Originally Posted by Dieuwer (Post 25407445)

I would like to advice against spending more than 4 days in Rio. I am here for almost a week now and I am becoming annoyed with the bad service and quality of the Ipanema/Copa restaurants (apart from Rua Bolivar). Gay nightlife is extremely boring.

Originally Posted by RafKa (Post 25407778)

Did you go to Santa Tereza? Good to start the night there.

Originally Posted by RafKa (Post 25404487)

From Rio’s bus terminal to Angra dos Reis, the published travel time is 2:45
http://www.costaverdetransportes.com...gina=horarios#

Then you’ll need to make your way from the bus station to the pier (by taxi or bus – add 15 mins with wait times)

The boat ride is about 1:30. Careful as there’s only one “official” boat per day!
http://www.ilhagrande.com.br/como-ch...s-para-abraao/

There’s no beach at Abrãao. Hiking to Lopes Mendes is a must (1:30 hike, or take a boat to Palmas and it’s a 30 min walk from there). The ocean facing beaches are the best: Cachadaço is an amazing tiny cove (can hike from Abrãao, prob in 2hrs, via Dois Rios). Then there’s Parnaioca, with its creek and natural pools, the wild Leste and Sul beaches, and Aventureiro, with its very white sand and iconic “horizontal” palm tree. During the high season there will be little fishermen’s boats doing these as a day-tour.

As much as I do love Ilha Grande, depending on how much time you have (and how much infrastructure you need), I would encourage you to take a look at Paraty, which is 1h further from Angra, on the same bus. You can hire little boats at the pier for R$60/hour, put some drinks in their ice-box, and just chill while you cruise to loads of beautiful unspoilt beaches. And at night you can enjoy the beautiful colonial town, and sample the local cachaças. In one day trip you can head to north to Ilha da Sapeca, and Ilha Comprida, and another day, head to Saco do Mamanguá, a tropical fjord (where one of the “Twilight” movies was shot). Each of these will take about 4 hours.

It rains a lot in this region, any time of the year! But it’s one of the most beautiful places ever (looks much better live than in pictures, for some reason).

Originally Posted by XLR26 (Post 25412600)

Thanks for all the info RafKa! ^ Paraty is likely next up on my Rio side-trips. I'm going solo on this trip and Ilha Grande seems like the better fit for that. I think those boat trips you referenced would be a lot more fun if I was with someone....so I'll save Paraty for next time.

I'm going last week of November - probably Mon-Wed so I'm guessing not exactly high season yet. Will the little fishing boats you mentioned be running then?

Originally Posted by Dieuwer (Post 25407445)

I would like to advice against spending more than 4 days in Rio. I am here for almost a week now and I am becoming annoyed with the bad service and quality of the Ipanema/Copa restaurants (apart from Rua Bolivar). Gay nightlife is extremely boring as well.

Sightseeing you can do in 4 days:

1) Morning visit to Corcovado (on a clear day) + late afternoon/evening visit to Sugarloaf.
2) Walking/shopping at Ipanema
3) Jardim Botanico
4) Downtown