Brasil has beautiful tropical islands that are true havens of rest, enchantment, adventure and fun.
The coast of Brasil stretches 7408 Km, i.e., it’s huge! A sea of possibilities to find a perfect island. Large, tiny, populous, deserted, idyllic, bucolic, wild, paradisiac, there are all sorts of islands. We chose 3 in different Brazilian States that are worth checking out on your trip to the Country.
Itaparica – a beautiful island in Bahia with attractions on land and sea
Itaparica is one of the most famous islands of Baía de Todos os Santos, 280 km from Salvador, capital of Bahia. It's one of those combo destinations: history, beach and quiet in one place. The island encompasses two cities: on one side, the nostalgic and quiet town of Itaparica, with its colonial mansions and buildings dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. On the other side, the city of Vera Cruz, where you can enjoy the best beaches with calm and warm waters and very few waves because of the protection of coral reef barriers, perfect for bathing and water sports.
One of the most interesting tours of Itaparica takes you to the Pantanal of Bahia, a region of mangroves and freshwater sources, with a stop in another island with palm trees and white sand called Matarandiba. You can also take a chance on the benefits of a fountain of youth on the west coast of the city, from which mineral water springs. There is an inscription that says: "Hey! Water is thin. It turns old ladies into chicks."
Ilhabela – as the name says, a beautiful and heavenly island in the State of São Paulo
With little more than twenty thousand inhabitants, Ilhabela is one of the most popular destinations of São Paulo. This archipelago of rare beauty and lush has 83% of its territory covered by Atlantic forest preserved by a State Park. There are 15 Islands with paradisiacal beaches, trails, waterfalls, scuba diving spots amid shipwrecks. Wait a minute: did you say shipwreck? Yes, maybe we can even find Wilson, Tom Hanks’ confidant friend, over there. :) All jokes aside, today the wrecks are a submarine ecological sanctuary sheltering several species, a real aquarium built by nature. The waterfalls are a special attraction. There are about 360 waterfalls forming natural pools of fresh water, walls suitable for rappel and falls in the form of slides.
Of course your tour, at some point, will end right at Rua do Meio. It’s the main street of the island’s village center, simply called Vila, where you can find cafes, bars, restaurants and shops.
Ilha Grande – mysteries and an unbelievable tropical scenery in the State of Rio de Janeiro
Ilha Grande is a large mountainous ridge that spreads its 190 sq. km by the sea, alongside more than 187 islets in facing Angra dos Reis. Most of it is covered by a dense, beautiful and preserved forest. The island offers dozens of beaches, viewpoints, rivers, waterfalls, caves and mountains that seem to have come out of the movies or of that magazine from which you carefully cut out the picture and pasted in the fridge, just to remember your next travel destination. With calm waters, good visibility and great variety of fish and coral, the island is ideal for bathing and diving.
And you, dear traveler, can still enjoy all the mystery about pirates, Imperial invasions and shelter to criminals in an old penitentiary already disabled (really old, as its construction dates from the 19th century). It’s strange the fact of a penitentiary built on an island paradise. But come to think of it, there shouldn’t be greater punishment than having it all out there and not being able to enjoy anything, isn't it?