Located just over 200 kilometers from São Paulo, Ilhabela is Brazil’s biggest island.
ILHABELA
Located just over 200 kilometers from São Paulo, Ilhabela is Brazil’s biggest island. Ilhabela is ringed by sandy beaches on three full sides; only the fourth side is rocky. The trip from São Paulo takes up to three hours (or two hours if your car is particularly fast – or just half an hour if you’re really well- heeled and you have a helicopter). Unsurprisingly, it’s a summer haunt for São Paulo’s wealthy. If you’re intent on coming, here’s a tip: Come on a Sunday evening and stay until Wednesday – otherwise, you’ll hardly have room to move. It’s impossible to find a place at a hotel or a restaurant and just as hard to find a spot to lay down your towel on the beach due to the throngs of people. From Sunday evening to Thursday morning, though, Ilhabela is far more serene, meaning there are fewer crowds to detract from your holiday. I, indeed, did opt to come Sunday to Wednesday; while on the island, I stayed at DPNY Beach, one of the best hotels in the area. DPNY also has a great Italian restaurant on site that’s so good, you’d think you’ve gone to Italy. But if you’re not in the mood for Italian, DPNY also serves up some dishes that carry a hint of French cuisine as well. And Ilhabela isn’t all just about the beach. You can take a tour around the island in a gullet or a speedboat or go on an adventure with a 4x4 jeep in the island’s forested interior. If you opt for a jeep trip into the forest, make sure to lather yourself up with insect repellant, or you might not have a particularly enjoyable time. As for me, though, I couldn’t bring myself to leave that heavenly hotel to squeeze in beside dozens of others for a ride on a boat or a trip in a jeep. Even if you just stay at a hotel like DPNY, you can be sure that you’ll have an extraordinarily good time simply enjoying the light waves of the sea.