🇧🇷 Beach Guide | A month living on the island 🏝️ Ilhabela, Brazil
My boyfriend and I love the beach and everything about it: warm weather, beer, sea, coconut water, sand and, of course, a beautiful sunset.
When we decided to visit new beaches, we didn't just want to go down to any coast, we wanted a bigger experience, one that would involve at least a month and that would be a real experience close to a caiçara (as we call people who were born on the coast).
So, we chose our destination, the island of Ilhabela, on the coast of São Paulo.
How to access the island?
The island has a ferry that crosses from the mainland to the island, and it docks in the city of São Sebastião. The crossing takes an average of 30 minutes and is free for pedestrians. For cars, the cost depends on the number of axles the vehicle has.
All the prices are described in the link below, and we also have access to the site's surveillance cameras.
The ferry is open 24 hours a day, so if you need to cross at dawn, you can do so, with a 1-hour interval between each one.
Accommodation
Another important point on our trip was accommodation. We needed good, stable internet to keep working. We stayed with a very friendly Airbnb host who looked after us very well during the month.
But there are options in the village, which is the center of the island, a hostel that not only offers accommodation but also a complete experience.
We stayed in a condominium 600 meters from Feiticeira beach. As a bonus, we later discovered, after wandering around, that this condominium had access to the Três Tombos waterfall!
Beaches that we visited
One more beautiful than the other. Some smaller, others bigger and with more people, there's something for everyone. The island has more than 22 beaches and in that time we managed to visit 6.
All the beaches are located in the southern part of the island. For reasons of proximity to our home. But there are incredible beaches in the north too.
Bonete was an experience in itself and I'll tell you why!!!
Bonete is an experience in itself...
Bonete beach is located on the other side of the island. More than half of Ilhabela is made up of closed Atlantic forest and because of this, using cars to go to more adventurous places is not an option.
We saw that it is possible to do an advanced level trail, 13km long and taking an average of 6 hours. Were we prepared? No. Did we do it? Yes!
We got a late start, and the trail had very tricky terrain, we had a rainy day and the mud was constant. To make up for it, we passed three beautiful waterfalls along the way, it was enchanting, it seemed like an unexplored place in the middle of a very green jungle.
We arrived exhausted and in total darkness. We just wanted a place to stay and eat, since we had completed the 7-hour hike and our breaks were only to drink water from the waterfalls. It was incredible, but we would have to prepare before doing it again.
The same hostel that exists in the center of the island (Vila) has a unit in Bonete, and amazingly, it's very good vibes!!! The place is truly enchanting, but of course I only noticed this the next day.
A little of the experience in Bonete
Bonete beach has only 200 residents living there. As there is no way to get there by car, supplies need to be very well used. Energy comes from hydroelectric power and also from a generator that the village owns, which is charged with diesel oil.
In the event of an emergency, it is necessary to take a boat across to the other side of the island, and because of the giant waves, this is not always possible.
We returned to our little house on the other side of the island
In addition to all the excursions, our meal included plenty of fish. Whichever restaurant you go to, there's always the fish of the day, and we love fish.
Below I list some of the restaurants we ate at on more than just one day. With affordable prices ranging from R$29.90 to a dish for two people worth R$250.00.
Final Considerations
Important thing!
One last thing that's important to mention. When we were there, the power went out twice on the island. This is "normal". With the heavy rains, the island's energy supply mechanism suffers a little, causing blackouts. But it didn't even take 20 minutes to come back on.
We love It!
We love it! Of course we do! And it's hard to put into words how enriching it was for us to live abroad in a different environment and to meet so many people who were so helpful to us. That's because we want to go back and visit the north side of the island.
If you have any questions about the itinerary, feel free to DM me! Contact details are in the bio. See you next time!
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