Ilha Grande: beautiful beaches, tropical vibes and food poisoning (Travel Diaries Day 10)

After the chaos and loudness of Rio de Janeiro, the obvious next choice was tropical paradise Ilha Grande! 

The island is located ~150 km southwest of Rio and is known for being a largely uninhabited island with no cars, pristine beaches, and covered in jungle forest. Reid had been here already in 2019 and loved it so much, he couldn’t wait to get back. Hearing all his stories of tranquility, remoteness, peaceful bliss, I was excited to see it myself! 

We started with a van ride from Rio which felt more like a Formula 1 race. Our driver seemed to think he was Ayrton Senna! Once we reached the Jacarei harbor 2 hours later, I was glad to relieve my holding-on-for-dear-life grip. However, the boat ride to Ilha Grande was no less eventful. We boarded for Vila do Abraão, the main settlement of the island. The boat was not exactly the newest, and some of the plastic protecting the sides of the boat (to keep water from coming in) were broken. Add to this a rushed captain and a completely full boat and what resulted was a bunch of oblivious passengers getting completely soaked! I felt bad for the people sitting up front but admittedly it was pretty hilarious!

Vila do Abraão

Abraão, the island’s main village, greeted us with colorful houses, sandy streets, and a surprising amount of hustle and bustle. It’s the heart of Ilha Grande, packed with pousadas, restaurants, tour shops, and bars. As charming as it was, there was a surprising number of tourists, which made it look very different than what Reid remembered! This was likely due to the NYE holidays. We checked into our guesthouse, got laundry sorted, and sat down for dinner, planning some activities for the following days.

Hike to Lopes Mendes beach

The next morning we headed out for the hike to Lopes Mendes, one of Ilha Grande’s most famous beaches.

The trail, about 9 kilometers long, weaves through dense rainforest. Luckily, it was dry, but I could easily imagine the path becoming a slippery muddy disaster on a rainy day! The walk through the jungle was beautiful. On the way we passed by three other beaches: Praia das Palmas, Praia do Pouso, and Praia do Mangues. The first, Praia das Palmas, was peaceful and lovely with calm waters. Praia do Pouso, the second stop, was larger and even more beautiful, with golden sand and a few vendors selling coconuts and snacks. Praia do Mangues had a charming floating restaurant. We could have stayed there all day, but we pushed on.

By the time we reached Lopes Mendes, we were sweaty and tired, but when we saw the beach opening up we knew it was totally worth it! Lopes Mendes is truly special - fine, powdery sand that squeaks underfoot like snow, crystal-clear waters, and waves rolling in with strong currents. It’s wild, unspoiled, and breathtaking. We found a shady spot under a tree, ate our lunch, and soaked it all in.

On the way back, we walked to Praia do Mangues and took a water taxi back to Abraão (no boats get to Lopes Mendes due to the strong currents). We were both so relaxed and gratified from the day, when we noticed an electrical fire on one of the low-hanging electricity transformers next to our guesthouse..! We watched it from the hotel room, powerless (pun not intended), while the fire expanded and people around it frantically gestured at each other, looking for a solution… and then BOOM! It exploded and left the entire street without electricity 🫠. Luckily generators everywhere hummed to life, granting us the use of light and hot water. #islandproblems

Volta à Ilha

Day two was all about seeing Ilha Grande from the water, and finding a way to get to Araçatiba, another small settlement where we were going to spend the next two nights. Remember there are no roads in the island, and the only way to get there was by boat! We asked around for water taxis, but they all offered a staggering rate of R$600 (equal to 100€) which we politely declined. That’s when we stumbled upon Volta à Ilha.

The Volta à Ilha tour is one of many popular tours organized by the local agencies. This particular tour takes you around the whole island with a focus on the southern beaches. We picked this tour with Abraão tour, as they spoke English and because they offered to drop us off at Araçatiba on the way. Also, they offered a good price (R$300) and seemed to be well organized. 

The first stop was Praia do Caxadaço, a small beach cove with crazy clear waters. Unfortunately, it was also packed with other boats. We noticed that all tour companies started their tours at the same time, following the same itinerary, so it wasn’t a surprise to see that everyone else was there at that time too… and to make it worse, when it was time for a boat to leave and call up the tourists from the beach, they honked their horns super loudly (like an oncoming train), disturbing the tranquil escape we had imagined. 

Sharing the beach with all the other tours

The second stop, Praia de Parnaioca, was larger and less crowded with golden sand and a small waterfall nearby. By the third stop, Praia de Aventureiro, we had made friends with a friendly group of Brazilians who were also on the tour and joined them for some photos and an excursion to the beach pier.

Parnaioca beach

Aventureiro beach

The final stop was Praia do Meros, where we snorkeled among colorful fish and coral. 

Finally, we were dropped off in Araçatiba, where we got greeted by a heavy rainstorm. Soaked but smiling, we checked into our pousada and waited for the rain to ease. We didn’t know that rain was going to be the least of our problems that evening… At dinner, I felt queasy and by the time food arrived, I felt so nauseous I couldn’t eat a bite. I ended up vomiting through the rest of the night… a few hours later, Reid joined me in the misery with his own bout of food poisoning! We don’t really know what got us sick, as we didn’t eat anything particularly “dangerous”, but we accepted our fate as part of traveling! 

Araçatiba

Araçatiba turned out to be the perfect place to recover from our misery. Unlike Abraão, this tiny village on the island’s western side is very quiet and relaxed, with just a few guesthouses, restaurants, and fishing boats dotting the shore.

We had planned to explore the northern side of the island, but instead spent the day going back and forth from bed to bathroom 😅 We stayed most of the day in bed, trying to regain our strength and sort out our travel plans, as we would leave early the morning after towards our next destination: Iguazu Falls!

Once we were feeling a bit better, we wandered along Araçatiba’s beach, marveling at its calm waters and peaceful vibe. Dinner that night was mercifully uneventful, and we went to bed early, grateful for a quiet ending to our Ilha Grande adventure.