Suggestions for what to do/see in port of Santos

We will be boarding the Ruby Princess at the end of January for a cruise from FLL to Valpariso, Chile.

We have tours booked for most of the ports, but here we are, 52 days from sailing, and Princess has not made any excursions available for Santos. Not sure when or if they will offer any at this point, and we are needing to have some sort of plan in place in case they don't.

Hopefully someone here can offer some suggestions or tips as to what would be good to see and do there.

Thanks

Here is the travel wiki for Santos, which mentions some minor sights, etc.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Santos

You could go into São Paulo city, about an hour or two away depending on traffic, but it is a business, not a tourist or cultural capitol. Features are clubs and restaurants, a couple of parks, a few museums (mostly not the level one might expect in a city of this size) and a lot of tall buildings and traffic.

Santos is a port city. There are beaches, but there are nicer ones nearby. The area is a convenient destination for residents of São Paulo looking for a weekend day at the beach, and gets very crowded on a sunny summer weekend. I've been with friends who live in Grande S.P. If I were traveling to Brazil to see the country's most interesting sights, cultural attractions, and beautiful beaches, this stretch of coastline would not even be on my radar. Make of it what you can, I guess.

Thanks, VidaNaPraia. I was hoping you would reply!

I've done a fair amount of research about this particular port and don't see that there is a lot to do there. I have no burning desire to ride an hour or more each way to ro to Sao Paulo. I'm thinking maybe Princess has not offered any tours since there's not much to do/see for this port.

While I hate to stay on the ship in a port I have never visited, that may be what we end up doing, unless there is something to see or a place to look for souvenirs in the immediate port area.

While I hate to stay on the ship in a port I have never visited, that may be what we end up doing, unless there is something to see or a place to look for souvenirs in the immediate port area.

It IS Brazil after all, though, and it would be a shame to spend your time on the ship IMO. Grab a relatively inexpensive taxi to nearby Guaruja, probably the best beach in the area, and at least see a bit of Paulistano leisure life. It's about 11 kilometers from Santos. There is also a mall in Pitangueiras, one of the Guaruja beaches.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Guarujá

Saved by Princess!! We won't have to stay onboard while in the port of Santos after all!

Finally, at 45 days before our sailing, Princess posted 2 excursion offerings, and we signed up for one that does the highlights of the city.

Whew!!

It IS Brazil after all, though, and it would be a shame to spend your time on the ship IMO. Grab a relatively inexpensive taxi to nearby Guaruja, probably the best beach in the area, and at least see a bit of Paulistano leisure life. It's about 11 kilometers from Santos. There is also a mall in Pitangueiras, one of the Guaruja beaches.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Guarujá

Are there taxicabs readily available both to and from Guaruja? How long a trip is it from this beach to the Santos Cruise port?

Thanks.

We also have a day in Santos and most definitely do not want to stay on the ship! We are not in to the ship's excursions, but we're looking for ideas. We have a lot of ports with beaches on this itinerary (sailing from Buenos Aires to Rio - 12 nights), and while I love beaches, if there's something else to see, any suggestions would be appreciated.

The choices for a day trip are pretty much going into São Paulo to look around or finding a nearby beach or mall. The area is not well known for major historic/cultural sights and the nature/natural beauty is....the beach. If you choose São Paulo, independent of the ship's tour, make sure you don't underestimate the traffic.