TravBuddy.com: Ilha Grande Travel Blogs and Reviews

Sun seeking on Ilha Grande

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:46:27 PST

Ilha Grande, Brazil>, Nov 08, 2007

After watching and playing lots of beach soccer in Rio I headed to Ilha Grande with three english guys I´d met at The Stone Of The Beach hostel in Rio. We took a bus to Angra dos Reis where we stayed for the night before catching the early morning ferry to Ilha Grande. Ilha Grande is supposed to have some of the best beaches in Brazil, I was slightly annoyed to see plenty of rubbish floating around in the waters around Ilha Grande. Plastic bottles, bags and even a bin bobbed up and down in the water. The last time I had seen so much rubbish in the water was in Halong Bay in Vietnam. The rubbish was by no means everywhere but certainly noticable in areas.

As soon as we checked into Aquario we jumped on to a small boat for a trip to Lopez Mendes, the best beach on the island. I spent the day lying in the sun and playing some Brazilians at beach soccer. The following day we took the boat again to the blue lagoon for a spot of snorkling and chilling on the beach. Both boat trips were lots of fun and the weather had been great.

We next day we attempted to leave the island in the pouring rain, it didn´t stop for a day.

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Rain on the Beach!

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:46:27 PST

Ilha Grande, Brazil>, Nov 12, 2007

We left Ilha Grande in the pouring rain with black bin bags covering our rucksacks to catch the boat to the mainland. After trekking around for a while we finally found the bus station and played cards until the bus to Paraty finally turned up.

After arriving in the rain in Paraty we grabbed a cab to a hostel down on the beach. The weather was terrible.

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Squeak Squeak

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 12:00:56 PST

Ilha Grande, Brazil>, Oct 08, 2007

After a few days in Rio eight of us caught a minibus a couple of hours south west to Ilha Grande. This was a great place to relax and soak up some rays. We decided to save a few bucks by camping instead of staying in a hostel so our accommodation was only 15 R$ a night.

Four out of the seven days we spent on the Island we embarked on the sweaty two hour jungle journey to reach the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. The sand on Lopes Mendes was so fine it was like flour. every step in the white powder produced a mouselike squeak. I have never seen anything like it although the aussies I was with told me that there is a squeaky beach in Aus as well. The water was crystal clear and the waves were decent for body surfing.

One of the biggest expenses we had on the island was ice-cream. I had at least three scoops a day. Passionfruit rules. There were also street vendors with glass topped trolleys full of all kinds of cakes and pies that got the girls gitty for only 3 R$.

On the last day Mike, Andy, Kath and I attempted to climb the parrot peak which is the highest point on the island. We ended up missing the turn and went passed it by an hour so it was 1 pm by the time we got back to the starting point of the seven hour hike. The hill boys, 18 and 20, did it anyways. They ran up and down in an hour and a half. Kath and I elected to have a easy afternoon on the beach. Yeah just a little more ice-cream.

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Trip to Ilha Grande (Big Island)

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 07:05:48 PST

Ilha Grande, Brazil>, Aug 29, 2007

Ilha Grande (literal translation: Big Island) is an island located off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, and part of Angra dos Reis municipality. The island is largely undeveloped and noted for its scenic beauty, which includes tropical beaches, luxuriant vegetation and a rugged landscape. The land area is 193 km² and the highest point is Pico da Pedra D'Água, at 1031 m. It once held a notorious prison, now closed. http://www.ilhagrande.com.ar So much nature that makes you don't want to go back to a town never again...

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the way to lopes mendes

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 06:20:45 PST

Ilha Grande, Brazil>, Jan 09, 2007

that was one of my most memorable trips of my whole brasil experince!
well, i was on ilha grande with a nice group of people, i all met during my travel. we were not really blessed with the best weather there, but with lots of spirit we desided to take the challenge and to find out more about this "beach" everyone 's been talking about!! to get to that beach (lopes mendes) you have two ways, you can eather take the boat to a closer beach and just clim a tiny hill, or as we desided walk the whole way which should take you about 3 hours. 3 hours doesn't sound that much, so we started all excited dressed with havaianas (flip flops), i had a huge bag with my camera and food and stuff. the first couple of metres where easy and very beautiful, that changed quickly! because it had been raining for some days the smal path was completly wet and slippery, alone standing was difficuled climbing basicly inpossible, but we desided to go on. i was the first struggeling and losing my havaianas, so the others helped me, it took us about 1 hour untill we climed the first big "mountain". everyone was happy and we all thought: it can't get any worse than that, we were wrong!! getting down that mountain was much harder than climbing, everone felt at least once. we had to hold eachother like a chaine not to fall into the jungle, i made my will! but after another 1 hour we made it to a beach! we were all jumping up and down, with a feeling like "seeing land after just crossing an ocean" untill we realised that it wasen't the beach we thought it was, it was just one step to get to lopes mendes, there will be another hill to climp. with absolutly no excitmend we went on, that hill wasn't as hard as the first one, but one of my friends felt really bad and had both her knees open, so the relif was big after we so the next beach appear, but it wasn't lopes mendes, it was the beach were the boat enters when you not deside to walk, so there was this tiny hill in our way to get to lopes mendes. we tought that one should be easy after all we just made, but because there were far more people doing that track there wasn't any path left, a slippery roap up and one down. the state we were when we finally made it to lopes mandes, wasn't a very clean one! it took us more than 4 hours and because we arrived so late we just stayed ther for 1 hour!
but i have to say it was worth it, one of the most beautiful beaches probably around the world!
just don't walk there after it'd been raining!!!
and yes, we took the boat home!
funny, after i returned to my friends in sao paulo and told them about my trip to ilha grande, they told me about all the very dangerous snakes and spiders on this island and why you always should take a guide with you! it's good to not know about certain things when you do one!

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ilha grande

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 06:16:06 PST

Ilha Grande, Brazil>, Jan 08, 2007

the boat trip to this island was absolutely beautiful like this whole area is! but of course we went there without having any sort of reservation! so our first big plan was, to get some place to sleep! like the moment you arrive we had guide trying to get us to a place that was "ideal" for us! so half the group went with him just to see what he was talking about, he showed us a house in a very bad state and on not very good location but for a little a mount of money and some other places, meanwhile the rest of the group got in contact with hostels other people were telling us about, when we returned from our immobilizing trip, they found a much better solution! so we had to get rid of our guide!
the hostel we found was on a very good location not far from anything! and they had a pool table and a nice atmosphere! but like the moment we arrived we managed to break a bed, as we did before in angra dos reis!
in our first afternoon we went to the close beach with the pirate ruins, the beach was different, very narrow and the water was black and completely calm, no waves at all! to get to a less crowded place we walked through the water with our bags on our heads! but it was worth it, we found a very nice spot just for us! i really loved the water there, you can lie in for hours just great! but the water moved quickly and we had to leaf our spot and headed back to the more crowded places, there we caught a little bit of sun, there is this tiny river that runs in to the see were the water is very warm, ideal for kids to play!
the rest of the day we went shopping cause there were this cool shops who sold local jewelery!

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Paradise?

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 19:05:20 PST

Ilha Grande, Brazil>, Jul 15, 2006

KERRY - Ilha Grande is an Island between Rio and Sao Paulo which you have to catch a boat to, either from Angra dos Reis ( as we did) or Mangaratiba. The island is a protected area and there are no cars allowed on it, so the only way to get around it is to walk on the many trails that make up the island or to get taxi boats to the many beaches and bays around the island. The island is made up of mainly woodland areas as well a beaches that surround the coast line.

It is a place for pure relaxation and is beautiful. We only spent 2 and a half days here but could easily have spent a week here, if they had had ATM´s on the Island! You need to make sure you take all your cash with you before you board the boat!

When we arrived on Satuday afternoon we explored the main town, which is hardly any size at all. The locals were preparing for a fiesta that evening and were setting up stalls ready for it, as well as flags and streamers to hang in the street. That evening as we wandered around we saw a dispaly of Caipeora by the local squad who were also encouraging the kids to join in which was really sweet to see.

We went to a lovely beach on Sunday call Abraozihna which was about a 30 mins walk away through the woodland but was a great little beach with calm waters to swim in. The beach was really empty compared to our experience in Rio which was really nice and a lot more relaxing. That evening we went to mass in the small local church - an interesting experience with lots of singing and clapping, not what we are used to in Catholic masses! We ate in a restaurant on the square that evening and watched the world go by. The festival was still on and a bingo game began which took ages! WE also bumped into a girl called Anne from Holland who we had met in Ecuador as well as in Bolivia, which was really nice and good to catch up.

On Monday we took a boat to another beach about an hour away called Lopez Mendes. Once we left the boat it was a 15 min walk through the undergrowth of the trees to the beach. It was really hot and i was beginning to wonder if it had been a good idea, but when we got to the beach i was blown away. It was stunning. White sand and crashing waves - really beautiful. It was also a pretty long beach and there were a fair few people there, but we were all so spread out that it was fine and all had enough space to relax and unwind!

That evening we had some really nice seafood and fish in a restaurant but the beach.

The atmosphere on the Island is just so laid back and easy going, if you are looking to get away from it all i would thouroughly recommend it! I didn´t want to leave this morning, but the inland of Brazil is calling us!

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Isla Grande, 1-4 March

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 11:18:24 PST

Ilha Grande, Brazil>, Mar 01, 2006

Beautiful mountainous tropical Island and great recovery time from carnival. Took a boat cruise and walked to Lopez Mendez beach. Few tech difficulties on the boat on the way back and we had to thumb a tow.

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Be prepared to walk

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 11:33:57 PST

Ilha Grande, Brazil>, Jun 28, 2006

Ilha Grande is famous for its beautiful and secluded beaches. But sometimes they are so hidden that you might need to take a boat around the island, or walk some long miles. If you're planning on spend an entire day (or more) on the island, you'll probably do both.

So, be ready to walk some nature trails. It's not like it's forest deep or hard climbing, just dirt trails. But you must carry enough water and wear some nice comfortable sneakers. And even though it's not a big or dangerous island, it's safer to always have some company. Otherwise, who's gonna carry your stuff (or yourself) if you get hurt?!

When taking one of the many boats that take tourists from one beach to another, or back to the mainland, don't forget to pack a warm coat. It's a tropical beach, alright, but it's still cold and windy out in the ocean - specially when the night is falling. And if you intend to swim in those amazing clear beaches, also pack a change of clothes, so you won't catch a cold on your way back!

Most of the island is part of national parks, but there are lots of cheap bed & breakfast, and camping sights. Also, it's a great place to go fishing, dive, and surf.

And don't forget to check out the ruins of the old prison, where many politic activists were kept alongside murderers and drug dealers, from the dawn of the "new republic" till the years of military dictatorship. The prison, called Colônia Penal Cândido Lemos, was imploded in 1994, and it's said that this mixture of "bandits" from different backgrounds that generated today's feared Rio de Janeiro favelas' (slums) gangs.

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