Paranaguá Bay Boat Excursions

Visitors coming through Paranaguá are usually here to take one or more of the boat excursions around the bay. The principal excursions take you to Ilha do Mel, Guaraqueçaba, and the Superagüi National Park. All of these require overnight stays, which can be arranged by phone from Paranaguá. These are all detailed later in this chapter.

The official boat to lha do Mel leaves from the pier in front of the Terminal de Embarque, which is the ticket office and tourist information center. They are right on the waterfront in the most beautifully restored building facing the water. You can purchase tickets inside the terminal for R$21 round-trip (R$11 going to the island and R$10 returning). Boats leave from the pier directly in front of the terminal at 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., and 4:30 p.m. Return trips leave the island at 8 a.m., 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 5:30 p.m.

The Terminal de Embarque also has boats to Guaraqueçaba (from which you can see Salto do Morato and the Superagüi park), Barra de Superagüi (if you want to go directly to the park), and various islands and villages in the bay. Their trips to the Superagüi National Park are every bit are every bit as good as the ones leaving from Guaraqueçaba, so go ahead and plan your journeys from here. The tickets are R$21 round-trip. Boats leave at 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., and 1 p.m. and return at 6 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.

Excursions to Antonina and the inner reaches of the bay are not too interesting, as these areas are mostly industrial port towns (although Antonina has a small, historical section). Likewise, the short excursion for R$8 out to the Porto Dom Pedro II is pretty lame. Don’t waste your time. There is an excursion that takes you out to the Ilha da Cotinga that is fairly interesting if you have a few hours to kill. Otherwise, the trip to Ilha do Mel passes along the inner perimeter of the island and gives you a pretty good view of the place from the water.

There are services besides the Terminal de Embarque that make all or most of these trips and they have different departure times. You can walk along the waterfront and ask at the various docks for details. Some possibilities include Abaline (tel. 41/455-2616), which has trips to Ilha do Mel at 9:30 a.m. daily and an extra trip at 1:30 p.m. on weekends. They also go out to Guaraqueçaba at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. daily. You can also try Sea Blue (tel. 41/9978-3914) and Mariner III (tel. 41/422-6045) with trips every day from 10 a.m.–7 p.m.

Note: Private companies alter their schedules during low season if there are not enough passengers to warrant a trip.