Flying from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro?
Add a departure date and see which side gets the sun.
Flying from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro?
Add a departure date and see which side gets the sun.
Flying from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro?
Add a departure date and see which side gets the sun.
São Paulo → Rio de Janeiro
A short flight within Brazil. No clock change on arrival.
This route crosses the Tropic of Capricorn, the southernmost latitude where the sun passes directly overhead.
Departing from
GRU
São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governor André Franco Montoro International Airport
Brazil's financial capital
São Paulo is Brazil's largest city and financial engine, a dense forest of high-rises with no single historic core, spread across an inland plateau rather than a coastline. A commuter rail line reaches a station near Guarulhos Airport, with an automated people-mover covering the final stretch to the terminals on a limited evening schedule; most travelers still arrive by bus, shuttle, or car. The city is known for serious year-round traffic and a helicopter culture among executives trying to avoid it. It also has one of Latin America's deepest restaurant scenes and a dense, varied immigrant heritage, from Italian to Japanese.
Surrounding hubs
| 2,615 km / 1,625 mi | |
| 3,475 km / 2,159 mi | |
| 4,308 km / 2,677 mi |
The marvelous city
Rio de Janeiro is wedged dramatically between granite peaks, including Sugarloaf and Corcovado, and a string of beaches along the Atlantic, with almost no flat land to spare. Galeao Airport sits on an island in Guanabara Bay, a notable distance from the beach neighborhoods like Copacabana and Ipanema; there's no rail link, so buses, taxis, and rideshares cover the trip. A smaller, more central airport (Santos Dumont) handles short-haul flights and sits much closer to downtown. The city's mountains and favela-covered hillsides give it one of the most dramatic urban skylines anywhere.
Surrounding hubs
| 2,934 km / 1,823 mi | |
| 3,777 km / 2,347 mi | |
| 4,526 km / 2,812 mi |
Find out which side of the plane to sit on.
Pick your airports, set your departure time, and you're done.
We calculate the sun's position based on your flight path and departure time, then tell you which side of the plane gets direct sun and which stays shaded. No guessing, just math.
Enter your flight
Pick your departure and arrival airports and set your departure time at the departure airport. FlightSide estimates the duration and you can adjust it if you know the exact schedule.
We track the sun along your route
Your flight path is broken into hundreds of points. At each one we check where the sun is and which side of the plane it faces.
You get a recommendation
Which side of the plane to sit on, left or right, depending on whether you'd rather avoid the sun or enjoy it. The percentages and the map are there if you want to see why.
Want to go deeper? Accuracy, edge cases, polar routes — see the FAQ →
Notes from the product.
Small updates, route observations, and clearer explanations for how the app keeps evolving.
Type less, wait less, wonder more
Airport search now understands metro codes and old city names, FlightSide loads noticeably faster, and a new Feeling lucky button chooses a flight for anyone without one in mind.
A closer look at the route, not just the seat
FlightSide now shows the two cities and key details about the flight alongside the seat recommendation: confirm you picked the right airports, read the time change off two clocks, and check the return leg.
It's all about the sun (after all)
Not all sunlight reaches the side windows. FlightSide now weighs the sun’s angle to the cabin and shows twilight along the route.