Paquetá Island: a day trip by ferry from Rio de Janeiro

At a glance

Ferry timetable

Barcas Rio publishes the line on its site: up to 81 minutes each way. Departures marked * also carry cargo. Checked on 29 October 2026; the operator can change times, so look again before your day.

For a day trip, the 8:10 or 10:00 weekday boat (8:30 or 10:00 at weekends) gives you most of the day. On weekdays the afternoon return options are 13:00, 15:00, 17:00 and 18:50.

How to pay: contactless debit or credit card, the Riocard Mais card, a QR in the Riocard Mais app, or a QR ticket bought with cash at the ticket office. Combustion-engine bikes are not allowed on board; e-bikes travel switched off. Pets go in a carrier or muzzled, if there is room.

Getting around the island

Diário do Rio (March 2025) writes that there are no cars on the island: people walk, cycle or take a charrete, and bikes can be hired. In 2016 the city replaced the horse-drawn carts with small electric vehicles, according to The Rio Times. Most sights are a short walk from the ferry pier.

What to see

• Casa de Artes Paquetá: cultural centre in a former estate at Praça São Roque, 31. Riotur lists Thursday to Sunday and holidays, 10:00-17:00, with a 2020 note to confirm on the centre’s own site.
• Casa de José Bonifácio: the house where the statesman José Bonifácio lived in the early 19th century. Since 2022 it has held the Museu de Comunicação e Costumes de Paquetá, a private collection of cameras, phones, gramophones and documents (Diário do Rio, 2022). Ask locally about visiting.
• Solar d’El Rei: on Rua Príncipe Regente, named after King João VI’s stay in 1808. It has been in ruins since 2009 and a restoration agreement exists, so you see it from the outside.
• Parque Darke de Mattos: a protected park with trails, picnic spots and the Mirante Boa Vista on Morro da Cruz, looking over the bay. Prainha beach lies inside the park.
• Baobab “Maria Gorda”: a protected tree with a trunk over 7 metres round.
• Capela de São Roque: a 19th-century chapel used for religious and cultural events.
• Ponte da Saudade and Pedra dos Namorados: small spots tied to local legends.
• Cemitério dos Pássaros: a cemetery where residents bury their pet birds.

Beaches and water quality

INEA, the state environment agency, monitors nine beaches on Paquetá: Imbuca, Ribeira, Grossa, Tamoios, Catimbau, Coqueiros, Moreninha, José Bonifácio and Prainha (inside Parque Darke de Mattos).

Each beach is rated “Própria” (fit for bathing) or “Imprópria” (unfit) from the bacteria levels in its last five samples. On Paquetá samples are taken once a week. To check before you swim:

1. Open the INEA website (inea.rj.gov.br) and find the weekly Boletim de Balneabilidade do Estado do RJ.
2. Look for the section covering Paquetá (grouped with Ilha do Governador and Ramos).
3. Check your beach. INEA also advises not swimming in the first hours after rain or near storm drains and canals.

We do not rate the beaches ourselves: the bulletin is the only reliable answer for your date.

Paquetá with kids

• The ferry crossing across the bay is part of the day out for children.
• No car traffic, per local press, so cycling and walking are easy for families.
• Shade and picnic spots in Parque Darke de Mattos.
• For swimming, check the INEA bulletin first, and follow Smartraveller’s advice to wear a life jacket on small boats.
• Take the return time seriously: with children, an early-afternoon ferry avoids a long wait at the pier.

Festa de São Roque

Riotur calls the Festa de São Roque the island’s most traditional religious, cultural and tourist event, with processions, masses and concerts at Praça São Roque. In 2024 it ran from 16 to 18 August, with 16 August as the saint’s day. Dates for 2026 and 2027 appear on Riotur closer to the event.

How we help

We plan the day around the ferry times: a driver takes you to Praça XV, a guide in your language crosses with you, shows you the island by bike or on foot and brings you back to the right boat. On the way back the car can wait at Praça XV and take you to your hotel or on to dinner.

What to tell us in your request

• Your date (weekday or weekend matters for the ferry)
• Number of people and children’s ages
• Whether you want to cycle, walk, or both
• Your hotel in Rio
• Guide language

Message us on WhatsApp first: it is the quickest way to reach us.