Ilha Grande & Angra dos Reis

Diving here is a boat day more than a dive-site day. Operators leave from the marinas around Angra dos Reis or from Vila do Abraão on Ilha Grande, and a good part of the trip is spent motoring between islands, with two dives, lunch aboard and long surface intervals on flat water. There are enough islands in range that the guide usually picks the sites once the boat is out, so it is normal to dive somewhere you had not heard of that morning. A few sheltered beaches take shore entries, mostly for check dives and night dives.

Underwater the bay is rock and sand rather than coral: rounded boulders piled along the island edges, sloping into a soft bottom, with most of the interest packed into the cracks and overhangs between them. The inner islands are shallow, dim and slow, which is exactly what makes them good for close-up work after dark. The islands out toward the open Atlantic are the exception, with moving water and better clarity, and most centres treat them as a weather-dependent extra rather than as the plan for the day.

What the bay does well is volume. A weekend produces four or five dives without a rough crossing or a demanding profile, and the conditions reward slowing down; an entire dive spent working one boulder is not a wasted dive here. The one wreck is worth asking for by name when you book rather than hoping the guide picks it. The area also suits mixed groups, since the island's beaches and forest trails keep non-divers busy while the boat is out. Divers chasing big animals or long sightlines should treat it as a stopover rather than the destination.