We will be spending time in Rio and want to escape to a beautiful, luxurious place for a few days. We are thinking of Buzios but have also heard about Ihla Grande and particularly a place called Sitio do Lobo.

Anyone have any thoughts on the two places?

I did Buzios and loved it -- we did this instead of Ihla Grande because it was easier to get to on our time-line --Great beaches, nice people, and a fun little night life. Biggest + was the buggies you can rent pretty cheap...

My husband and I just spent 5 days on Ihla Grande. We really loved it as it is an extremely beautiful, undeveloped island with over 100 beaches. No cars on the island so the only way to get to the beaches is by hiking (terrain is very hilly) or by boat.

We stayed in the only town on the island, which has many pousadas (inns)and places to eat, but all are very casual. Little in the way of night life except the bars. Luxurious is not a word I would use to describe anything we saw on Ilha Grande (although I don't know anything about Sitio do Lobo) - simple and low key is a more apt description.

We loved Ihla Grande and highly recommend it but it depends on what you're looking for. Hope this helps in your decision.

I have been to Buzios several times and I recommend it. Take a look at the Colana Park hotel on www.buziosonline.com I stayed there had a grat view and very nice pousada and a short taxi ride to centro for dinner and night life. Also stayed at the Casa Branca and Nas Rocas and La Mandragora on previous trips. All nice but all different, the Colana Park was the only one on the beach except for Nas Rocas which is on a private island.

Thanks for all the help...I just got back from my trip and loved Buzios. We stayed at Byblos Pousada and while the room was nice and the public areas were pretty there was a distinct unpleasant smell about the place. We spent most of our time having drinks and eating right next door at Casas Brancas -- the people there were wonderful, the food excellent and the attention to detail was more in line to what I would recommend to any traveler.

by the way, in case anyone wants to read my detailed reviews of both Sitio do Lobo on Ilha Grande and Casas Brancas in Buzios which are mentioned above, you can find them at
www.i-escape.com/sitiodolobo.php
and
www.i-escape.com/pousadacasasbrancas.php