Ilha do Padre River Park (Eco Park Porto da Ilha)

Ilha do Padre (“Priest’s Island”) is a name everyone who visited Bonito in the 1990s and 2000s knows: the river park with campsite on the Formoso River, full of small waterfalls and islands linked by walkways, 6 km from the town center. Today the area operates as Eco Park Porto da Ilha, with day use, a restaurant and the base for the Formoso’s main water tours, such as the raft ride and river tubing.

This page covers the river park; the raft and tubing tours have their own pages.

What it is like

The stretch of the Formoso running through the park splits into several channels between islets, forming rapids, drops of one to two meters and natural pools of clear water. Wooden walkways link the islands and lead to the swimming docks. You can walk from one spot to another in a few minutes, choosing between calm pools, right for children, and the drops, where the water pounds your back.

On land, the facilities are those of a river park: restaurant, snack bar, changing rooms with showers, lockers, a rest area, sand courts and a shop. There is no guide and no program; you wander on your own within opening hours.

If you buy the raft, tubing or duck, you do the tour at a booked time and then stay in the park for the rest of the day. The duck is a two-person inflatable kayak that runs the same stretch as the raft, with your own paddle and an instructor alongside in another kayak; it is the middle option between the calm of the raft and the splash of the tube.

Best season and time of day

Like every river park, Porto da Ilha gives you more in the heat, from September to April. In the cold months a river swim takes some courage, but the raft tours keep running. After heavy rain the Formoso is murky for a day or two. Arrive in the morning if you want to combine day use with a water tour.

Price

Day use is sold by Bonito’s licensed agencies under the single-voucher system, at the same price everywhere. The reference price, in Brazilian reais (BRL), is in the “At a glance” box on this page with the date it was checked. Raft, tubing and duck have their own tickets. Transport and meals are quoted separately.

Ilha do Padre, Balneário do Sol or Praia da Figueira?

All three are full-day river parks near the center. Balneário do Sol is the cheapest and allows barbecues; Praia da Figueira is a lake, with kayaks and a zipline included in the ticket; Porto da Ilha is the most scenic river setting, with waterfalls and walkways, and the only one that serves as a base for the raft and tubing. For a day that mixes rest and light adventure, it is the logical choice. The full comparison is in river beaches in Bonito.

Is it worth it?

Yes, as a rest day for families and as a base for anyone doing the raft or tubing who wants to stay on afterwards. It is not worth it as your only water activity if you have few days: in that case, the priority is still a river snorkel such as the Sucuri River. Traveling with children, you will find more ideas in Bonito with kids.