Things to do in Florianopolis
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Florianopolis
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Summer peak. Hottest, everything open, maximum crowds, prices, rain and gridlock.
Autumn shoulder and the best overall window. Warm sea into April, crowds and prices fall, mullet season starts in May.
Winter. Cool, drier, empty and cheapest, surf most powerful, swimming only for the brave.
Spring shoulder, the other prime window. Warming, reopening, prices still shoulder until late November.
What's on
- Reveillon 31 December
New Year mega event with Jurere beach clubs and Beira Mar Norte fireworks, book months ahead.
- Florianopolis Carnival February or early March
Samba school parades at Passarela Nego Quirido, street blocos and Jurere club parties.
- Ironman 70.3 Florianopolis April
Fills the north for its weekend. Book around it if not racing.
- Ironman Brazil late May
Held in Jurere, fills the north for its weekend.
- Festa da Tainha June to August
Mullet season festival events in the fishing villages through winter.
- Fenaostra October
National oyster festival in Centro with live music and grilled oysters.
- Oktoberfest Blumenau October
South America's biggest German festival, about two hours inland.
- Floripa Jazz Festival November
Free public concerts in spring.
Best things to do in Florianopolis
Lagoinha do Leste
A wild crescent beach reached only on foot or by boat, backed by a lagoon inside a natural park.
Santo Antonio de Lisboa
A cobbled Azorean village on the calm bay, best for a waterfront sunset with oysters.
Praia Mole
A dramatic soft sand surf beach with beach bars, headlands and paragliders landing behind.
Praia da Joaquina
Brazil's historic surf beach, with powerful waves, rocks for spectating and big dunes behind.
Ribeirao da Ilha
A protected Azorean village street and seafood decks facing the South Bay oyster farms.
Lagoa da Conceicao
The island's central lagoon for flat water, bars and the roadless Costa da Lagoa trail and boat.
Jurere Internacional
A manicured wealthy beach district with calm shallow water, mansions and famous beach clubs.
Mercado Publico de Florianopolis
The yellow public market with fish stalls, crafts and famous bars for a chope and pastel.
Where to stay in Florianopolis
Lagoa da Conceicao
first trip, all-round base
Ten minutes from east coast surf, on the lagoon, with the best mid range food scene.
Jurere Internacional
luxury, families and party weekends
Calm warm water at the door, beach clubs and the island's most expensive hotels.
Campeche
surf and cafe base, remote workers
A long surf beach at the door, good cafes and the closest good base to the airport.
Barra da Lagoa
budget and surf lessons
The cheapest credible beach base, with fishing village character and Mole a walk away.
Santo Antonio de Lisboa
quiet romantic food-led weekend
Boutique pousadas in an Azorean village for sunset oysters and early nights.
Ingleses and Canasvieiras
package families on a budget
Self contained resort strips with calmer water and cheap apartment hotels.
Think twice about
- Centro downtown after dark
Deserted once shops close, with street homelessness and drug use around the terminal and market fringe. Use Uber after 10pm.
- Mainland districts
Sao Jose, Kobrasol and peripheral mainland areas have higher crime and every beach requires crossing the bridges in bad traffic.
- Isolated beach paths at night
Beaches are daytime places. Walk lit village streets and Uber between districts at night.
Best restaurants in Florianopolis
Ostradamus
The island's most famous restaurant, a pier like room over the bay built around local oysters.
Rancho Açoriano
The classic Azorean seafood house and the oyster and shrimp sequencia benchmark for locals.
Dolce Vita
A small chef led Italian Mediterranean bistro on the lagoon's quiet side, the date night pick.
Jay Bistro
A contemporary bistro in Jurere, the refined dinner inside the beach club district.
Bar e Restaurante Açores
Waterside Azorean seafood in the historic village, with oysters, cod, prawns and a sunset terrace.
Bar do Arante
A 1950s beachfront seafood institution covered in handwritten notes, at the Lagoinha trailhead.
Mercado Publico de Florianopolis
Counter bars inside the market serving chope, pastel, fried fish and oysters among the fish stalls.
Boka's
Huge portion seafood at local prices, the value feast Floripa families book for a birthday.
Outdoor things to do in Florianopolis
Costão Golf Club
The island's only golf course, a scenic 9 hole layout in dunes and Atlantic Forest near Santinho.
Ilha do Campeche
A protected island with the clearest water and whitest sand in Floripa and rock inscriptions.
Ilha do Frances
A calm north bay speedboat day with snorkelling at Ilha do Frances and Anhatomirim fortress views.
Lagoinha do Leste
The guided version of the wild beach hike, with forest interpretation and the Morro da Coroa view.
Trilha de Naufragados
A free trail to a wild beach with a lighthouse and fort ruins, part of Floripa's trail network.
Barra da Lagoa
Soft forgiving waves and schools on the sand make Barra the cheapest place to learn to surf.
Dunas da Joaquina
Rent a board and slide the big white dunes between Joaquina and Lagoa, best in late afternoon.
Praia Mole
Tandem flights from the ridge above Mole, soaring over the lagoon and landing on the beach.
Best hotels in Florianopolis
Fuso Concept Hotel
Adults focused design luxury with spa and high privacy near Jurere, the island's luxury ceiling.
Costao do Santinho Resort
A huge full service resort in preserved forest with pools, spa, sports and its golf course attached.
LK Design Hotel
The best city hotel, with rooftop pool, spa and bay views on Beira Mar Norte.
IL Campanario Villaggio Resort
The classic Jurere luxury resort hotel, beachfront district with pools and a kids club.
Hotel Boutique Quinta das Videiras
An 11 suite Portuguese style boutique hotel with garden and pool, romantic and quiet in Lagoa.
Jurere Beach Village
A beachfront resort hotel in Jurere, calmer and usually cheaper than Campanario for families.
Majestic Palace Hotel
The traditional upper mid city hotel with bay view rooms, long the default for business and events.
Pousada Vila Tamarindo
Campeche's standout pousada with garden and pool, a short walk to the beach and cafes.
Is Florianopolis expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | R$250 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | R$600 a person |
| Splurge | R$1,500 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Ilha do Campeche: weeks ahead
- Ilha do Frances: a few days ahead
- Lagoinha do Leste: a few days ahead
- Praia Mole: a few days ahead
- Rio Cubatao: a few days ahead
- Beto Carrero World: a few days ahead
- Lagoa da Conceicao: a few days ahead
- Ostradamus: a few days ahead
- Campeche Island permit and boat 10 to 14 days ahead in season.
- Ostradamus weekend lunch, Dolce Vita dinner and Jay Bistro in summer need reservations.
- Jurere beach clubs for Reveillon and Carnival and Costao and Jurere hotels for New Year, Carnival and Ironman sell out weeks to months ahead.
- Rafting and paragliding 2 to 3 days ahead in season, paragliding early in the stay for weather rebooking.
Is Florianopolis safe?
- Centro after dark, mainland peripheral districts and empty beach paths are the specific cautions.
- Sea safety injures more visitors than crime. Swim at patrolled beaches, respect flags and avoid rock pools on rough days.
- Uber after 10pm is the local default.
Florianopolis travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Ingleses beach itself is built up and crowded, a base not a destination.
- Canasvieiras in January has the densest crowds and traffic. March is pleasant.
- Balneario Camboriu is for Unipraias and Laranjeiras, not a pretty town visit.
- Centro is a good half day, not a full day. Pirate booze boats sold on the street rate far below rated north bay operators.
Getting around Florianopolis: public transport and more
- Traffic is the main problem. Base on the coast you most want and never pair a north activity with a south dinner in January.
- Rent a car if beach hopping or staying south. Uber and 99 work well from Lagoa and Jurere bases.
- Airport FLN is about 15 minutes to Campeche, 25 to Lagoa and 45 to 60 to Jurere, double the north run in January.
Who Florianopolis suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Great |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Great |
Make Florianopolis your trip
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