Ilha Grande

Preparation & Arrival

Before going to the Ilha Grande we were told to get a lot of cash because there are no ATMs on the island. This is true, however, most restaurants bars and tour operators accept plastic. Some tours charge an extra fee though if you pay by credit card.

To get to the Ilha Grande, we asked our hotel in Rio to organize a transfer – it turned out to be Easytransfer. Initially we were thinking about taking a public bus and then a boat, but the fully organized transfer was 95 BRL per person, so not too bad. It included the transfer in a minivan and the boat. Be aware that it can take some time until you leave Rio, depending on which other hotels the bus needs to go to to pick up other guests. In our case, the whole journey took from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm to get from our hotel in Rio to Abraão.

Day 1

When arriving in Abraão you are suddenly in a completely different setting compared to Rio: a tiny village on a tropical island, no cars, no streets, lots of forests, very relaxed. You will see the same faces over and over and you immediately feel that you are part of the “island family”. Many people work in tourism, so if you are a tourist, locals want to sell you boat tours or ask you to have dinner at their restaurants. But it was never in an aggressive or annoying manner. The food on the island (also in many other places in Brazil) is often served for two. So before ordering two dishes, better double check. Make sure to enjoy some caipirinhas at the beach front, especially the bars between the main dock and Praia da Julia are nice.

In Abraão everything is in walking distance. Our hotel (Pitanga Ilha Grande Cama e Café) was a few streets behind the center in a cozy quiet area, very close to a small river and some banana trees. One day, several monkeys joined us for breakfast. Speaking about breakfast: During our 3 weeks we saw that the typical breakfast consists of white & brown bread, cheese, ham, muesli with milk, yoghurt, a nice selection of cakes (banana, cocos…), juices, coffee, tea and different kinds of fruit. So actually it is not that much different to what we have in central Europe. The papayas, mangos, water melons and bananas taste much better in Brazil though.

Day 2

On the second day on the island we did a hike to the famous Lopes Mendes beach. It is advised to wear closed shoes and bring something to drink. From Abraão it is about a 2.5 to 3 hours expedition, depending on how often you stop to take pictures of the awesome views or the monkeys.

Before you reach Lopes Mendes, you will see other nice beaches from where you can buy a ticket to go back to Abraão via speedboat for 25 BRL. We would recommend to buy one, unless you want to have a full day of hiking. Lopes Mendes self is a beautiful white sandy beach. The currents can be quite strong, so it is not always good for swimming. You will find enough shades there and there are also some shacks to buy something to drink or a sandwich, by the way, Brazilians love their sandwiches.

Back in Abraão we wanted to book a boat tour for the next day. There are different operators and some probably speak English, but we ended up talking to a very nice lady who convinced us in Portuguese (+ pointing on maps and using pictures on her phone) that her tour is the best. The typical tours offered are a half or full day tour around the Ilha Grande or a tour to one of the neighboring islands (like the Paradise Island). The full day boat tour we chose cost about 130 BRL per person when paying cash. With credit card it was 140 BRL. Food is not included in the price, but drinking water and the snorkeling gear.

After the intense conversation where I am sure many things were lost in translation, we enjoyed a traditional fish stew with rice and a sauce (unfortunately we cannot describe it in any more detail ☺). It was very nice, but be aware that fresh coriander is often used in the typical Brazilian cuisine. You either like fresh coriander or you don’t. The latter applies to us.

The next day we started our boat tour. At that point we were still not quite sure what we actually booked, but we had hoped that the tour guide could speak at least some words in English. Unfortunately he didn't. However, there was a nice Brazilian couple on the tour and they translated most of the things for us. First we went to a tiny island to go snorkeling. The beach was great but we did not see many fish. After that we went to a better spot for snorkeling, where you were literally swimming through a swarm of fish. The most beautiful beach we visited was the Praia do Dentista. I have seen many beaches in different parts of the world (Australia, Hawaii, US west coast, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, several in Europe…) but I think this is one is on top: very white sand, palm trees, clear water, no people. It’s a tropical paradise… At the end of the tour we had a late lunch (it was already 3 o’clock) together with the group.

Day 3

On the next day we went for a short walk west of Abraão. There is a waterfall, an aqueduct, more beaches and the ruins of a lazaret in the area. On the whole island you will see many dogs, which often join you for a walk. After exploring the west, we went further up to the east to go to the Praia da Julia.

Unfortunately the tide was too high so we thought it makes sense to keep on walking to find another bigger beach. Well, it did not turn out to be the smartest idea. We kept on walking for about 40 minutes, the path at some point lead us to walk through the water (up to our hips). After we finally arrived at another nice beach, we sat down for about 5 minutes, but the water was obviously rising here as well. This beach was bigger than the Praia da Julia but not big enough. It also looked like rain, so we walked back again. So our plan “to have some beach time” turned out to be “hike, walk through the water and run home again to avoid getting wet from the rain”. Still, it was a good last day on the island.

In general the weather was good during the time on the Ilha Grande, it could have been a bit warmer though, especially when you are on a boat it can be chilly. It is typical that it rains some time. In our case it was only 20 minutes on one day.

Back to the full itinerary & FAQs
Video: 50 things to do in Brazil