DAY TRIP IN ILHA GRANDE BY RAFA

It is very difficult for me to put so much happiness in words when I think about Ilha Grande. Okay...so stop thinking about and JUST COME!!! I know the way to many paradises close to Rio and this island is my option number one!!!

Ideally, we have to spend at least one night there, but I am not that selfish so I can make this paradise for just one day...and we can do a lot of places. 

Thanks to my friend and TV Reporter Stefani Gamboa from Washington DC we had a glorious day, we rent a speed boat and could explore the hidden places of the islands like avid pirates and conquerors. 

This is always the result of our day in Ilha Grande, endless smiles, laughs and gorgeous pictures. Tropical beaches, amazing inlets where we can see Brazil exactly like the Portuguese saw our Nation 500 years ago. Lovely sparkling emerald waters, absurdly stunning Nature that will make you be sure that you are in a paradise far away from the crazy big cities. 

You have a life in New York??? I know, it is a fascinating city but some days in Ilha Grande will make you feel so much better that you will be back to your home with a different and "soft" mood. If we, who live in Rio, and we also have a wonderful city, we love going to Ilha Grande on the weekends, and our lives get sooooooo much easier after SOME HOURS IN THIS BLESSED ISLAND CALLED ILHA GRANDE. 



Getting there is easy but it will demand a little sacrifice: WAKING UP VERY EARLY, we have to leave here about 6:00 am to take the speed boat at 8:00 am in a village called CONCEIÇÃO DO JACAREI. I have made a little video showing the kind of transportation we take, and it takes only 20 minutes to cross, we get to the island before 9:00 am and we finish our activities by 6:00 pm or 7:00 pm. And we get back to Rio always after 9:00 pm. You will be tired in the end but think about that your heart will have different beats forever.

Well, now it is your turn to write to me and we can arrange such a different day in your trip to Rio de Janeiro. But think about to spend about 4 or 5 days so we will have time to discover the secrets of Rio that only curious and passionate locals have. Yes, I am a registered tour guide, but I really do not like to be called or considered a tour guide, I am your new friend in Rio who will be honored to have your presence here! I just want to make my land easier for you. It is your chance to be a traveler in Rio, not a single tourist. I am here to show you the SOUL of Rio. 

I am proud to have travel partners all over the World, so they will certainly recommend the best way to contact me, but you can also write to me directly, just drop me a line to brazilrafario@gmail.com or add me on WhatsApp which is +5521 98018 0510

Rafael Torres Lopes
Tour Guide and Travel Planner