Ilha Grande day trip

There are no roads or cars on Ilha Grande, so the day starts with a ferry from Mangaratiba to Vila do Abraão, the island's main village, where the boats tie up and schooners and speedboats line up for trips around the island. Vila do Abraão grew from a 19th-century quarantine station and boomed after the island's prison at Dois Rios closed in 1993; today it is pousadas, restaurants and a church on a bay.

Lagoa Azul and Lopes Mendes lie on opposite sides of the island, and a day trip realistically covers one of them. Lagoa Azul is a sheltered natural pool between Ilha do Macaco, Ilha Comprida and Ilha Redonda, with bright blue water and fish for snorkelling. Schooner or speedboat tours from Abraão take about six hours, stop about an hour at each island or beach and include a lunch stop. Lopes Mendes is an empty 3 km beach of fine white sand on the open-ocean side, with shallow water, surf and colder sea. Boats from Abraão go to Praia do Pouso, and from there a 1 km trail, 20 to 30 minutes, leads over to the beach. Note the time of the last boat back before you leave the pier. Vendors work Lopes Mendes mainly in summer and at weekends, so take water, and watch the current a little way out.