when stopped up? I forget.

This is REALLY bad advice.

EVen though Immodium is OTC (non-prescription), it should not be taken unless your Dr recommends it.

That is because if you get food poisoning, it will keep it in your system longer - which is the opposite of what you want.

The best thing it to take Pepto (the pills are easy to carry). They can even be taken prophylactically.

The above advice comes from my neighbor, who is a board certified in internal medicine and travel medicine specialist.

Your neighbor has obviously never needed it in Campinas, and doesn't sound like he has much international experience. I've met a few "travel specialists" and "experts" who have never left the country. Academia only goes so far. None the less, please yourself. Leave the immodium at home.

When you can't leave the hotel room for three days of explosive yellow liquid out all the wrong orfices, to go get medication (or water) in Campinas, you may rethink that strategy.

also according to amas immodum is not FAA approved to
fly on.

And if you forget, ask the front desk. They generally have a few unless the hotel is packed with tourists.

with all due respect, you are wrong. But you know everything about all subjects, so whatever.

Oh BTW, that Dr worked in Africa and India with the UN for 2 years.

Pink Bismuth (the active ingredient in Pepto) actually kills bacteria. Nothing in Imodium does. Pretty simple.

Brought to you by
“I have 40 years of experience”
-JohnBurke

....flew VCP a lot in the old days and never got sick....only ate in Cambui or at the hotel.

Speaking of blindly listening to random old guys, see also:
"This is the best deal we're going to get"
-Negotiating committee, circa 2023

Or a bit of their ear!

Only in the FedEx section of APC can a campinas, Brazil thread devolve into a pepto bismol Imodium diarrhea nerd off in 3 posts.

If you need it, you won't be flying. That's really the point. Think about it.

You ain't kidding !!

So pilots never have unplanned diarrhea? Think about it. You’d crap your pants on the flight deck on approach to not take it? I’m impressed.

This post may win the award for fastest derailment in APC history. VCP is a great layover. Long flight but nice being so close to your starting time zone when you land. Previous posters (before the runs took over) were pretty accurate. Hotel has water and a great breakfast included. You call down and ask for breakfast and they bring you a feast. Cathedral and Trevisan are the two restaurants off property that most of the pilots I have flown down there with like to frequent. Cathedral has some atmosphere and good food, Trevisan is a typical "Brazillian Steakhouse" that you might be used to in the USA, think Texas de Brazil, death by meat. It's good but sort of lacking in atmosphere. The hotel has several restaurants and I have had some okay meals there. The dollar goes a long way and you can have some great food and drinks for very reasonable prices. The hotel pool has a bar and restaurant that has some pretty good food too. I haven't done much touring around other than dining. Enjoy the trip and watch out for those storms when flying through the ITCZ.

Not sure if your trip includes a DH, but if so, make sure you bring in the old crew entry letter on FDX letterhead. It seemed to make the customs two-step quicker. You can pre-order your breakfast at the hotel...good idea if you have a late night.

The "Red Door" I think is the name of the club downtown. I would only recommend it if you have some others with you. Its a sketchy place and recommend not going because the locals will find a way to get you to spend money on drinks that arent yours (so I've been told). Nothing good happens after midnight there. Lots of great restarurants downtown (quick cab ride).

Make sure you dont wander around alone. Have fun, the Hotel is great.

The vote is over. Move on.
 

Well, so far, nobody has proven that wrong. Don't know what your reply has to do with Campinas layovers other than proving you have a short attention span.

The former NC got us a 17% raise. Before that NC were justly fired the company had come up to 22%. That’s just one example of how wrong and out of touch you and your ilk are.

If you're referring to the Red Lion it was bought by a retired Atlas Captain and renamed the 747 Club.

So Brown can go while Purple cannot? Someone needs to open up a MD-11 Club, oh wait the Triple would be better having a larger audience and longevity. Either way agreed, sketchy no matter what or where ain't good so be safe out there.

Maybe you can indentify as a 747? :p

And it's actually a really decent spot these days.

Hysterical. Funniest thing I ever heard on here. Splendid, breeegaaahd.

Bahaha! Good one, although these days I can't even identify traffic - I need a spyglass.