Rio de Janeiro to Ilha Grande: how to get there, paying smart, and how many nights to stay
If you’re planning to reach Ilha Grande from Rio de Janeiro, this guide is for you. It’s not another “how to do it on the cheap” piece — the kind that, deep down, means losing two days to save a few reais. It’s the opposite: how to do it right. Written by someone who has lived on the island for almost seven years.
Before you come: this isn’t a beach resort you fly into
One thing worth understanding before you book anything: Ilha Grande is unlike any other beach spot in Brazil. It isn’t Rio, and it isn’t one of those resort towns where you step off the plane and you’re already on the sand. It’s an isolated island — no cars, no bridges, no airport. Everything moves on foot or by boat.
What does that mean in practice? Two things. First, you will make at least one transfer to get here — there’s no way around it. Second, some day the island will “cost you” one: you might get a day of bad weather stuck indoors, or a boat tour that can’t sail because the sea won’t allow it. In Rio you go for seven days and you’re in Rio for seven days, full stop; here the rhythm is different — and that’s exactly the charm. So the first thing to sort out isn’t the flight or the hotel, it’s how many nights you give it (spoiler: more than you’re thinking).
Getting from Rio to Ilha Grande
Rio de Janeiro is your gateway — you fly into Galeão (GIG), Rio’s international airport, and cross to the island from there. Here’s the detail that changes the trip, and it’s different going out and coming back:
| Leg (going out) | Best option | Rough price |
|---|---|---|
| As a couple | Shared transfer, door to pier | ~R$200 per person |
| Three or more | Uber to the Conceição de Jacareí pier + speedboat | ~R$230 for the car, plus boat |
Prices are approximate and change with the season — treat them as a guide, not a quote.
On the way out, if you’re a couple, a shared transfer door-to-pier and you can forget about the logistics. If you’re three or more, Rio has Ubers to spare: it usually pays to ride down to the pier at Conceição de Jacareí and take the speedboat from there. One tip: set the exact pier and route in the app, so no driver can overcharge you “because the destination was somewhere else.”
On the way back (island → Rio), take the transfer — always, because here Uber turns on you. Conceição and Angra have nothing like Rio’s supply of cars, and there’s a hustle: drivers mark themselves “available” half an hour before the boat lands, then vanish the moment they see it come in — and whoever’s left charges a fortune. The transfer, by contrast, leaves at a fixed time and three hours later you’re at your hotel door in Rio, in one piece.
🧭 The full step-by-step of every route — ports, schedules, boat and bus prices — is in our main guide: How to get to Ilha Grande. Here we’ve given you the verdict for arriving via Rio.
Money: the thing nobody warns you about
In Brazil, Pix rules. It’s the instant bank-transfer system, and locals pay for everything with it — right down to a coconut on the beach. As a visitor, two moves save you money and headaches:
- If you pay by card, get charged in reais — not your home currency. When a machine offers to bill you in dollars, euros or pounds (“dynamic currency conversion”), it’s quietly adding a worse exchange rate on top of whatever your bank already charges. Always choose reais.
- Bring some cash in reais before you cross. There is no ATM and no exchange office on the island. In Vila do Abraão most restaurants and pousadas take cards, but beach kiosks and the remoter corners are often cash-only — and there, Pix or cash is all that works.
How many nights to stay (and where)
Stay at least five nights. And if you can, seven or more is ideal. With five, the odds work in your favour: one may be rainy and the rest are usually spectacular. With two or three, if you hit bad weather, you leave without ever seeing the island.
And sleep in Vila do Abraão. It’s the hub: everything leaves on foot from here — restaurants, caiçara and international food, live music, four supermarkets. There are beautiful corners to spend a day (Araçatiba, Bananal, Praia Vermelha), but to sleep they leave you isolated, with one boat a day and everything pricier. More on this in our guide to where to stay on Ilha Grande.
Common mistakes (so you don’t make them)
- Assuming everything in Brazil is close. This is the one I see most. You land in Rio, come down here — about 130 km, a couple of hours — and then think “right, now I’ll pop over to Búzios”… which is 400-plus kilometres away, in the exact opposite direction. The Rio region runs on two axes: Rio + north (Búzios, Arraial do Cabo, Cabo Frio) or Rio + south (Ilha Grande, Paraty). It isn’t “Rio or the island, all or nothing” — it’s about choosing an axis. Two destinations in two weeks is perfect (say, five days in Rio and seven nights here); but three places in opposite directions means spending your holiday in a car.
- Coming for fewer than five nights. We said it already, but it’s one of the worst: miss the weather on one day and you’re left without the island.
- Skimping on the transfer. Saving five reais on a bus only to lose fifteen on a taxi — and a whole afternoon — is the worst economy there is. A holiday is your quality time: it’s when you step out of the routine that grips you all year, when you rest, eat well, treat yourself, clear your head. Don’t trade that for loose change.
A note on transparency
This guide is written by Ricardo Aparicio, who lives on Ilha Grande and runs the Pousada Costa Verde in Vila do Abraão. I write it so anyone arriving via Rio has it clear from the start — it’s the same information whether you come with us or not.