Why go
What a day like this actually buys you
An island you can only reach like this
Ilha Grande has no roads for cars — none of it, anywhere on the island. Nothing with wheels can get you here; every arrival, ours included, comes by water, which is most of the reason the forest and the coastline have stayed the way they have.
A lagoon built for looking down, not across
Lagoa Azul is a stop for snorkelling rather than swimming laps — shallow, clear water over rock, calm enough that non-swimmers can usually still get in with a life vest. It's the one stop on the route built entirely around looking into the water rather than at the coastline.
Lunch happens on the island, not on the boat
The schooner brings the group to Praia do Japariz for a buffet lunch on Ilha Grande itself, not a tray passed around on deck — a real stop with your feet on sand, between the morning's islands and the afternoon crossing back.
A chapel older than most of Brazil's cities
One stop, Freguesia de Santana, is the island's original settlement — a chapel first raised in 1796, rebuilt in 1843, still standing as the most important religious building on Ilha Grande. It's a five-minute call, and it's also the oldest thing on the itinerary by a couple of centuries.
The route
Five stops across the bay
The schooner's route reads like a short list of very different places — an islet, a lagoon, a chapel, a beach — strung along one crossing of the Baía da Ilha Grande. Here is the shape of the day, stop by stop.
- Conceição de Jacareí ~8:00am
The coach hands over to the schooner
After the drive down from Rio, the coach reaches the embarkation point in the Costa Verde region and the day changes vehicle — from a bus seat to a schooner deck for the rest of the day.
- Ilha de Cataguás ~9:00am
First islet, first stop
One of the dozens of small islands scattered between the mainland and Ilha Grande — the schooner slows past it before pushing on toward the lagoon.
- Lagoa Azul ~10:00am
In the water, masks on
The bay's snorkelling stop — shallow, clear, sheltered water over rock and reef. This is the swim stop the day is built around, and usually the longest in-water stop of the four.
- Freguesia de Santana ~12:00pm
The island's oldest building
A short call at Ilha Grande's original 17th-century settlement, where a chapel first built in 1796 was rebuilt in 1843 and still stands — a handful of houses, a beach, and the oldest thing on the itinerary.
- Praia do Japariz ~1:00pm
Buffet lunch, feet on sand
The lunch stop, and the longest one of the day — a beachside buffet on Ilha Grande itself before the schooner turns back across the bay for the crossing home.
The day, road and water
Roughly five of the day's twelve-to-fourteen hours go to the coach, out and back down the Costa Verde highway — the rest is the schooner, the stops and lunch on the island. It's the trade-off for a car-free island with no airstrip: worth knowing before you book, not after.
The return crossing retraces the morning's route with less to stop for — most of what's left is the highway back into Rio, arriving after dark.
Rio's South Zone, and the road south
Rio's South Zone, and the road south
Every version of this day starts the same way: a pickup in the city, then a couple of hundred kilometres before the water starts.
Pickup across the South Zone
Hotel pickup runs through Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon in the early morning — expect the coach to make several stops before it clears the city, worth building into how early you actually need to be ready.
The Rio–Santos highway
The direct drive from Rio to the Angra dos Reis area covers roughly 150km down the BR-101, the Rio–Santos highway that follows Brazil's Costa Verde coast — a couple of hours in clear traffic, longer once the morning's pickups are counted.
Conceição de Jacareí, and the changeover
The coach's job ends at the embarkation point in the Costa Verde region, where the schooner takes over for the rest of the day. From here the driving is done until the return crossing.
The road back, after dark
The schooner's final leg brings the group back to the mainland for the coach, and the drive into Rio usually finishes after nightfall — plan the following morning loosely rather than tightly.
The bay, in pictures
The bay, in pictures
Ilha Grande's coastline, the islets scattered through the bay, the Atlantic Forest that covers most of the island, and clear water to swim in. These are genuine photographs of Ilha Grande and Angra dos Reis, except the snorkelling photograph, which is representative of the activity rather than a confirmed photo of Lagoa Azul itself.
Booking options & what's included
Booking options & what's included
| Option | What it includes | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Full day from Rio, schooner & lunch | Hotel pickup, the coach to Angra dos Reis, the schooner circuit and a buffet lunch on Ilha Grande | The listing this site is built around — the simplest option if you're staying in Rio |
| Schooner only, from Angra dos Reis | The bay circuit without the coach from Rio | Worth checking if you're already staying in Angra dos Reis or on Ilha Grande rather than in Rio |
| Private tour from Rio | The same route with a private vehicle and a smaller group | Booked separately on GetYourGuide — useful if a shared coach isn't what you want |
| Pair it with a Rio evening | Booked as a separate GetYourGuide experience | An early start doesn't rule out a late one — Corcovado, a samba night or a dinner show still fit the same trip |
Ways to book the day
Find a sailing date
Every option below is booked through GetYourGuide, with live availability and the final price in your own currency.
Planning your day on the water
Planning your day on the water
Be ready before the pickup window opens
With several hotel stops before the highway even starts, being downstairs early is worth more here than on a city tour — a coach running behind by the second or third pickup eats into everyone's day, not just yours.
Sun, not shade, for most of the day
A schooner deck offers little shade, and the crossing runs through the middle of the day. Sunscreen reapplied rather than applied once, a hat, and a rash vest for the snorkelling stop are worth packing before you leave the hotel.
Bring a dry bag, not just a beach bag
You're on and off a boat several times with a swim stop in the middle of the day — a dry bag for your phone and anything else that shouldn't get wet is more useful than it sounds for a day with this many transitions.
Keep the next morning light
The coach back into Rio usually finishes after dark, so a 12-to-14-hour day is genuinely the whole day. Plan a slow start the morning after rather than an early one.
Planning the Angra dos Reis & Ilha Grande day trip
Planning the Angra dos Reis & Ilha Grande day trip
The day hour by hour, road included
A dark pickup in Rio, two hours of highway, a schooner circuit of the bay, lunch on Ilha Grande, and the same drive home — here is the actual shape of the day, not the brochure version.
Read more →The island, explainedIlha Grande: the car-free island, and the history this tour doesn't visit
A leper colony, then a maximum-security prison, then nothing built here for a century — why Ilha Grande has no roads, and which parts of that story this particular day trip actually sees.
Read more →The swim stop, explainedLagoa Azul and the bay stops: what the snorkelling is actually like
Shallow, clear, sheltered water over rock and reef — what to expect from the day's one real swim stop, and how the other three bay stops differ from it.
Read more →What's actually includedLunch on Ilha Grande: what's included, and where it happens
A buffet lunch is part of this booking — here's what that means in practice, why not every Ilha Grande boat trip includes it, and what's still worth carrying cash for.
Read more →Practical questionsSeasickness, sun and the long transfer: the practical guide
What actually makes this day hard — motion on the crossings, sun on an open deck, twelve-plus hours door to door — and how to be ready for all three.
Read more →Around the cityRio beyond the day trip: what to pair it with
This excursion takes the whole day. Here's how to build the rest of a Rio trip around it — and what not to try squeezing into the same day.
Read more →FAQ
Angra dos Reis & Ilha Grande day trip questions
What is the Angra dos Reis and Ilha Grande day trip from Rio?
It's a full-day excursion that drives the Costa Verde highway from Rio to the Angra dos Reis region, then switches to a schooner for a circuit of the bay — stops at a small islet, the Lagoa Azul snorkelling lagoon, the historic settlement of Freguesia de Santana, and a buffet lunch on Ilha Grande at Praia do Japariz, before the coach drives back into Rio.
Is the boat really a schooner?
The escuna — schooner — is the standard excursion vessel on this stretch of the Costa Verde: a multi-deck open motor-sail boat, not a rigid inflatable or a catamaran, and that is what operators running this same route and these same stops put people on. The GetYourGuide listing itself calls it only a boat and does not name the vessel type, so treat the schooner as the norm for the bay rather than a guarantee printed on your booking.
How long is the drive from Rio?
The direct drive to the Angra dos Reis area covers roughly 150km down the BR-101, the Rio–Santos highway — a couple of hours in clear traffic. Count on longer once the morning's hotel pickups across the South Zone are added, and the same drive again on the way home. Altogether the day runs about 12 to 14 hours door to door.
Is lunch included?
On the listing this site is built around, yes — a buffet lunch is served at Praia do Japariz on Ilha Grande, with a vegetarian option. Some other Ilha Grande boat trips, including shorter schooner-only excursions that depart from Angra dos Reis itself rather than Rio, sell lunch as a separate extra, so it's worth confirming the inclusions on the specific listing you book.
Which beach does the tour stop at?
Lunch is served at Praia do Japariz. The schooner also calls briefly at Freguesia de Santana, a small beach and historic settlement, and stops to swim and snorkel at Lagoa Azul, a sheltered lagoon rather than an open beach. Exact stops can shift with the weather and the guide's call on the day.
Is Ilha Grande car-free?
Yes — there are no roads for cars anywhere on the island, which is one of the reasons its Atlantic Forest and coastline have stayed largely intact. This tour reaches the island entirely by schooner and doesn't require or offer any vehicle transport once you're on Ilha Grande itself.
Does the tour visit the old prison on Ilha Grande?
No. Ilha Grande's abandoned Cândido Mendes prison, closed in 1994, sits at Dois Rios on the far side of the island — this route doesn't go there. The historic stop on this itinerary is Freguesia de Santana, the island's original settlement, with a chapel dating to 1796 and rebuilt in 1843.
Can I cancel if my plans change?
The listing offers free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start time for a full refund, and many options let you reserve now and pay later. The cancellation terms that apply to your booking are shown on GetYourGuide before you pay.
What should I bring?
Swimwear under your clothes, a towel, reef-safe sunscreen you can reapply, a hat, and a dry bag for your phone and valuables through the swim stops. Bring some local cash for anything not covered by the buffet lunch, and comfortable shoes for getting on and off the schooner rather than sandals that can slip.