Rio + Brazil in 7 Days on a Budget
Seven days: enough time to do Ilha Grande properly
Days 1 through 4 match our 4-day itinerary : Niterói, Petrópolis, Búzios, then a flex day. The extra three days go somewhere different than our 6-day plan , which spends its bonus time on Paraty. Seven days swaps that for Ilha Grande instead, because the island’s transfer time only pays off once you’ve got three full days on the other side of it, and this is the first itinerary length where giving it that time doesn’t cost you anything else.
| Day | Focus | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niteroi ferry, MAC museum | R$13-18 |
| 2 | Petropolis bus, Imperial Museum | R$70-80 |
| 3 | Buzios, round-trip bus or car | R$100-140 |
| 4 | Rest, laundry, or booking your next leg | R$0-50 |
| 5-7 | Ilha Grande, transfer plus two nights | R$400+ |
Worth booking ahead:
- Ilha Grande is car-free and the priciest leg of the week, check lodging availability on the island before the transfer, not after.
- The Angra dos Reis transfer plus ferry crossing is easier as a single booked package than pieced together yourself.
Arrival: Galeão (GIG) handles international flights, about 20km out from the South Zone; Santos Dumont (SDU), downtown at the foot of Sugarloaf, handles domestic connections. Sort a Real card, cash, and a SIM before you leave whichever terminal you land at.
Two corrections worth having before Day 1: Brazil speaks Portuguese, not Spanish, an easy assumption to bring in given the Spanish-speaking neighbors surrounding it, and Rio hasn’t been the capital since 1960, that’s Brasília now, whatever some older guides still claim.
Day 1: Niterói. Ferry from Praça XV, about 20 minutes, R$1-6 depending on route. Oscar Niemeyer’s MAC museum on the far side (~R$12, half-price for students and seniors, free on Wednesdays) plus the short Caminho Niemeyer trail make an easy, low-effort first day, useful while you’re still shaking off the flight. Back in Rio by evening.
Day 2: Petrópolis. Buses run from the Novo Rio terminal roughly every 15-30 minutes, 1 to 1.5 hours each way. The Imperial Museum, Dom Pedro II’s actual palace, is why you go; the cooler mountain air and German-settler architecture are why you stay past it. Mid-afternoon bus back to Rio.
Day 3: Búzios. About 2.5 to 3 hours each way by car or bus to this upscale peninsula town. It’s a long day out and back, but a manageable one, worth doing even without an overnight if a single day is all you can spare for it.
Day 4: the flex day. Rest, catch up on laundry, and if a weekend lines up, spend the evening at Feira de São Cristóvão for forró music and Northeastern food stalls. This is also the day to lock in whatever comes after this trip if you’re continuing deeper into Brazil: Iguaçu Falls is about 2 hours by direct flight from Galeão, São Paulo is an hour away on the Santos Dumont to Congonhas air shuttle, and Salvador is roughly 2 hours from Galeão.
Days 5 through 7: Ilha Grande. Get to Angra dos Reis first, 2.5 to 3 hours by car or bus, then the ferry across, about R$20.50 and roughly 1h40. Most operators will tell you flatly not to attempt this island as a day trip, and they’re right, the transfer alone eats most of a day before you’ve set foot on a beach.
Day 5: travel plus settling in. Arrive by afternoon and spend the evening on whichever beach sits closest to where you’re staying, the island is car-free, so everything moves at walking or boat pace.
Day 6: the full island day. Beaches and rainforest trails with none of Rio’s noise or traffic.
Day 7: a slower morning, then the return transfer. Budget the full 2.5-3 hours plus ferry time and build in a buffer before any onward flight, don’t schedule anything tight against that return crossing.
Costs across the week: ferry to Niterói R$1-6, MAC entry ~R$12, Petrópolis bus ~R$50 round trip, Búzios bus or car roughly double that, Ilha Grande ferry ~R$20.50 each way plus two nights’ accommodation on the island, the single priciest leg of the week and the only one that gets you somewhere with zero city noise.
If seven days feels tight once Ilha Grande’s transfer time is accounted for, drop the Day 4 flex day before you drop the island. You can plan your next Brazil leg from an airport lounge; you can’t get this specific island escape back once you’re home.