Practical FAQ for Ilha Grande (money, water, internet & more)

No. There are no ATMs or banks in Vila do Abraão. Cards are widely accepted in restaurants, shops and boat tours, and PIX is very popular, so you can get by without much cash — but bring a little as backup, and sort out money on the mainland before you arrive.

No — like in the rest of Brazil, tap water isn't safe to drink. The island's spring water is lovely but the treatment and distribution are precarious. Always drink bottled water and avoid ice in soft drinks, juices and smoothies, since the ice is made from the same water. Brushing your teeth and showering are fine.

It's an environmental access fee, paid by QR code. It's R$50 if you have a registered, legal accommodation booked, or R$100 otherwise (roughly €10–20). You pay it when you board the boat to the island, or on disembarking the public ferry. Children, over-60s and residents don't pay — only tourists. And don't be tempted by offers to dodge the fee by boarding at unofficial spots — a legal problem costs far more than the fee itself.

Near the coast and the village all three networks (Claro, TIM, Vivo) work, but coverage drops as soon as you head inland or to remoter beaches — so Claro is the only one I'd recommend, by far the most reliable. Village Wi-Fi is patchy: fine for messaging, but not for serious remote work. If you need to work online, choose a place with Starlink (still uncommon in the village).

Yes — bring repellent and sunblock, both essential. As well as regular mosquitoes there are 'borrachudos', tiny biting midges on the beaches that leave itchy welts. Dengue exists on the island at times, so cover up at dawn and dusk and use repellent.

Very. It's one of the safest places I know — a small community of around 6,000 residents with a strong, shared intolerance of theft, so problems are rare.

Travel light. There are no cars; luggage is moved by hand cart over sand and cobblestones. A carry-on plus a backpack you can carry yourself works far better than big suitcases, especially on the fast boats where luggage space is tight.

Five to seven days is ideal, and the honest minimum is two to three nights. A 2-night weekend works perfectly well, especially if there's a festival or event on while you're here. A pure day trip doesn't make sense, though: you'd lose hours to the boats both ways and barely see anything. If you can't stay at least a couple of nights, it's better to come another time.

No cars at all, and no bikes either. You get around on foot in the village and on the trails, and by boat (taxi-boats and schooners) to reach the farther beaches. It's fundamentally a walking place, and that's a big part of its charm.

Here's what getting around actually involves, so you can judge your own situation: there are no cars and no bikes, every transfer is on foot over sand, cobblestones and forest trails, and luggage is moved by hand cart. Able older travellers who are happy to walk tend to love it, and so do families with kids and teens of roughly ten and up. For young children under about ten, or for anyone with significantly limited mobility, it's genuinely demanding terrain and worth weighing carefully. If you have little ones who want pools and easy structure, a mainland resort will make everyone happier; that's not a knock on the island, it's simply a different kind of place.

Yes, there's a small but real nightlife scene, and the lovely thing is it's all concentrated in one spot about 1 km along the beach from the centre, because the nature reserve doesn't allow noise pollution anywhere else. There you'll find around five bars and a club within about 50 metres of each other, aimed at a younger crowd: a floating bar with live music and reggae, a chilled lounge-and-electronic spot, a more dressed-up chic bar, a place for dinner with live shows, and a nightclub. Because it's so neatly sectioned off, the rest of the village stays peaceful, so you can have both a quiet nature stay and a night out without one spoiling the other.

Yes, the whole island is a strict nature reserve and state park, and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site (the "Paraty and Ilha Grande" listing). On the beaches it's strictly forbidden to light fires, barbecue, sell or offer services, leave any rubbish such as cans or glass, or feed the wildlife, and dogs shouldn't be on the beach. Please follow the signs, carry out everything you bring in, and help keep it as wild and clean as you found it.

No. The boats back, for example from Lopes Mendes, take card. If there's no phone signal out at the beach, and usually there isn't, they board you anyway and charge you back in Abraão where the signal is fine. So don't stress about carrying cash just for the return trip.

Honestly, not much. The island runs in Portuguese, and outside a handful of places English isn't widely spoken, so people won't necessarily switch to your language. Learn a little Portuguese (Spanish also gets you a long way), and confirm any price clearly up front before you agree, which is just good practice anywhere and doubly handy across a language gap. Genuinely multilingual places are still fairly rare, so it's worth checking that your accommodation and guides speak your language before you book.

The easy, popular picks are Lagoa Azul and Lagoa Verde: clear, calm water where the fish are used to people (and to being fed), so they come right up to you. My own favourite, though, is Meros, a big sheltered bay where the snorkelling is hypnotic; along the western shore you drift after shyer marine life, and because it's where the fishing boats moor, big sociable schools of yellow, white and black fish have settled in. They're so used to people that they'll sometimes gently nibble at your legs, which tickles and is oddly lovely.

The tip is already on the bill — a 10% service charge called the serviço. If you were well looked after, just pay it; adding a small extra for the waiter is welcome but genuinely not expected. You're within your rights to have the 10% removed only if the service was truly poor, and flatly refusing it outright is frowned upon. One more thing at the table: blowing your nose into a handkerchief or napkin reads as very poor manners in Brazil — excuse yourself to the banheiro instead (that's the word for bathroom; a public one is a banheiro público).

Yes — at Angra's main Santa Luzia pier there are genuinely clean public banheiros, maintained constantly. There's no need to buy something at a café just to use a toilet; shops will even send you to the public ones, because they're better.