Destination: Florianópolis
The island of Florianópolis, object of desire of Argentinians, Uruguayans, Paraguayans as well as thousands of Brazilians (mainly from Rio Grande do Sul and São Paulo), is a well-rounded holiday destination that touches on the heavenly in some places. The combination of an excellent quality of life with beautiful beaches and hills make of Floripa, as it is known familiarly, the guarantee of a succesful holiday.
The island is roughly divided in three main regions: the north, where the beaches popular among Argentinians are; the centre, where the capital of the state is found as well as the Lagoa da Conceição; and the south, with beautiful beaches that attract less visitors than their northern counterparts.
WE LIKE THE MOST: the beaches, the gentle nature of the natives, food, landscapes, affordable prices, safety.
WE LIKE THE LEAST: poor infrastructures; it seems hard to believe that a tourist destination that generates so much revenue should have a road network in such a precarious state. Going places during the high season is torture. Getting to some of the beaches, hell. We also profoundly disliked all the building work completed and in progress in environmentally protected areas.
HOW TO GET THERE: by car, bus or plane. The first option is chosen by many Argentinians, Uruguayans and Paraguayans. There are regular bus services from Porto Alegre, Curitiba and São Paulo. GOL, TAM and Varig airlines all fly to Florianópolis airport. As well as numerous charter flights from Argentina and Chile.
CAREFUL WITH: the high season: a sizeable part of the island becomes a gigantic traffic jam; water supply to the northern part of the island becomes a problem too.
FAVORITE PLACES: Campeche island, Campeche beach, the Joaquina dunes, the Lagoa da Conceição
PIECE OF ADVICE:
- around the Lagoa da Conceição, and especially in the part known as Canto da Lagoa, there are numerous restaurants popular among Brazilians where few foreign tourists venture.
- one of the traditional dishes of the island is the seqüência de camarâo, several servings of prawns [shrimps] cooked in different ways, accompanied by fish and crab. It is found all throughout the island, but the most traditional place to eat the seqüência is the Lagoa da Conceição.
- although it is not impossible to travel by public bus throughout the island, it is an exercise that demands quite a lot of patience. If you are in Florianópolis for a short stay, our advice is for you to rent a car. For longer stays, when you will only be visiting one beach per day, you can use the public transportation system.
- crime rates in Florianópolis are lower than in other big Brazilian cities; it doesn’t mean crime doesn’t exist but, in this regard, Florianópolis is much safer than São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro or Recife.
- during the coming weeks we will publish detailed information on the blog on the beaches and places of interest of Florianópolis. Links to the new material will appear here as the entries are published.
ACCOMMODATION: full listing of hotels and pousadas in Campeche, hotels and pousadas in Canasvieiras and hotels and pousadas in Praia dos Ingleses.
LINKS: Guia Floripa, Visite Floripa.
WEATHER FORECAST: The weather in Florianópolis for the next 10 days
WEATHER: Average temperatures and rainfall in Florianópolis across the year
GOOGLE MAPS: Florianópolis
PHOTO ALBUMS: North (Santo Antônio de Lisboa, Jurerê, Canasvieiras, Brava, Ingleses, Santinho, Barra da Lagoa), Center (Mercado Municipal, Lagoa da Conceição, Praia Mole), South (Armação, Ribeirão da Ilha, Pântano do Sul), Campeche and Campeche island and sandboard in the Joaquina dunes.
OTHER BLOG ENTRIES ON FLORIANÓPOLIS:
- Map of Florianópolis
- Brazil in pictures: Florianópolis
- Florianópolis North: what to do and where to go
- Florianópolis Centre-Lagoa: what to do and where to go
- Florianópolis South: what to do and where to go
- Ilha do Campeche
- bar do Arante, Florianópolis
[Don’t forget to check out the list of other destinations already covered in this blog, here]
April 11th, 2008 at 7:33 am
Billy from Philly & my wife Sunshine here…
I’m an American & my dream-girl wife is Brazilian. We’re living in Bahrain and planning a vacation trip to Florinapolis.
Champagne taste…beer budget!
Help!
Time of Year: Oct ‘08 - Nov ‘08
1) Looking for: A studio or 1 bedroom apt near good restaurants, coffee shops, bars & night clubs (for about 5 weeks)
2) A 1 month Car hire: A cheap beach cruiser to drive around & explore and one which we won’t stress on getting dinged (or stolen)
I live for clean, glassy waves (bodysurfing), fresh grilled fish/shrimp/stone crabs washed down with dark rum & lime on ice… reading magazines or books
My wife is passionate for grilled Brazilian beef…rice and beans, late night dancing, volleyball, anytime Brazil’s World Cup team is playing, shopping for shoes & handbags… marathon card games & travel back-gammon tournaments.
Suggestions / ideas / places to visit and people to see?
Tentative plans are to fly into Sao Paulo and visit her family in Volta Ronde for a few days.
Prices for TAM airlines flying out of San Paulo to Florinapolis are $340 a ticket…how good/safe is the airline?
What’s the weather & surf like this time of year?
How ’bout night-life and where do the local Brazilians go?
Thanks,
Billy
April 14th, 2008 at 5:53 am
Hi Billy, I’m not going to be able to help you much with the travel-agent side of things. But let’s see what advice I can give you.
The north coast of Florianópolis is heavily built and taken by Argentinians. By the description of what you are looking for I’d say you should look for something on the east coast of the island. I think Campeche is a spectacular place to be, well placed and at a convenient distance from the most interesting places.
While in Florianópolis, you should of course make sure you visit the entire island, and all its villages and beaches. You can do a few at a time, distances are not huge.
TAM is currently the no.1 Brazilian airline. It is reliable.
As for the weather, if you check the link I’ve provided on the entry with the historical average temperatures and rainfall you will get an idea of what to expect.
You will find lots of Brazilians at Campeche, Joaquina, praia do Mole and around the Lagoa da Conceição.
April 26th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Dude - just caught your reply…big thanks!
What do u know about Praia da Daniela. My Brazilian family has suddenly grown and I’m now looking at Villas that sleep 7.
Revised dates are Nov 20 to Dec 18.
Regards,
Billy Bahrain
May 5th, 2008 at 7:33 am
Hi William, Praia da Daniela is on the north west of the island, right next to mega-trendy Praia do Jurerê (where the rich have their mansions). Daniela is a quiet beach, 3km long, quite good for families with kids.
October 10th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Hello again,
We asked the people for a place in Lagoa, but they are fully booked for the time that we are there! We are going on the 4th of November and we want to spend two nights there. Do you maybe have any suggestions of place close to where we wanted to stay or of places that is maybe closer to the beach?
Regards
Douw
October 10th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Hi Douw. Will you be hiring a car? If so Campeche (hotels and pousadas in Campeche) can be an excellent alternative, as it’s just a 15-minute drive from the Lagoa. Otherwise, try finding something near praia da Joaquina (there’s no accommodation to speak of near Praia Mole).
October 26th, 2008 at 10:13 am
Hi Tony - you’ve got a great blog! I am planning a trip to Florianopolis from December 10th to January 10th to learn to surf and have some fun. I am 29 years old and will be traveling by myself, but I have no idea what part of the island I should stay on/near. I plan to spend $20-70 (U.S.) per night on a room, obviously with more expensive rates near the holidays. I’ll probably go out 4-5 nights a week, so my top
priorities are to be close to a beach where learning to surf is easy and close to an active nightlife (not necessarily packed clubs, but fun bars and restaurants). Also I’d like to stay somewhere where I’ll be able to meet other travelers. Can you send my any advice? Anything you can would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much.
October 26th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Hi Justin, it sounds like you want to be based near the Lagoa da Conceição or, alternatively, close to the Joaquina beach nearby. Have a look at the map of Florianópolis and also at the detailed description of Florianópolis Centre-Lagoa.
You will see on the map a bridge splitting the Lagoa in two. Left of that bridge there is a town with lots of bars and restaurants and active nightlife. So any accommodation you find on the area will be great. There’s a lot of surfing going on at the Joaquina beach and the Mole beach nearby. Easy public transport to get you there. December will be pretty quiet until the final week of the year. Then hordes of people will arrive in Florianópolis.
If you find a place to stay and want me to tell you what I think of the location just ask here.
All the best!