Florianopolis Travel Guide

Other Things to See and Do in Florianópolis

1. Experience the nightlife

In the summer, most of the nightlife in Florianópolis is concentrated around the beaches, while in the winter, the fun moves to Lagoa da Conceição. P12, Cafe de la Musique, and Milk all throw wild parties. Entrance ranges from free to 200 BRL, depending on the night, who is DJing, and the time that you enter the club.

2. Try sandboarding

Floripa is covered in white sand dunes, and sandboarding is an exciting way to spend an afternoon. Basically, you’ll lie on a piece of wood and hurtle down the dunes at a breakneck speed while taking in the panoramic views over Lagoa da Conceição. You can rent a sandboard at Lagoa Sandboard for about 30 BRL per hour.

3. Visit Ribeirão da Ilha

Riberão da Ilha is an Azorean fishing village with delectable oyster dishes, secluded beaches, cobbled streets, and jellybean-colored houses. Head to the pretty town plaza for some colorful photography, wander the colonial streets, and visit the Acoriano Casario Church. There’s also a small museum, Ecomuseu do Ribeirão da Ilha, for more on the natural and Azorean cultural history of the area. Admission is 5 BRL.

4. Visit the old forts

The forts around Florianópolis were originally built in the 18th century to help combat the threat of invasion by the Spanish, but nowadays they’re manned by a roving band of camera-wielding tourists. The four major forts around Floripa are Fortaleza de Nossa Senhora da Conceição, Fortaleza de Santo Antonio, Fortaleza Santana, and Fortaleza São José da Ponta Grossa. Some are only accessible by boat so you’ll have to arrange transportation from shore but all are worth seeing.

5. Celebrate Carnival

Brazil is famous for Carnival, a huge celebration celebrated on the Friday before Ash Wednesday that lasts a few days. While Rio gets all the attention, celebrating in Floripa is guaranteed to be a good time. Throughout the month of February, the streets fill with revelers dancing, having parades, and enjoying street food and copious drinks. If you plan to come during this time, book your accommodations as early as possible and expect increased prices (they can be as high as double or triple the normal price).

6. Visit the market

The Floripa Public Market has been around since the late 19th century when tents were rented out to vendors to sell fish, veggies, rice, and beans. Nowadays the area has expanded to also sell crafts and other foods, and there are about a dozen restaurants onsite as well. On the weekend, local musicians gather to play as samba takes over the market. It’s a fun place to browse, buy souvenirs, and people-watch.

7. Wander the historic center

While the beaches and natural areas of the island get all the attention, the historic center is still worth spending some time exploring. Wander the pedestrianized streets lined with brightly colored buildings, stop in at the market, and visit one of the many museums. The bright pink 18th-century palace Palacio Cruz e Sousa is now a history museum with period rooms and artwork from the building’s heyday. Admission is currently free as the second floor of the museum is closed for renovations. For art lovers, the Museu de Arte de Santa Catarina (MASC) is the official fine arts museum of the area and offers free admission.

8. Go paragliding

For those who crave an adrenaline rush, paragliding is a popular activity here, offering incredible views over the ocean and island for those brave enough to take flight. There are a few paragliding schools that offer tandem flights as well as classes if you want to learn how to take a solo flight. A partner flight with an experienced instructor is around 350-450 BRL.

9. Walk over the Hercílio Luz Bridge

Inaugurated in 1926, this was the first bridge to connect the island of Santa Catarina to the mainland. While it was closed for restorations for almost 20 years (between 1991-2019), the bridge is now open again for all traffic, with a separated walkway for pedestrians and cyclists. Though the longest suspension bridge in Brazil, it’s only 0.8 kilometers (.5 miles) long, making for a nice jaunt with views over the water. Even if you don’t cross the bridge, it’s worth seeing one of Brazil’s iconic sights from the waterfront.

 
For more information on other cities in Brazil, check out these guides:

Florianópolis Travel Costs

Hostel prices – Dorm rooms cost around 65-95 BRL per night regardless of size. Standard twin or double private rooms start at 150 BRL, but many are priced at about 250 BRL per night for two people. Free Wi-Fi and air-conditioning are standard and most have fully equipped kitchens as well. Many hotels in Florianópolis have pools, free breakfast, and a bar/café.

Note that most hostels require a minimum booking of 4-6 days, as well as upfront (non-refundable) payment during Carnival.

For those traveling with a tent, there are many campgrounds here, especially along the beaches. Expect to pay around 50-70 BRL per night for a basic plot. Amenities generally include free Wi-Fi, hot showers and bathroom facilities, and charging stations.

Budget hotel prices – Prices for a double room in a two-star hotel are around 170 BRL, although it will be closer to 300 BRL along the coast. Amenities generally include Wi-Fi, a private bathroom and balcony, a pool, and often free breakfast.

Airbnb is another affordable option here, with private rooms costing 80-120 BRL per night, while a full home or apartment starts at 250-500 BRL per night and goes up from there for more luxurious, beachside properties.

Average cost of food – Brazilian cuisine — like the country itself — is a mix of many cultures, with European, Amerindian, African, and (more recently) Japanese influences. As such a large country, food varies per region, with seafood plentiful on the coastlines and Brazilian barbecue dominating plates in the south. Rice and beans are a staple throughout the country.

Common vegetables include cassava, yams, tomatoes, red peppers, okra, to name a few. Being a subtropical country, there’s a huge variety of fruits, with the most famous being the superfood açaí. Cupuaçu, mango, papaya, guava, orange, passion fruit, pineapple, are all commonly found as well. Feijoada, Brazil’s national dish, is a meaty bean stew that’s traditionally eaten for Wednesday or Saturday lunch. Other popular dishes include moqueca (fish stew), polenta, and vatapá (a stew of bread, shrimp, coconut milk, and peanuts), among countless others.

Street food snacks include pão de queijo (cheese bread rolls), acarajé (black-eyed pea and shrimp fritters), coxinha (chicken croquettes), and pastéis (savory fried pies with assorted fillings).

Florianópolis has lots of affordable food options, including street food like pastels and coxinha for less than 10 BRL each. A meal at a casual restaurant costs 27-35 BRL for a typical Brazilian dish like fish stew. Buffets are very common here; you usually pay 35 BRL per kilo. A meal at a Chinese takeout restaurant costs about the same, at 35 BRL for a dish like fried rice.

Non-Brazilian cuisine is around the same price, though sometimes a bit more expensive, with burgers costing 25-30 BRL and a pasta dish costing 45 BRL. You can find full pizzas for around 50-60 BRL, while a fast-food combo meal is around 35 BRL.

A beer is 11-15 BRL, a cocktail is 15-25 BRL, and a glass of wine is 15-20 BRL. A soda or juice is 5-8 BRL, and a cappuccino is 9 BRL.

If you want to splurge, there are many higher-end seafood restaurants here, with dishes costing 150-225 BRL and up. At many restaurants though, seafood dishes and platters are meant for two (often served with an entire fish) – it’s a huge portion of food that could easily be split between three people.

Grocery shopping is very cheap, costing about 90-130 BRL per week for basic staples like rice, pasta, seasonal produce, and some meat or fish. If you’re on a budget, this is the best way to keep your costs low.

Backpacking Florianópolis Suggested Budgets

If you are backpacking Florianópolis, my suggested budget is about 190 BRL per day. This budget covers staying in a hostel dorm, cooking your meals, limiting your drinking, using public transportation to get around, and sticking to mostly free and cheap activities like enjoying the beaches and hiking.

A mid-range budget of about 360 BRL covers staying in a private hostel or Airbnb room, eating out for most meals, enjoying a few drinks, taking the occasional taxi to get around, and doing more paid activities like paragliding and surfing.

On a “luxury” budget of about 680 BRL per day, you can stay in a budget hotel along the beach, eat out for all your meals, enjoy lots of drinks, rent a car or take taxis everywhere, and enjoy all the tours and activities you want. This is just the ground floor for luxury though. The sky is the limit!

Florianópolis Travel Guide: Money-Saving Tips

Florianópolis has lots of free activities and attractions to enjoy, including numerous beaches and hiking trails. But if you’re staying in nicer hotels and eating out a lot, your money will disappear quickly! Here are some ways to save money in Florianópolis:

1. Eat por kilo – As with elsewhere in Brazil, restaurants offering meals by the kilo offer good deals. Look out for these cheap options.
2. Visit the market – If you’re staying at a hostel with kitchen facilities, it’s a good idea to stock up on food at the market and eat like the locals.
3. Stay with a local – Couchsurfing connects you with locals who can give you a free place to stay and share their insider tips and advice. It’s the best way to meet locals and save money.
4. Stay in Lagoa da Conceição – This part of Florianópolis is backpacker central, and it has all the facilities you need (including hostels and supermarkets). You’ll have to use a bus to get to the beach, but staying here is much cheaper than in the coastal areas.
5. Pack a water bottle – The tap water here isn’t safe to drink so bring a water bottle with a filter to save money and reduce your single-use plastic usage. My preferred bottle is LifeStraw as it has a built-in filter to ensure your water is always clean and safe.

Where to Stay in Florianópolis

Need a budget-friendly place to stay while you travel to Florianópolis? Here are my suggested places to stay:

• The Search House Beachfront Hostel
• Tucano House Summer Hostel
• Geckos Hostel
• Barra Beach Club Oceanfront Hostel

How to Get Around Florianópolis

Public Transportation – Local buses are the only public transportation around Florianópolis, but they’re slow and unreliable. They run on an integrated system called SIM (Sistema Integrado de Mobilidade), with buses leaving from the TICEN terminal. You can reach the beaches via three stations: TIRIO, TILAG, and TICAN.

Tickets cost 3-5 BRL depending on the distance. Use floripanoponto.com.br (and download the app) to plan your journey. If you’ll be using the bus, get the passe rápido for 3 BRL. This rechargeable card can be loaded with money, so you can just tap the reader when you step on the bus instead of having to fumble with change every time.

Taxis – Taxis start at about 8 BRL and cost an additional 3.25 BRL per kilometer. A three-kilometer trip is about 18 BRL, while a longer journey (like 15 kilometers) is about 55 BRL. Use the 99 app (formerly 99Taxis) to get a safe, metered taxi.

Uber – Uber is available in Florianópolis and usually costs less than a taxi.

Car rental – Car rentals can be found for as little as 65 BRL per day for a multi-day rental (though it can be double that price in high season), however, since the driving conditions in Brazil are hectic and break-ins can occur, I’d probably skip the rental.

Hitchhiking – Hitchhiking isn’t super common here, however, if you want to give it a try be sure to check out Hitchwiki for the best tips and up-to-date suggestions.

When to Go to Florianópolis

If you want to escape North America’s chilly winter temperatures, October to December is the best time to visit Florianópolis. There isn’t much rain during these months, and temperatures are consistently 25-30°C (77-86°F) each day.

January to March is the rainy season. Despite that, most people visit around Christmas, and tourism traffic remains busy leading into Carnival in February. Prices increase a lot during this time, and beaches get crowded too. Things slow down after Carnival but pick back up again at the end of March for Semana Santa.

If you’re looking for fewer crowds and better prices, October to December is the best time to come.

How to Stay Safe in Florianópolis

Florianópolis is safe to visit — even if you’re traveling solo and even as a solo female traveler. Violent crime here is rare. Your biggest concern here is petty crime, and even that is rare (compared to the rest of Brazil, at least).

You may encounter petty crime (like theft) around popular tourist landmarks so always keep an eye on your belongings, especially while taking crowded public transportation. Make sure your valuables are out of reach and secure at all times and never flash expensive items or cash.

Solo female travelers should avoid walking around alone at night and keep an eye on their drink at the bar too. Make sure you watch it get poured as well, just to be safe.

While scams aren’t a major problem here, if you’re worried about getting ripped off you can read about common travel scams to avoid right here.

If you experience an emergency, dial 190 for assistance.

Always trust your gut instinct. Avoid isolated areas at night and always be aware of your surroundings. Make copies of your personal documents, including your passport and ID. Forward your itinerary along to loved ones so they’ll know where you are.

For more in-depth coverage of how to stay safe in Brazil, check out this post that answers some frequently asked questions and concerns.

The most important piece of advice I can offer is to purchase good travel insurance. Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past.