Travel and Tourisms destination: Ilha Grande

Ilha Grande is a popular tourist destination on the southern coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Ilha Grande is the ideal destination for those seeking a close contact with nature. The reasons are numerous: a mountainous tropical island where no cars are allowed; an island covered by a dense tropical rainforest (mata atlântica) for most of its extension; hiking paths crossing the island from north to south and east to west; idyllic beaches and crystal-clear waters. Ilha Grande is definitely not for those keen on sophistication, shopping and a thriving night lifte. 1. HOW TO GET THERE: The main access to the island is Angra dos Reis, although Ilha Grande can also be reached from Mangaratiba and Conceição de Jacareí. We’ve already seen at this blog how to get from Rio de Janeiro to Angra dos Reis, how to get from São Paulo to Angra dos Reis and how to go from Paraty to Angra dos Reis. The island can only be reached by boat (cars must stay in the continent) from the cities mentioned in the paragraph above. The route from Angra dos Reis is usually calmer than the one from Mangaratiba, specially in days where the sea is rough. Anyone going to Bananal or Araçatiba need to get their boats in Angra dos Reis. For those going to the vila do Abraão (main inhabited centre in the island) and nearby area there is a regular ship service (barcas ) that provides the cheapest option to get to the island. It takes 1 hour and a half to reach Abraão. Up-to-date information on the sailing schedule can be checked at the following page: horarios de los barcas a la Vila do Abraão. The page also shows prices and other information of interest regarding the crossing from the continent to the island. As well as the regular boats, there are smaller sailing boats (schooners) taking tourists to the island, as well as fishing boats. The schooners tend to have a regular timetable, but you can’t tell for sure whether there will be one waiting for you. There is also a more expensive alternative, a catamaran that reaches Abraão in 45 minutes. At the time of writing this entry its price was R$20 each way (more information, including timetable, at catamarã Ilha Grande). Careful, as there are two different jetties in Angra. The official ship to Abraão leaves from the Cais da Lapa. The schooners leave from the Cais de Turismo. A new tourist jetty was inaugurated in Conceição de Jacareí in January 2008. From there the time it takes to reach Abraão is much shorter. The bus from Costa Verde going from Rio to Angra stops at Conceição. There you can take a schooner (45 minutes, R$15) or a speedboat (15 minutes). Schedules and more info at Conceição de Jacareí. There is a warning on the text, the services mentioned are not regular services, which means you can’t tell for sure when they’ll be running.