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.

The staff, the views, the islands, and the service were all amazing. The group playing live music makes the boat ride super fun and engaging. My only downside was the amount of people on the boat and yet that’s also part of what made it fun. Plus, despite the amount of people, the staff handled everything very well and in an organized manner. There’s lots of domestic tourism here so be ready to jam out to Brasilian songs with locals. I’d definitely do it again! My gf and I spent ~$120 USD TOTAL for 2 ppl!!! Boat ride. Port fee. Protected island fee. Food. Drinks. And drone shots. If that’s not an amazing deal, then I don’t know what is.

The trip overall was pretty good and as expected. They pass out a drink with the unused fruit. They don't tell you there is a charge but they do. The first island is very exposed and hot. You can pay R30 to get a tent. The money is based on food or drink orders. People on the boat enjoyed the live music and dancing. The first island for me is not as nice as the second one. If I knew, I would take the public ferry on my own and enjoy that island which is closer to Salvador.

Great day on a converted schooner. Went snorkeling and swimming in several places. Delicious lunch at last stop.Crew and other passengers were all friendly.

You have to go to a transfer boat which leaves you inside the water. They force a restaurant on us, horrible food. Everything has an added price. They make you take another boat to transport us to the “restaurant”, nothing else to do there unless you pay extra for a tour of the city. Better to stay at the beach in Salvador and use their restaurants!

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.

the good : nice beaches and the boat was a good vibe the not so good : the operators at the beginning didn't accept the ticket i bought online and forced me to buy another on entry the "guide" changed his stance on whether he spoke english or not multiple times, apparently only speaking it when it involved me paying for something was ignored by staff multiple times when they did the rounds for fruit / drinks don't bother with this trip unless you're brazilian or plan on going with one.

The views were gorgeous and the boat trip had a great vibe, the buffet was tasty too. However, we were told our tour guide for the boat and the city tour would speak English, when in fact, they did not. So I would not recommend to English language only customers.

Our day started cloudy and with rain! Almost everyone on board wired swimsuits and coverup or board shorts but the rain coming into side of boats was a bit of a nuisance even though they had plastic tarps brought down to help guests not get wet, rains drain onto seats. There was a group of Brazilian musicians on board which made the trip delightful but beware they are independent band that expect “donations” of at least R$25 and we didn’t have any cash /reais with us and offered R$5 ready which is nothing but they rejected that, maybe they got offended but we didn’t gave PIX which is similar to Venmo in the states! Oh well 🤷🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️🥱 Once we arrive at first stop island called “Ilha dos Frades” Nice calm beach with clear warm water to bath in. The ocean water was very shallow and allowed us to go far into ocean which was cool. For worn all there will be local vendors selling drinks and if you’re an American with dollars every item is pretty inexpensive. In fact everything in Brazil is very inexpensive and your dollars go along way! We left that island to Itaparica island to have lunch. It cost us $15/pp (R$75/pp) and lunch although visually looked good it was not tasty. Bahia is known for their fish dishes but unfortunately at this location the fish had bones and smelled fishy could not eat it. Ended up sticking with chicken stroganoff with white rice was good; beef was so tough, and beans were good but that it. I hate that we were forced to go there instead of another place.

The schooner left from the Terminal Náutico da Bahia, where it was necessary to pay a tax of R$25. The first stop on Ilha dos Frades (at Ponta de Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe) required payment of an "access fee" of R$25. The trip information advised of the second fee, but not the first. The beach at Ponta de Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe is really lovely. There is a proper dock for easy disembarking and re-boarding. The second stop, on Ilha de Itaparica, required passengers to transfer from the schooner to small boats, and then to wade ashore through very shallow (and very warm) water. We had lunch at that stop. The schooner trip on Baía de Todos os Santos (All Saints Bay) was relaxing and the views really grand. A wonderful experience!

Awesome day trip trough Bahia de Todos os Santos! Stopped at two islands: Ilha dos Frades (very ecological) and Itaparica.

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.

This is a great all day experience that gives a different view of Salvador and islands in the bay. We were picked up from our hotel looked after all day and then left back to the hotel at the end. The islands are beautiful and very interesting but best of all was the really fun atmosphere on the boat. We had only been in Brazil for 2 days and we left the boat having made lots of new Brazilian friends. Food and drinks are great too. The tour is very well organised by the leader Isaco Costa who is a great English speaker and took us under his wing - even giving us introductions to guides for the following stages of our holiday. I would thoroughly recommend this trip and this company.

Unfortunately choosing this tour was a disaster, even if Ilha dos Frades is a beautiful place. I tried repeatedly to book several days in advance via TripAdvisor, but I was rejected for lack of a Brazilian CPF. I ultimately was able to book directly on De Boa’s website the night before, but I missed the fine print that reservations must be made 12 hours in advance (I was 10.5 hours in advance). I don’t understand why the website let the booking (and my payment) go through if this is the policy. I tried to confirm directly with the tour company in the morning, but I didn’t receive a response for over two hours, by which time the boat was already boarding. The guide then told us, as we were getting on the boat, that our trip was cancelled due to “bad weather,” and that we were taking a different route instead. Rather than five hours at Ilha dos Frades, we would have only two. We were not offered a refund as is claimed in the description. At midday we were able to negotiate with the guide (who had disappeared as soon as we arrived at the island), who said we could stay later and take another boat back. Unfortunately, returning to the boat terminal, waiting in line, and negotiating with him ate up an hour of our day, and ultimately the boat we took to return was smaller and not so seaworthy. Many people were having panic attacks and all the passengers were soaked as we ran into the “bad weather” for which our tour had supposedly been canceled in the first place and for which we were not offered reimbursement. When I contacted De Boa again that night, the owner told me “thankfully everything worked out.” I disagree. All of this could have been avoided with better communication—I would have happily accepted a refund if he had answered my communication in the morning and told me that he could not honor the reservation because I had made it too late and because the travel would be unsafe. Rather than book with De Boa or a similar company, we recommend taking the brief ferry from Madre de Deus to the other side of Ilha dos Frades. Business owners on the island informed us that De Boa and other tour companies do what I described all the time.

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.