Florianopolis
(Ilha de Santa Catarina), Brazil
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| Beautiful Florianopolis! |
Beach and
seafood lovers will enjoy a stay on Brazil’s beautiful island of Florianopolis (Ilha de Santa Catarina). Florianopolis
and its beautiful white sand beaches and towns are safe to visit and walk around. It is also known as a mecca for
surfers with great waves. This region of Brazil enjoys some of Brazil’s highest
standards of living and was settled by emigrates from Europe (i.e. Germany,
Italy) appearing more European than Latin.
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| Praia de Jurere - Florianopolis Brazil |
So we could
enjoy some very nice hotels during our visit, we decided to stay in the north of Florianopolis and rent a car
to visit some of Florianopolis’ other beautiful beaches. Driving around this
island was very doable using Google Maps. We split our visit between Praia de
Jurere (see photo) and Praia dos Ingleses enjoying these nice beaches while visiting other
beautiful beaches by car.
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| Pat Enjoying Jurere Beach |
Our stay at
Pousada dos Sonhos (see review below
for reasons why) made our stay on Praia
de Jurere memorable (see photo). The town of Jurere
is an upscale place to stay in Florianopolis with nice long beach and
restaurants (some of the top rated in Florianopolis). The beach offers calm
ocean to swim in.
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| Wayne at Praia dos Ingleses - Florianopolis |
Staying at Costa Norte Ingleses provided a very enjoyable experience at Praia dos Ingleses
(again, see our review below to see why). Praia
dos Ingleses is one of Florianopolis’ finest beaches offering a wide sandy
beach with gentle ocean waves to swim in (see photo). Praia dos Ingleses has become rather
developed with hotels and high-price restaurants.
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| Get Ready for Sexy Brazilian Bikinis! |
Most of the
beaches on Florianopolis have
restaurants and other facilities. Florianopolis’ northern beaches are more
developed with calmer waves and during the high season they are more crowded
party scenes (but nice). Southern beaches are less developed offering more
tranquil beach experiences. If you want to visit a beautiful completely
undeveloped beach, stop at the nature preserve of Mocambique – quite lovely!
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| Praia Mole from Barraco da Mole Restaurant |
Beautiful Praia de Mole is a must stop – one of our
favorite beaches we visited in Florianopolis. Several laid-back beach
restaurants are located overlooking the stunningly picturesque beach. We liked Barraco da Mole mid way on the beach
with its good view of the beach, nice music, good food and drinks, and friendly
staff (see photo). Several paid parking lots are available servicing Praia Mole. Praia Mole
has good surfing and during peak times (Summer – December to February), Praia
Mole is a party scene with beautiful tanned bodies adorning this wonderful
beach.
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| Wayne and Pat at Praia de Joaquina |
We visited picturesque
Praia de Joaquina that is close to
sand dunes where people were having fun renting a snowboard and sliding down
the sand (see photo below). Praia de Joaquina is also a favorite surfing destination on
Florianopolis with many restaurants overlooking the beach serving fresh
seafood, local cuisine, and drinks (see photo). A paid parking area is located a few steps
from the beach.
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| Beautiful Ilha do Campeche - Florianopolis Brazil |
Praia do Campeche is also one of Florianopolis’ very
nice beaches where we had a nice lunch overlooking the beach. Other than a few
restaurants, there are no hotels or condos on this long beach making Praia do
Campeche a rather pristine experience. Parking is available close to the beach.
You have a nice view of the Ilha do
Campeche (see photo) from here and from the southern end of Praia do Campeche you can
arrange a boat trip to the ecological reserve there for nice hiking and
snorkeling.
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| Armacao Beach- Florianopolis Brazil |
Other
highly recommended beaches located in southern Florianopolis are Matadeiro (one
of top rated and accessed by hiking), Morro das Pedras, Armacao (see photo),
and Pantano do Sul. The small fishing village of Armaçao has kept its older Portuguese heritage. As you go further
south in Florianopolis, the roads go through small towns and driving becomes
slower. Be patient if you want to visit these beautiful places in the south of
Florianopolis. The reward is great because they are less spoiled by development
where it is possible to enjoy a more remote beach experience.
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| Sipping a Caipirinha Drink is Nice! |
We visited
Florianopolis’ Lagoa town on the
southern end of Lagoa da Conceicao.
The highlight was taking the 45-minute boat ride along the west coast of Lagoa
da Conceicao to Costa da Lagoa leaving from the dock right next to the west
side of the bridge between Lagoa da Conceicao and Lagoinha. Windsurfing is
popular here.
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| Costa da Lagoa Seafood Restaurants - Lagoa da Conceicao |
The best reason
to visit Florianopolis’ Costa da Lagoa
is the very nice seafood restaurants
located along the water. We enjoyed the restaurant Cachoeira (see photo). Hikers will enjoy the approximately 2-hour hike from
town along the forested lagoon visiting waterfalls and tranquil natural pools with
chilled water. You can go on this hike, have a nice lunch, and return by boat.
There is a small waterfall near Costa da Lagoa you can walk to in about 10
minutes.
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| Wonderful Shrimp! |
Travel Tip: The fresh shrimp from Florianopolis
are amazing – try a combination plate with them done several ways (see photo). Sipping a caipirinha drink is a thing to do in
Brazil and can be done in many favors – they are nice (see photo above).
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| Map of Florianopolis Brazil |
Florianopolis’
modern downtown, called Floripa or Centro, is the political capital of the
region. On the mainland is the industrial zone with its historical center on
the island revolving around Praca XV de
Novembro. Restaurants, accommodations, nightlife, shopping, etc. are
abundant here. Florianopolis’ airport, located south of Floripa, is
Florianopolis-Hercilio Luz International Airport (FLN).
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| Brazilian Men Attending a Wedding - Jurere |
A note about the
Brazilian people... The people of Brazil exhibit a zest for life with their love for
friends, family, music, food, and laughter. Their willingness to be friends
with you was shown throughout our visit. A friendly smile is almost always
returned in kind and they often go out of their way to help you. We can learn a
lot from Brazilians. Portuguese is spoken in Florianopolis Brazil. You will
encounter some English, especially in hospitality. Due to the similarities of Portuguese
with Spanish and the fact that most the rest of the South American continent
speaks Spanish, we found trying some Spanish worked well in many cases.
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| Surfing Sand Dunes - Praia de Joaquina |
Some history... In the 1820’s, a newly independent
Brazil realized the importance of this then frontier between Portuguese and
Spanish Americas. The emperor invited German-speaking immigrants to establish a
presence in this region. Many towns and traditions in Florianopolis look like
you are in Germany.
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| Relaxing Deck Overlooking Beach - Pousada dos Sonhos |
We stayed
at Pousada
dos Sonhos on the western end of Praia dos Jurere and so glad we did!
This is a relaxing top-rated Florianopolis bed and breakfast hotel with a large
patio and restaurant on the beach (rare in Jurere). The rooms are large with a
small kitchenette equipped with cooking apparatus if you so desire. Nice
restaurants and a supermarket are within walking distance – some just around
the corner. We went to bed with the sound of ocean waves – nice! We enjoyed the
free beach chairs on the beach as well as the comfortable furniture on the
patio to enjoy wonderful ocean views. The very nice breakfast can be enjoyed
overlooking the beach and ocean. The restaurant on site serves wonderful food
and drinks. Guests also enjoy free parking, Internet, pool, A/C, refrigerator, and
families enjoy the children’s play area.
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| Costa Norte Ingleses - Florianopolis Brazil |
We also
stayed at Costa Norte Ingleses on Praia dos Ingleses and were very
pleased with this top-rated Florianopolis bed and breakfast hotel. The grounds
are beautiful, especially at night, with a deck and good restaurant right on
the beach (unique in Ingleses). The rooms are very comfortable with nice ocean
views available. Waves from the ocean are wonderful to listen to. Facilities
include an outdoor pool, heated indoor pool, wet and dry saunas, gym, A/C, refrigerator,
and a very nice breakfast can be enjoyed overlooking the beach. A nice
supermarket is right across the street.
See our other beautiful places we visited in Brazil:
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