Ilha da Paquetá

• Review
• Sunday, May 25, 2008

As you cycle along traffic-free dust tracks, past bobbing boats, tranquil storks and plodding horses, it’s hard to believe you are less than an hour’s ferry ride away from a city of more than 7 million people. Yet this is the scene that greets you at Ilha da Paquetá – an unassuming little island that lies across the bay from Rio de Janeiro city.Almost entirely free of foreign tourists, Ilha da Paquetá is sleepy during the week, but busy with visitors from Rio at weekends. Cars are banned from the island, and with bikes available to rent for next to nothing, the best way to see the place is to get pedalling along those dusty tracks. A circuit of the island takes less than an hour, but take the time to appreciate the picture-perfect whitewashed churches, the colourful (if slightly down at heel) colonial houses, and the flocks of vultures, storks and condors that feed at the water’s edge.Getting here is easy – feries depart from the ferry terminal opposite Praca 15 de Novembro in central Rio at 10.30am and 1.30pm each day, and tickets cost R$4 (the price rises by a couple of reais at weekends and during holidays). For a few reais more, you can buy a ticket for the faster, more comfortable catamaran, but the ferry trip is a pleasant experience in itself- offering wonderful views back to Rio as you leave the city, and across to Paquetá as you approach the island. Keep an eye out for the giant pebble-shaped boulders that dot the waters surrounding Paquetá. There are plenty of places to grab a cheap, if unspectacular, meal, and a pleasant way to end a day here is to order some bar snacks and beers to share at one of the beachside cafes. There’s not really enough to see here to warrant an overnight stay, but should you choose to stop over there are several decent pousadas (guest houses) on the island.