Angra dos Reis and Ilha Grande Day Trip with Schooner Cruise and Lunch

Nightmare excursion: 3h30 by coach including the collection of all participants at their hotel. Crowded boat, music at the bottom, stops without interest to dive in slushy waters, very average meal at 4pm after a queue of 15 minutes to serve a buffet. Return under the same conditions. We couldn’t take it anymore. Strongly discouraged

I read all the reviews before booking and they were all pretty accurate. We were picked up from our hotel at about 8am. The tour guide was super energetic and friendly and spoke very good English. We were the last group to the picked up so we started the drive to Angra. We stopped at a rest stop for the bathroom (the bus also has a bathroom) and food about half way. The guide explained in great detail (in Portuguese, Spanish, and English) what the entire day would entail. They passed around a menu and you could order food. They gave it to you right when you got on the boat. We didn’t do it but other people shared with us because they were very big portions, and it was really yummy. One order is plenty for 2 or even 3 people. We arrived at the boat at about noon and got right on. It wasn’t very crowded and was an engine powered boat (not sure why I thought it might be a sail boat). The first stop was a really great place to swim and there were lots of cool fish and some coral to see. We paid for the photography session too which was $R100 per person, so about $20 each. I think it was totally worth it. We got about 100 pictures and a video. We had plenty of time to snorkel and swim at every stop. We rented snorkels on the boat. I’m not sure how much it cost but at the end of the day my bill was $R125 for two snorkels and 2 cocktails. There is a bar on the boat that serves the whole journey. Each adult gets a free caipirinha and then you can order anything else. Lunch was at the 4th stop at about 3:30. The included buffet from Bar do Luis wasn’t great by any stretch but you could order more food and we had brought enough snacks so it was fine. After a relaxed meal we got back on the boat for about a half an hour ride back to the bus. Once back on the bus it was about 3.5hours back to Rio. It was a long day (mostly on the bus) but we knew that it would be going in. Everyone we interacted with was so friendly and helpful. None of the staff except for our tour guide spoke English but he was happy to translate and we could use our phones to translate if sign language didn’t work! Overall I’m very glad that we took the trip! Make sure to bring sunscreen, plenty of water, and dry clothes for the bus ride home.

Excelente atencion del personal en su totalidad,menos en el manager de las excursiones que nunca dio la cara ya que nos estafaron,nos cobraron u$89 (dolares) por una excursion q Rio de noche, no pudimos ver nada,no nos dejaron bajar en Maracana por los robos. Fuimos a hacer el reclamo y nos fueron corriendo la devolucion hasta q nos bajaramos camarotes 11112 y 8163... 5 personas eramos....estoy esperando todavia...Omar Hernández