Award-winning Jungle Beach Ecohouse

Praia do Bonete is the wild side of Ilhabela — a fishing-village beach on the island's south coast with no road in. You arrive by boat or walk a 3–4 hour rainforest trail past waterfalls, and that filter is exactly why it stays uncrowded. The house itself won first prize for Built Work from Brazil's Institute of Architects: recyclable materials, permaculture systems, bedrooms that open up to merge with the living space by day, a bio-septic loop that feeds a banana grove. It sleeps six across two bedrooms (eight beds, one bath), runs on solar with satellite internet, and electricity is deliberately limited — pack accordingly. Days are surfing, beginner-to-hard hiking in the state park, diving, fishing, birdwatching. Rated 4.93 over 122 reviews. Plan your boat transfer with the host before you go; this is not a turn-up-whenever place.