Unforgettable Bahia Schooner: Ilha dos Frades Escape

Actually, the night before our trip we got an email saying that the trip to Ilha dos Frades only was canceled and we could switch to the Frades/Itaparica tour for the same price, which we did. It was an entertaining and excellent experience. There are several boat companies that run the same tour though you cannot tell from TripAdvisor who you are booking with. Our boat was run by Apolonio. The Marina embarkation point is slightly chaotic and we had to wait around for quite a bit not knowing when our boat would leave. There were three guides, all of whom spoke good English, though of the 80+ passengers there were, as far as we could tell only 6 non-Brazilians. The best part of the experience was the boat trip itself. Those Brazilians really know how the party and the on-deck bar which opened t 9:00 AM did a roaring trade in caipirinhas made with many varieties of fresh fruit. The chief guide was an amazing dancer and had the entire company dancing and singing along to Brazilian carneval music — everyone seemed to know all the words to dozens of songs. After about 1 hour 40 minutes sailing, singing, drinking, and dancing we reached our first destination. The Ilha dos Frades is a lovely, well maintained and protected island. Everyone headed for the beach, but the chapel on the hill, and the little village were also well worth visiting. The sea was calm and warm and well worth a dip. We spent a relaxing 2 hours before heading back to the boat for the 40 minutes trip to Itaparica. This was our lunch destination. The restaurant (Restaurante Manguezal) had no dock, and we went from our boat to the beach on some sketchy looking motor boats with about 20 passengers each. You needed to jump off the big boat into the little boat, then wade ashore from the little boat to the restaurant, where there was a massive all-you-can-eat buffet for 75 reales. We did not indulge, but pretty much everyone else did. There was certainly plenty of choice of Brazilian, Bahaian, and international type food. We went through the restaurant into the village, which was pretty scruffy and rundown - not worth visiting. After 2 hours of eating and drinking, it was back on the (overcrowded) motorboats and then clambering up onto the “Schooner” for the 1.5 hour trip back to Salvador. The dancing guide worked had to get everyone moving again, but most people were exhausted. Overall this whole trip was a blast and a real insight into happy, indulgent, music obsessed Brazilian party life. The islands themselves are nice stopping points, but the boat trip itself is the major draw.

We booked an English speaking tour but almost all explanation were in Portuguese only. We reminded the guide more than once to please speak English with us, however his English speaking skills had room for improvement. If you pay the taxes and the island entrance fee (total 45R$ p.p.) with card, you have to pay 55R$ (so better to bring cash). The boat takes you to a private beach with three restaurants. We were asked immediately after the arrival to place an order for the overpriced food (e.g. 40R$ for a portion of fries). In return, the umbrella on the beach is for free. The beach is very nice und the crew asked several times of everything was okay ("todo bem?") so we appreciated the effort but all in all this tour is not worth the price.

Wow! I rarely write reviews, but must rave about this incredible cruise to two amazing islands near Salvador Brazil: Islã dos frades and Itaparica. The boat is lovely, staffed by a smiling, courteous team who make amazing drinks with fresh fruit while playing Brazilian music on drums and tamborine. Islã dos frades has crystalline water and Itaparica is a lovely place to stop for lunch and enjoy local history. The tour agency was great, and have us all the information we needed, along with a reminder about check-in the night before. Our kids loved the entire day as much as we did. We would highly highly recommend this cruise to anyone looking for an amazing day in Brazil.

I honestly don’t understand what we paid for with this booking. on top of the booking fee, we paid for the return boat fare, fee to enter the island, a tax, a very expensive lunch, all drinks on the boat and tip for the music. It could have been done alone. The boat was so slow too, the three hour journey back was unbearable.

Great trip we loved it !!! Natural island with not many tourists ! Lots of beautiful spots and beaches

It was very good, I have nothing to complain about. The only thing I would suggest is to offer seats on the beach and the sunshine to be a little taller.

Legal experience and worth it. But don't buy the ticket online, personally directly at the Maritime Terminal (behind the Model Market) is cheaper. I ended up making the tour also to the island of Itaparica, but I don't think it's very worth it. The beach of Frades Island is more beautiful and excellent for swimming - with nice, clear and clean water. The beach in general is more beautiful and more pleasant. On the island of Itaparica the beach is much worse, it has many shells that hurt the foot and is not deep - too bad for swimming or bathing in general. Visually also the beach of Frades Island is more beautiful. Not to mention that the tour that goes to the two islands you stay longer on the boat than on the beaches. If I was to recommend to a friend, I would say to spend the day on the island of the frades because it is more satisfying. But if you like to ride a boat (without much comfort) do both tours. It is the typical example of better prioritizing quality than quantity. The restaurant on the island of Itaparica is quite medium too.

It was nice and peaceful the trip to the island of frades, everyone could go visit it is good help to relax and does good health. I went and came back well.

The island is beautiful but I who already came from Morro de Sao Paulo was not surprised. It is better Morro de Sao Paulo, I think it would have been better to spend another day in Morro. I put 3 stars because as other comments say they put a little pressure on you to go to restaurants. I didn't go. You just have to know how to say no. The tour comes with a free umbrella and you insist those in the umbrella go to their restaurant: Five times we said no. Prices are not VERY high but not low, for that price you can eat very well in Salvador. And worst of all: restaurants have no view of the beach! So you get lost on the beach for eating, that's why I didn't go.

Great trip to Frades Island! Paradise beach and excellent infrastructure, with a very good company that noa took to her in an excellent boat, I recommend!