Ilhabela and the Trail to Bonete Beach

Ilhabela is one of the few Brazilian island-municipalities, located on the north coast of São Paulo state, near São Sebastião. It’s home to beaches, waterfalls, and beautiful mountains to explore.

Getting to Ilhabela

From São Paulo: take the Ayrton Senna highway (SP-070) and Carvalho Pinto highway (also SP-070) to São José dos Campos. Then, at km 96, take the Tamoios highway (SP-099) down to Caraguatatuba, and once you reach the Rio-Santos highway (BR-101), turn right (south) toward Santos and São Sebastião.

Watch for signage to the ferry crossing (20-25 minutes) from São Sebastião to Ilhabela, about 26 km after you enter the Rio-Santos. It’s 203 km total and nearly 4 hours of driving. Google Maps route

There’s another route via Ayrton Senna, Mogi-Bertioga, and Rio-Santos, but it takes much longer — Google Maps doesn’t even suggest it, so we won’t detail it here.

About the ferry

You can buy your ticket in advance or pay on-site, but expect to wait hours in line if you do the latter. We decided not to risk it and bought ours ahead of time. On Friday, it was worth it — but on Sunday, there was no line at all!

Where to stay in Ilhabela

Retiro Ecológico Pontiá is a great spot to disconnect, surrounded by nature.

What to do in Ilhabela

Bonete Beach - Ilhabela

• Considered one of the most beautiful beaches in Brazil
• Located on the southern tip of the island
• By trail: 14 km from Nova Iorqu’i restaurant, or 18 km from Castelhanos Beach
• By sea: fishing boats or a rented boat
• Free trails
• Watch out: mosquitoes!

There’s parking right near the start of the Bonete Trail, but we parked closer to Nova Iorqu’i, where the boat docks, and ran to the trailhead — about 2 km away.

To fend off mosquitoes, use strong repellent — we even took vitamin B complex for 10 days beforehand, and still got bitten!

The Bonete Trail

• Moderate trail difficulty
• 14 km from the entrance to the beach
• 2 waterfalls and 2 bridges along the way
• We took a boat back
• Boat: R$100 per person, with the last return crossing at 4 PM

We woke up late on Saturday and only got to the trail around noon — not ideal because of the heat (it’s mostly shaded forest), but because of the timing to reach the beach before the last boat!

The trail is long, and near the waterfalls, watch out for mosquitoes — don’t forget the repellent! You’ll also run into plenty of wildlife along the way, including snakes and large ground-dwelling creatures, so be careful. If you’re not comfortable around animals like that, we wouldn’t recommend this trail!

We ran part of it, finishing in 2h20m of moving time, but if you’re not used to running, plan for 4 to 5 hours — you’ll need to lift your feet a lot over the rocky terrain, since it’s not an easy trail!

Reaching Bonete Beach is a huge relief — crystal-clear water, and vendors selling coconut water, soda, açaí, and snacks.

After enjoying the beach, we caught the boat back at 4 PM. The ride back was really fun! We had dinner afterward at Nova Iorqu’i restaurant.

Download the GPX file for the Bonete Trail.

Track powered by Wikiloc

Cachoeira do Paquetá

• Hard trail
• 3-tier waterfall
• The last tier has an infinity edge
• Free entry
• Parking: R$10

The next day, we hiked to this waterfall, and its infinity edge makes it absolutely stunning! You start by wading through one waterfall, then continue on a poorly maintained trail lined with pipes that keep the ground soaked — in a lot of spots, you can actually sink in!

You start by crossing through the water of one waterfall to reach the other! If you’re up for an adventure, it’s honestly worth it!

After that, you have to balance across some makeshift wooden planks! I tried going through the middle, sank in, and nearly lost my sandal — I was yelling for Andrey to help, but he couldn’t stop laughing! There are a lot of mosquitoes here too, but you can get some beautiful photos!

Download the GPX file for the Cachoeira do Paquetá trail.

From the waterfall, we headed straight back to São Paulo — timed around the ferry schedule — and had lunch back in the city!

Where to eat in Ilhabela

Restaurante Nova Iorqu’i

• À la carte restaurant
• Brazilian food and seafood
• Great value
• Go for the sunset

One of the best parts of doing the Bonete Trail — especially on the way back — is catching the sunset at Nova Iorqu’i, where the food is good, generous, and fairly priced! Order a dish meant for two, and it’ll easily serve three or more — and the setting is lovely.

Read more about our trips in São Francisco Xavier.