Ilha Grande is a tropical island a few hours outside of Rio de Janeiro where no vehicles are allowed (you can only get around by walking or taking water taxis) and has numerous hiking trails through lush green Atlantic rainforest landscapes to secret beaches. The island itself has over 100 beaches. My type of paradise! An estimated 9,200 to 9,600 people live on the island which spans 193 square kilometers.

The first time I came to Ilha Grande for five days to explore the island and see my Colombian friend Sara who I met in Salvador. She had been living in Ilha Grande for over five years and highly recommended that I visit. It was already on my radar before the trip, but once I bonded with Sara in Salvador, I made it a priority to come to the island for more than just a few days. Sadly the weather wasn’t super great during my stay – a lot of cloud days and some rain; but I still did get a bit of sunshine and it didn’t stop me from having an amazing experience.

Getting In 

I woke up at midnight in order to head to the São Luis airport for my 2:40am flight. It reminded me of waking up for the treks in Peru except this time I didn’t have to climb a volcano. I got about 3.5 hours of sleep before my alarm went off. I was running on fumes since I had woken up at 3am for the sunrise hike in Lençóis Maranhenses the day before, but I knew there was an island at the end of the tunnel. My uber driver was very chatty. He was working on his English so I sacked up and talked to him the whole way. Once on the plane, I slept the entire 3.5 hour flight to Rio. It was nice to finally catch up on some sleep. 

I got into Rio at 6am and it took forever for the bags to come out. Nothing happened for thirty minutes and then finally it started. I thought I had plenty of time before the shuttle picked me up, but it turned out to be a tight window. Luckily there was no issues and I hopped on the shuttle. 

I took shuttle transport recommended by Sara “mas rápido y cómodo” (quicker and more comfortable). It was only slightly higher cost than figuring it out all by myself and worth it for the airport pickup alone. Sara got me in touch with her Argentinian friend Euge who organized and arranged everything for me.

It was a gray and rainy morning; not exactly ideal island weather, but that’s okay I have five days. It was a two hour ride in an minivan including a stop for breakfast. Then we waited for 30 minutes for the boat and took a 20 minute speed boat to Abraão (the main town of the island). I landed in Rio at 6am and was on the island by 10. I did well. The whole commute was very easy and seamless. You have to pay a tourist tax (~$10) to enter the island; which is fair. I walked to my hostel and the streets are all clustered together; it was the first time in Brazil that the distances in person were less than what they seemed like on the map.

Lodging

I spent my first three nights at Lila Limao Hostel (recommended by Sara) and my last two nights with my own room in a pousada. The hostel had a nice kitchen and I decided to get breakfast food to cook for myself every morning since I would be on the island for a few days and I was getting sick of always eating out. 

There were three Irish lads in my room: Patrick, Connor, and Kian, who became my crew for the first few days (Sara was busy with work so we didn’t hangout until my third day on the island). They were 23 year old kids who worked as wood shop teachers and were doing a three week trip to South America during their summer break. They got mugged in São Paolo on their second day of their trip. Man that sucks. Although the more I learned about the story (and the longer I hung out with them), the more obvious it seemed as to why. These guys are loud and rambunctious Irish lads who were always getting absolutely hammered…easy targets. Good learning experience for them. We also hung out a good bit with an Australian guy named Shannon.

Hike Praia de Feiticiera – Cachoeira de Feiticiera (8.11 miles; 1,896 feet elevation gain)

I couldn’t check into my hostel until 2pm so after dropping off my bags; I got an Açaí bowl and a coffee for breakfast, dropped of my laundry, then decided to make the most of my first day on the island.

The rain had stopped and a little bit of sun was starting to poke through the gray clouds. All of the hikes start directly from the village of Abraão so I was on trail in just a few minutes. It didn’t take long for the trail to be a steep incline as I gained 600 feet in 1.2 miles on hardened mud trench terrain through lush green trees with lots of different type of vegetation including bamboo trees. Then it was back downhill to get to the waterfall. Islands always have an interesting topography that looks like a sin wave with steep ups and downs along the coast. 

I sat at Cachoeria da Feiticeira waterfall for about 20 minutes listening to the rhythmic sound of the water crashing. There were a few people swimming in it but with no sunshine I decided to just enjoy the views. 

Then I continued along the trail toward the coast. I had to be extra careful on the downhill because the hardened mud was a bit damp and slippery from the morning storm. The trail became more narrow with overgrown plants as I made way to Praia da Feiticeira. I took a brief stop to sit on this beach before going back into the trees and continuing further along the coast. 

I walked along Praia da Camiranga then back into the trees before hitting Praia do Perique. There was no one else on this beach so I decided to set up my conga and lie down for a bit. The island is lined with small beaches so it’s easy to find a private beach if you’re willing to walk. It was a bummer there was no sun, but the nice part is that it was the perfect temperature for hiking; not hot at all. A lot of the beaches on the island are very small and close to the shore to where they don’t even exist during high tide. This hike reminded me of hiking in Parque Tayrona in Colombia where you’re traversing a combination of lush green vegetation and beaches.

I could have stayed longer on Praia do Perique or even kept hiking further along the coast, but the Brazil game started at 5pm and it was already 2pm so I decided to start hiking back. The tide was getting higher too so I had to take my shoes off to cross sections of Praia da Camiranga where your feet were inevitably going to get wet. On my way back I ran into a group of monkeys swinging around the trees. 

I did one solo hike in Jericoacoara but otherwise it had been a few months since I solo hiked in the Sacred Valley in Peru. Group treks are great for socialization but I missed the silence. Of course you’re not always talking on a group tour, but there’s something about hiking solo that brings me an extra sense of peace and solitude. Hiking around the island by myself made me feel like Tom Hanks in Cast Away or a character in Lost.  

Brazil Futbol Match

The hype was real for the next Brazil match against Norway. There was a concert stage and big screen set up on the beach right next to the water; it was a beautiful location to watch a Futbol game. After a delicious shrimp poke bowl, I went with my Irish lads to find a spot in the crowd. 

Sadly it was a bad ending to Brazil’s World Cup. They put out a weak showing and could never get any offense going. After a scoreless first half, Norway scored a goal early in the second half and quickly put up another; the whole crowd deflated. You could tell this was the end. Brazil put up a meaningless last second goal but the game ended in defeat. Sadness filled the air. I was really bummed because (a) of course I wanted them to win it all but (b) if they had just won one more game then I would be in Rio de Janeiro for the next one with my Denver buddy Matt on his day of arrival; which would have made for a great welcome to Brazil party for him. Oh well. 

There was a concert on the beach after the game but almost all the Brazilians had gone home to drink away their sorrows and the beach was filled with gringos. The first act was a heavy techno DJ that the organizers had probably scheduled in hopes that Brazil would have won the game and the energy would be high. Instead it was aggressively heavy music for the mood of the crowd. He was playing for mostly drunk gringos and a few sad Brazilians.

The next two acts were much chiller reggae music that better suited the energy of the crowd. I ended up chatting with a Brazilian girl, Bruna, and ditched the Irish lads to spend the rest of the night with her. She didn’t speak English or Spanish but she understood Spanish well. So I would speak to her in Spanish and she would reply to me in Portuguese. Not that I always understood her Portuguese response, but I always able to bullshit my Portuguese listening enough for us to be having conversations. Drinking always helps.

Hike Praia do Galego (1.90 miles; 240 feet elevation gain)

I was quite hungover the morning after the Brazil game and had a slow moving day. I made breakfast at the hostel then hiked past the main beach of Praia Preta and continued along toward Praia do Galego. I wanted to avoid some of the crowds. It was a bit cloudy that day, but still felt nice to be a blob on the beach. After a few hours of beach chilling, I took an alternate route back that went through the woods toward town. 

I hung out with the Irish lads again that evening. I wasn’t planning to drink much, but it’s hard not to drink when you’re with Irish guys in their early 20s. We went out to an Argentinan churrasqueria style restaurant for dinner where I got a nice pork chop and salchipan.  

Then we found a bar on the water to watch the U.S. – Belgium match so that warranted a couple of two for one caipirinhas. At one point we ordered a shot of cachaça and the guy literally brought us out an entire cup each. And this was some low quality stuff. We took it like champs but yikes. 

The U.S. got their butts handed to them and it was never really a close game. The best part of the night was that the bar had a really good acoustic guitar player shredding Brazilian reggae songs in the backdrop. The Irish guys were heckling him to play certain tunes and he was getting a laugh out of it. He did play us a Bob Marley cover. When he got off stage one of the Irish guys went to the mic and started singing a Gaelic chant. The other two started to join him. I must admit the Brazilian crowd was loving what they were seeing; if nothing else for the antics. 

The boys were continuing to the next bar to party after the game but I had to call it quits to go home. I had already drunken more than I anticipated; plus I wanted to have a productive day on the next one.

Hike Villa do Abraão – Lopes Mendes Beach (9.41 miles;  2,054 feet) 

I woke up a little more hungover than I planned after my night with the Irishman but I still forced myself to get up 7, have breakfast done by 7:30, and be on trail by 8. The weather forecast showed sunny in the morning with a chance of rain by the midafternoon. I really had to seize the day and enjoy my first sunny day on the island. The two trails I had done the previous days on the island headed northwest from town; for this one I would be heading southeast. So it was an opportunity to see a new part of the island. 

The trail started with a short section along the beach before entering the woods and becoming more steep. It was similar to the first trail I did on the island where the terrain was hardened mud of varying steepness between the “steps” and lots of tree branches to use as grip. The trail was narrow and completely surrounded by trees on both sides; you couldn’t even see the ocean. The elevation went from 31 feet on the beach to over 740 feet in just under a mile so it was definitely a steep pitch before reaching the first viewpoint. 

It was a beautiful bluebird day and I was very happy that I got up early to spend my morning in the trees. I saw a few other groups of people but the trail was lightly populated. I was able to get into my peaceful and quiet solo hiking mindset. 

After the viewpoint, it was a steep downhill section that took away all of our gain from the last mile. That’s how island hiking goes. You gain a bunch of elevation just to immediately lose it. By the end of the downhill, the elevation was back to 0 feet and I was on Praia das Palmas. It was a very nice beach with a few small restaurants and pousadas to spend the night at. 

Then the trail continued back into the trees with a bunch of small ups and down for about 1.5 miles. Some of the inclines/declines were quite steep and other sections were flat as I worked my way to the south side of the island.

Then I arrived at Praia do Pouso, which is the beach where the boat tours drop off/pick up people doing the day trip to Praia Lopes Mendes (for those who don’t want to do the hike). It was around 10am at this point so I had still beat most the crowds but this was more people than I had seen on trail. From Praia do Pouso to Praia Lopes Mendez there’s one last up and down section with about 250 feet elevation gain and loss. It had a few steep parts and was quite muddy in some sections. Plus this is when you get stuck behind the non-hikers who came in on the boat tour wearing their flip flops and were ill prepared for a 20 minute hike. 

I got to Praia Lopes Mendes beach a little before 10:30 and I could immediately see why it was considered the top destination on the island and often at the top of lists for best beaches in Brazil. It had incredibly soft sand (reminded me of siesta key beach) with a shoreline that stretched for miles, big waves crashing, beautiful blue water, and 360 views of the island and all its amazing topographic structures. 

Only a few people were there when I arrived but it started filling in as the day went on. I walked down a little further from the main entrance and found a good spot to call home for the next few hours. I brought supplies to have a picnic on the beach – couple of mini sandwiches with ham, cheese, and lettuce; and a bag of chips. I cycled between reading, listening to music, and swimming in the water. A classic beach day. 

After a few hours, the clouds on the south side of the island began looking a little more threatening so I decided to at least start hiking back toward Abraão. I just had to retrace my steps going up and down through the trees with a few sections of flat beaches. The interesting thing about an in and out hike that starts at sea level and ends at sea level, is that it’s the same elevation gain and loss both directions. I had gained 1,027 feet to get to Praia Lopes Mendes so it was going to be another 1,027 back to Villa do Abraão. 

I started working my way back to town and ran into a group of friendly monkeys swinging around in the trees who provided me some entertainment.

When I made it to Praia das Palmas, I decided to stop for an agua de coco and a pineapple juice – all the refreshing fruit drinks. I also took a dip in the water. The sun was shining more on the east side of the island so I felt like I was in no rush again. After that short period of relaxation, I did the final big uphill and downhill section that I had started the day with. 

As I got closer to the Abraão I heard a bunch of partying coming from the beach bars and this was my cue that Argentina won their match. I meant to make it back in time but I was having such a nice day on trail that I didn’t rush anything. Interestingly enough, just like in Praia de Pipa further north, Ilha Grande has been an Argentina 2.0. There are lots of Argentinians that live on the island and own businesses and this in turn draws Argentinian tourists to spend time in the island. It feels like you meet almost as many Argentinians as you do Brazilians. 

Sara Hangs I 

That evening I finally hung out with my friend Sara! She had been working the past two days and too busy to meet up; which I totally understood. It was a rainy night so we met up at an indoor bar to watch the Colombia Futbol match. She doesn’t really care about Futbol but obviously wanted to support her country. We kept making fun of how boring the match was and it ended 0-0 before going to Penalty kicks. Sadly Colombia didn’t win. Regardless it was a good couple of hours of fun conversations in Spanish with her during the game. When we hung out in Salvador, I always found her one of the easiest people to talk to in Spanish. She does a good job speaking more clearly with me and has a great sense of humor. We also kept the “Suzie!” joke alive that always made us laugh when we hung out in Salvador. While she was the one driving the conversations, I was still able to add some value; and it’s just nice to talk about different topics than the norm. I still froze up a bit when I’m trying to tell a story or add more details, but nonetheless we talked about a lot of different things during the game and at our dinner afterwards. She was as lovely as I remember. At the end of the night we got really bad and overpriced ice cream that became the topic of our next joke rather than a bad memory.

Hike Villa Abraão – Praia do Abraãozinho (3.12; 400 feet elevation) 

Sara and I were supposed to meet up in the morning to hike to Dois Rios but the weather was gray and cold so she wanted to use her day off to run some errands instead. Fair enough. I decided to use this as an opportunity to get a much needed hair cut. I enjoyed listening to the island barber Portuguese banter even if I didn’t understand anything. The guy did a really great job! 

Sara was still busy in the afternoon and recommended I hike to Praia do Abraãozinho. Might as well take the advice of a local. It started out in the same direction as the hike to Praia Lopes Mendez but it quickly forked north up the cape. Like all the island trails, it was a mix of walking along a beach and walking through the woods. The incline was very small. I must have walked across three beaches, and since the tide was higher, one of the beaches required removing my shoes in order to reach the “hidden” Praia do Abraãozinho. So many tiny beaches sprinkled around this island.

It was a nice beach with a little bay situated in front of it and a small beach bar in the corner. I hung out for about 30 minutes, but it wasn’t all that sunny, so I decided to walk back to town and settle in my new pousada.

Sara Hangs II 

Sara and I met up again that night for couscous dinner from a street vendor. We paired it with a few beers from the market and sat on a bench to enjoy one of the cheaper dinners you could get on the island. Once again we had some nice conversations about topics I never have in Spanish – politics (she is not a Trump supporter; nor does she like her current Colombian president), favorite places traveled to in the world, what I like about being an American, and even whether or not we want children. It was interesting to hear her take on this scenario. Her viewpoints matched those of a lot of friends my age who have started shying away from wanting kids for reasons such as money, fear over the future state of the world, responsibility, etc. It was cool to get the chance to discuss these deeper topics. As usual my answers weren’t as fully fleshed out as they would have been in English but I was able to communicate enough. 

Afterwards, Sara went home and I decided to keep my Spanish speaking night going by grabbing drinks with Bruna. Once again I spoke in Spanish and she spoke in Portuguese. We were able to communicate well enough. We started by talking travels we had done and sharing different photos and experiences but then we ultimately dove into deeper conversations too. She had an interesting take on all the Argentinians living in Brazil. She didn’t like that they didn’t try to assimilate into Brazilian culture. Most at least learn the language but not the lifestyle, music, dancing, food, culture, etc. A lot of them treat Brazil like an extension of their own; living in pockets of Argentinians; rather than embracing those aspects of Brazil. This is just the opinion of one Brazilian woman but you can kind of see that sentiment in the streets, during Futbol matches, on the beaches, and other places in public. Now that being said there’s also a lot of good interactions seen between people of those two countries, but there is certainly a bit of tension between them.

Hike Villa Abraão – Praia Dois Rios (10.07 miles; 2,510 feet elevation gain)

Since Sara and I didn’t do this one the day before, I made it a top priority for my last day. Once again it was a bit cloudy in the morning but I decided to just send it. I had a slow start to the morning but got on trail by about 9:30. Most of the hike was on a dirt road rather than a trail so not as exciting as the others, but it was still surrounded by green trees. I ended up popping on some headphones and power walking my way up it. It was about 1,200 gain in 2.8 miles to the top of the hill then it started going immediately back down the other side. 

The town of Dois Rios was a former prison and had a ghost town vibe to it. The ruins of the prison still remains of a former 20th century maximum penitentiary housing Brazil’s most violent criminals and political prisoners until it was shutdown and blown up in 1994.

The Dois Rios beach is beautiful with clear blue waters and great landscape views! Since it was a bit cloudy, and this beach isn’t as popular as Lopes Mendes, there really weren’t a lot of people. It was a nice quiet, relaxing time lying on the beach. 

I had missed the shortcut through the woods on the way to Dois Rios but paid more attention to AllTrails and caught it on the way back. It was much more exciting to hike through a narrow trail with dense vegetation than the dirt road. I also found another short cut that took me downhill some steep mud slopes. It would have been a bitch to go up but it sped up the downhill process. This shortcut ended up spitting me out on another side of town that looked like more where the locals live. It was more clustered, smaller houses, non-waterfront properties so they would be more affordable for the locals. 

Sara couldn’t hang that evening, and Bruna had showed interested, but I told her I was too tired. It had been a long couple of days. But then I ended up making yet another new friend. When I booked the return boat to mainland with Euge, she gave me a discount coupon to eat at Bravas so I decided to check it out for dinner. The guy working the counter was a super friendly Argentinian from the Patagonia region named Manu and we started chatting. He told me he wanted to practice his English and he spoke perfectly. It turned out he was also the owner of the restaurant. He’s a techno DJ and always wanted to go to Burning Man so we started really hitting it off talking about music festivals, concerts, artists; all the stuff I haven’t geeked out on with someone in awhile. He was a very chatty guy and next thing you know we talked for nearly an hour. It was a great conversation that left me buzzing (that and the two heavy IPAs). Man I love this island!! People are so cool! So now I have yet another contact on Ilha Grande. 

On my final morning in Ilha Grade, I grabbed breakfast with Sara for one last good convo and to say our goodbyes (or so we thought). Sara was trying to convince me to stay on the island because of the beautiful weather forecast ahead. She’s like your friend can meet you here (Matt was getting in the following morning) but I told her that we had already booked our first few nights in Rio so it’d be easier for me to corral him first anyways. And that perhaps we will decide to go to Ilha Grande over Paraty. We yelled “Suzie” at each other one last time then I headed to the beach for 1.5 hours to soak in the sun before my ferry back to the mainland. 

This last day was the best weather of any of the days I had been on the island – clear blue skies and bright sun shining. I was sad that it hadn’t been this type of amazing weather every day but I still left the island with the impression that Ilha Grande truly is paradise. I did some incredible hikes, chilled hard on a bunch of beaches, saw a lot of monkeys, and even made my small community of people in just a few short days there. I would definitely come back! And little did I know…I would. But that’s for the next post.