UTIL

The main stations covered by UTIL’s buses include:

• Rio das Ostras
• Conselheiro Lafaiete Bus Station
• Itumbiara Bus Station
• Cuiaba Bus Station
• Terminal Turistico JK
• Angra dos Reis
• Barbacena Bus Station
• Lavras
• Vassouras Bus Station
• Cabo Frio Bus Station
• Mogi Das Cruzes Bus Station
• Pouso Alegre Bus Station
• Resende Graal Bus Station
• Barra Mansa Bus Station
• Sao Sebastiao Bus Station
• Sao Jose dos Campos
• Ouro Preto Bus Station
• New Rio Bus Station
• Aparecida Bus Station
• Uberlandia Bus Station
• Jundiai Bus Station
• Belo Horizonte Central
• Niteroi Bus Station
• Santos Bus Station
• Ubatuba Bus Station
• Volta Redonda Bus Station
• Brasilia Bus Station
• Paraty Bus Station
• Rondonopolis Bus Station
• Uberaba Bus Station
• Sao Bernardo do Campo Terminal
• Campinas Bus Station
• Juiz de Fora Bus Station
• Santo Andre Bus Station
• Terminal Rodoviario de Betim
• Praia Grande Bus Station
• Barra do Pirai Bus Station
• Sorocaba Bus Station
• Petropolis Bus Station
• Betim
• Macae Bus Station
• Ribeirao Preto Bus Station
• Sao Joao del Rei Bus Station
• Sao Paulo Tiete Bus Station
• Mineiros
• Alto Araguaia
• Guarulhos
• Carmo da Cachoeira
• Goiania Bus Station
• Tres Rios

UTIL buses ply a number of routes and here is the list of some of the most popular ones:

• Belo Horizonte - Rio de Janeiro state
• Ubatuba - Paraty
• Sao Paulo - Belo Horizonte
• Belo Horizonte - Sao Paulo
• Paraty - Ubatuba
• Ubatuba - Angra dos Reis
• Belo Horizonte - Angra dos Reis
• Angra dos Reis - Belo Horizonte
• Rio de Janeiro - Ubatuba
• Rio de Janeiro - Belo Horizonte
• Belo Horizonte - Macae
• Ubatuba - Rio de Janeiro
• Santos - Rio de Janeiro
• Belo Horizonte - Rio de Janeiro
• Sao Paulo - Minas Gerais
• Sao Jose dos Campos - Rio de Janeiro state
• Rio de Janeiro - Ribeirao Preto
• Sao Joao Del Rei - Santos
• Rio de Janeiro - Conselheiro Lafaiete
• Itumbiara - Uberlandia
• Barra Mansa - Belo Horizonte
• Campinas - Pouso Alegre
• Cuiaba - Rio de Janeiro
• Belo Horizonte - Petropolis
• Rio de Janeiro - Uberlandia
• Pouso Alegre - Jundiai
• Sao Jose dos Campos - Juiz de Fora
• Petropolis - Belo Horizonte
• Lavras - Pouso Alegre
• Brasilia - Petropolis
• Cabo Frio - Belo Horizonte
• Belo Horizonte - Volta Redonda
• Belo Horizonte - Sorocaba
• Jundiai - Sao Joao Del Rei
• Campinas - Rondonopolis
• Lavras - Sao Paulo
• Sao Sebastiao - Paraty
• Rio de Janeiro - Juiz de Fora
• Belo Horizonte - Sao Jose dos Campos
• Sao Paulo - Rio de Janeiro
• Barbacena - Belo Horizonte
• Volta Redonda - Belo Horizonte
• Rio de Janeiro - Santos
• Campinas - Cuiaba
• Belo Horizonte - Niteroi
• Rio de Janeiro - Caraguatatuba
• Uberlandia - Ribeirao Preto
• Rio de Janeiro - Betim
• Betim - Sao Paulo
• Barra Mansa - Sao Jose dos Campos
• Rio de Janeiro state - Sao Jose dos Campos
• Campinas - Uberlandia
• Rio de Janeiro - Sao Paulo
• Guaratingueta - Belo Horizonte
• Conselheiro Lafaiete - Cabo Frio
• Cuiaba - Campinas
• Belo Horizonte - Tres Rios
• Macae - Juiz de Fora
• Tres Rios - Belo Horizonte
• Sao Paulo - Sao Joao Del Rei
• Belo Horizonte - Cruzeiro
• Ribeirao Preto - Rio de Janeiro
• Rio de Janeiro - Minas Gerais
• Rio de Janeiro - Praia Grande
• Rondonopolis - Campinas
• Uberaba - Rio de Janeiro
• Campinas - Itumbiara
• Rio de Janeiro - Nova Iguacu
• Sao Paulo - Lavras
• Conselheiro Lafaiete - Sao Paulo
• Rio de Janeiro - Cuiaba
• Petropolis - Brasilia
• Sao Joao Del Rei - Sao Paulo
• Belo Horizonte - Rio das Ostras
• Belo Horizonte - Barra Mansa
• Rio das Ostras - Belo Horizonte
• Volta Redonda - Sao Jose dos Campos
• Praia Grande - Rio de Janeiro
• Sorocaba - Belo Horizonte
• Minas Gerais - Sao Paulo
• Sao Sebastiao - Rio de Janeiro
• Campinas - Rio de Janeiro state
• Brasilia - Rio de Janeiro
• Sao Jose dos Campos - Barra Mansa
• Jundiai - Pouso Alegre
• Sao Jose dos Campos - Belo Horizonte
• Cuiaba - Ribeirao Preto
• Cabo Frio - Conselheiro Lafaiete
• Uberlandia - Campinas
• Belo Horizonte - Guaratingueta
• Betim - Rio de Janeiro
• Campinas - Lavras
• Rio de Janeiro - Rio de Janeiro
• Pouso Alegre - Campinas
• Rondonopolis - Ribeirao Preto
• Varginha - Sao Paulo
• Niteroi - Itaguai
• Pouso Alegre - Lavras
• Cuiaba - Uberlandia
• Ribeirao Preto - Cuiaba

One of the best things about bus travel is that you can almost tailor-make your trip adjusting it to your requirements for privacy and comfort. Different classes and types of buses cater to the different needs of travellers. The cheapest trips are normally offered by standard-class buses. They may be called local, express or ordinary. These are a good choice for shorter trips. Sleepers or VIP coaches are good both for longer and overnight trips. They may offer berths or wide soft reclining seats, sometimes with built-in massage options, blankets, soft drinks, and snacks, or more substantial meals on board or during toilet or refuelling stops. Travelling by night buses allows you to save on a hotel room, but to ensure the most comfortable ride do choose the class of your bus wisely. Prices always depend on the distance you ride and the type of coach. For some, even shorter trips, it is worth investing some extra money and buying a seat on a VIP bus as it can save you twice as much time as you spend travelling by an ordinary bus.

Pros of Bus Travel

• Bus is the best choice to get to destinations that are not connected by rail or planes. The network of buses often covers almost the whole country, and their routes are well and long-established.
• Opposite to air travel and sometimes rail travel, taking a bus does not require arriving at the bus station much in advance. Check-in, even on international routes, does not take much time. Luggage allowances are usually very traveller-friendly, and the fee for extra luggage, if limits are set, is normally not very high.
• Bus tickets can be more affordable compared to air or fast train tickets. There is always a choice of ticket classes for all pockets. Cheaper standard options may be a bit slow and do not offer top comfort, but anyway acceptable and bring you to your destination. On longer routes, toilets or toilet stops as well as snacks, water, and sometimes toiletries and blankets are almost always included in the price.
• If you are ready to spend more, some VIP coaches offer seating comparable to business class on a plane with wide soft reclining seats, blankets, fewer passengers, and many other perks to make your trip a pleasant journey.

Cons of Bus Travel

• Newer intercity bus terminals are very often located out of the city close to bigger highways to allow buses to avoid city congestion. Unfortunately, it may create extra challenges for travellers, too. Getting to such a terminal may be a problem as in some destinations there are restrictions on vehicles allowed to enter the terminal, and you will have to use special carriers to get there. This results in higher costs as prices may be inflated. Also do calculate extra time if you are travelling during rush hours, especially if you are not familiar with the traffic situation at your starting point.
• Buses are probably the means of transport which runs out of schedule more often than trains or planes. They are heavily dependent on the road situation which sometimes can be unpredictable – accidents, road construction works, detours, etc. This is especially true for travels during weekends, high season, or national holidays. Do keep this in mind and do not plan tight connections.
• Travelling on certain routes or during the most popular periods may require advanced booking. Bear in mind that it is not always possible to show up at the bus station and hop on the next bus – tickets may well be all sold out, so organize your trip accordingly.