Angra & Ilha Grande

Take the boat and Park the car.

You can come from Rio by bus. They are cheap and quite convenient. If you have some money you can rent a car in Rio. We were a little sceptic about Brazilian rental car companies. As we couldn't yell in their language, we preferred to pay a little more but choose a wide spread company where you can (if you are not lucky) yell in your own language weeks after you return. Therefore we rented the smallest car from Hertz.
Anyway, when you arrive in Angra dos Rei, you start to get stressed: Where can I sleep? The information center is really charming, right on the harbour. People there were really kind, and explained us where to stay and how to take the boat to Ilha Grande.
There is a shuttle boat twice a day and it costs about 5 Reals one way (for 1 hour trip). If you miss it, you still can take private boats. Be careful, you can pay up to 20 times the shuttle price. We ended up paying 10 reals per person.
To park the car, don't be afraid to give your car and keys to the "estacionamento , ..." It seems to be normal, and we got our car back at the end. The charge was about 8 Reals a day. Finally your car is parked, you've found a boat, you've packed your luggage, and you arrive there and you see THAT!!!!!!

On the Island.

You will find a lot of poussadas in Abraon. We personally preferred to camp, cheaper and more fun. Abraon is the main harbour, it's a beautiful place where you would easily make your day to day life. This is a little artificial, but if you take a taxi boat (if you are lazy) or if you walk a little bit, you will find some beaches you won't forget.
If you look for the visitor center, don't look to hard. They don't speak english, and if you ask for a map of the island, don't expect something clear. A ten year old child could draw the same map!

Walk around.

Hiking is really great on this island. Take time to walk around. At the visitor center they will tell you: "2 hours for the first beach on your left. 2 hours for the first beach on your right. 5 hours to hike up the peak."
It's worth to do it, you will see beautiful places. The beaches are really wild. People you may encounter are friendly. Don't hesitate to have lunch on the beach.

The Forest.

You will hike in a really deep forest. You will see bamboo, pineapple trees, banana trees and coconut trees. If you are lucky as we have been you can even see monkeys. As we saw squirrels early on the morning, we thought it was some squirrels again, but as we were watching closely, we realized that it was 6 monkeys the size of a squirrel. It was really exciting. We also saw a snail as big as my fist. No, no it's not a lie! If you want the proof, just look at the picture below! You will notice the coin on the left (size of a quarter, a franc or a real!).