Ministério do Turismo

Florianópolis

The natural beauties of Florianópolis attract thousands of visitors every year. Especially in the summer, Brazilians and natives of other South American countries – such as Argentineans, Uruguayans and Chileans – seek the diversity of the Santa Catarina coastline. On the island, side by side, the most varied types of beaches can be found – the long ones, with large strips of sand; the small ones, embedded in backwaters; those with strong waves; and the ones with calm waters, resembling lagoons; urban beaches full of bathers; and deserted beaches, with access by trail only. It is a paradise for surf, windsurf, sailing and fishing enthusiasts.

The Northern and Central regions of Florianópolis are the most sought after by tourists and offer a complete infrastructure of services, resorts, hotels and lodges. Further south, some districts also preserve their countryside village identity, and the heritage left by their ancestors (who came from the Portuguese archipelago of Açores during the 18th century) is noticeable in their manner of speaking, in their handicraft activities, and typical feasts. On the other side, the city has taken on a cosmopolitan air with the arrival of Brazilians from other States and foreigners who chose to live there. The island, which in the beginning of the colonization period, was an important whale hunting centre, is today the technological pole of the IT industry.

A State Capital of interest to tourism, Florianópolis is currently inhabited by about 300 thousand people, a number that triples every summer.

Basic information
Climate
Located in the subtropical coastal region, the city offers a pleasant climate, with most of the rainfall occurring during the summer – from December to January. During this season, the mean temperature is 25°C. In July, the coldest month, the mean is 16.4°C. Short summers (Indian summers) between May and August are common – i.e. a succession of hot days after the first cooler days occur in April.
Events
World Surf Competition (WTC)
Florianópolis is the main location of the WTC, which classifies 50 competitors, among professionals and amateurs.

Divine’s Feast
Takes place 40 days after Easter, when a group of people takes to the streets to participate in a kind of imperial procession. There are band presentations and kiosks with typical local food.
City facts
Florianópolis:
Capital of the state of Santa Catarina
Region: South
Population: 369,102 inhabitants
DDD: (48)

Distances
Brasília: 1,700 km
São Paulo: 700 km
Rio de Janeiro: 1,180 km
Porto Alegre: 460 km
Accommodation / Restaurants
Florianópolis has over one hundred hotels, lodges, flats and chalets for rent, which offer various levels of comfort. The resorts, seaside lodges and small and charming accommodations are the most popular. They are located mainly on the beaches at the northern side of the Island. However, good options are available throughout the region.

Seafood is the city’s specialty. The oysters, cultivated in the south of the island can be consumed fresh out of the sea. The shrimp is the favourite finger food, prepared and served in different ways. Tainha (Mullet) – fished from May through June, is prepared in “escalade” fashion: after being salted and dried, it is grilled. Another feature of Florianópolis are the simple and cosy restaurants, close to the beaches and maintained by fishermen. The city also has more sophisticated restaurants, which serve international dishes. Learn about more options from the sites below:

http://www.guiafloripa.com.br/servicos/index.php3
http://cidades.terra.com.br/fln/0,,,00.html
How to get there
By Plane: The Hercílio Luz International Airport, 12 km from downtown, receives domestic flights from the country’s capital cities and also from Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina.
By Road: The Rita Maria Coach Station receives buses from many capitals and cities in Brazil and Mercosur countries – Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile.
Main access highways:
- From the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro: BR-116/ BR-376/ BR-101
- From Curitiba: BR-376/ BR-101
- From Porto Alegre: BR-290/ BR-101
Services
Disk Turismo [Tourism Service] – Tourist Information
Tel: +55 (48) 224-1516

Hercílio Luz International Airport
Tel: +55 (48) 331-4000

Rita Maria Coach Station
Tel: +55 (48) 212-3000

Telephone
Cellular phones and domestic interstate and international calls. Broadband Internet.

Banks
Florianópolis has over 100 banks, in addition to bureaus-de-change. Credit cards are welcome by the majority of local businesses.

Car rental
Some of the major car rental companies in the country are present in Florianópolis.
Related links
www.pmf.sc.gov.br/turismo
www.guiafloripa.com.br
www.canasvieiras.com.br
http://cidades.terra.com.br/fln/restaurantes/0,,L:N:TODOS:1,00.html
www.florianopolis-hotels.travel
www.florianopolis-travel.com.br/
Attractions
Hercílio Luz Bridge
Built over 70 years ago, it continues to be the island’s favourite post card image.

Cruz e Sousa Palace
Also declared a heritage, it was formerly the Government’s Palace.

Santo Amaro da Imperatriz
First thermal water facility in Brazil. Hotels with thermal water bath facilities are located in the district of Caldas da Imperatriz and in the city of Águas Mornas.

Fonte Caldas da Imperatriz – City Baths
This is a source of thermal waters, which can reach the temperature of 39ºC, where there are immersion baths and hydromassage. It is located on the Estrada Geral Highway, km 4, Caldas da Imperatriz district.


Beaches

Praia dos Ingleses
Even though it is a beach preferred by tourists, Ingleses still keeps to the traditions of the Açorian colonizers. In the summer, it is one of the top beach destinations of Argentinean tourists, second only to Canasvieras. In the winter, mullet fishing, religious celebrations and regional festivities are beautiful demonstrations of the local culture. The dunes separating the Ingleses Beach from the Santinho Beach are natural attractions not to be missed. The practice of sand board is quite common there, a sport created in Florianópolis, which consists of sliding down the dunes on a board, engaging or not in radical manoeuvres. To practice it, one must have a lot of balance and rent a board. Those looking for a different outing can go on a trek of 4 km over the dunes.

Campeche Beach
With 5 km of white sands and an turbulent waters, Campeche is considered the Jefrey’s Bay of the Santa Catarina Island for the quality of its waves. For those who are not interested in surfing, the beach offers other attractions. The paradisiacal beauty of Ilha do Campeche, for instance, located across from the beach, a football game on the Saint-Exupéry aviation field, or even fishing, are some of the leisure alternatives. At night, Campeche is also an excellent attraction. The huge reflector that illuminates part of the large sand strip in front of the bars only contributes to the partying that extends far into the night. The illumination favours both those who enjoy the merrymaking as well as the fishermen, who use the time to drag their nets in from the sea.

Armação Beach
The Sant’Anna Church, built by the Armação fishing company, is part of the beach’s history. It was from there that whale harpooners and crewmen confessed and attended the mass before going fishing. Next, the priest would go down to the beach to bless the boats that would sail out to sea. Today, the boats leave there for Ilha do Campeche, one of the most visited islands around Florianópolis. It is also in Armação that one finds one of the most important archeological sites of the State of Santa Catarina.

Joaquina Beach
Won fame as of the 1970’s, when surfers from around the world discovered its waves. Many surf cups began to emerge, and great Catarinense surfing personalities. It is one of the beaches that offers the best tourist facilities, receiving a large number of tourists from around Brazil and the world on the warm days in spring and summer. The rock complex situated to the left of the beach, the night lighting and the public showers are some of the trademarks at Joaquina. There is a big paid parking lot, toilets, tourist coach parking lot, lifeguards, police station, handicraft shop, bars, restaurant and hotels. In addition to the beach, it is possible to enjoy the most famous dunes in the South of the country as well as to sand board. The boards used in this sport can be rented on the spot.

Praia do Santinho
Almost untouched by man, Santinho Beach is mainly sought by tourists who look for nature, the location’s paradisiacal beauty and tranquillity. Surfers are the main visitors and consider Santinho to be the best beach in the North of the Santa Catarina Island. It is in the left hand corner – where bathers do not venture -- that surfers practice their sport, sharing the space with fishermen. Forty kilometres away from the centre of Florianópolis, another great attraction of this beach are the primitive inscriptions made by hunters, fishermen and collectors inhabiting the Island five thousand years ago. The name Santinho comes from a human figure engraved on an isolated block of rock.

Outdoor Sports
Florianópolis has a privileged geography that favours the practice of numerous outdoor sports, mainly radical sports: surf, diving, hang-gliding, para-gliding and mountain bike.

Surf
Full of slang, fads and neologism, surfing has long changed from being a simple form of recreation to a mania in Florianópolis – there are surfing schools along the city beaches. The location for one leg of the World Surf Championship, Florianópolis is home to two world champions, the brothers Teco and Neco Padaratz.


Vicinities – in Santo Amaro da Imperatriz

Hang-gliding in Morro Queimado
Morro Queimado hill is 680 m tall. Its is the take-off ramp for hang-gliding, and is located in the State Park of Serra do Tabuleiro. From the ramp where the hang-gliders takeoff, it is possible to view, at a 180 degrees angle, the entire East coast and part of the South of the Santa Catarina Island. The view also includes the Conceição Lagoon, right ahead, surrounded by the beaches of Joaquina, Mole, Capeche, Morro das Pedras and Armação.

Golf - Plaza Itapema Resort & Spa
First golf course installed in a national hotel venture, the Plaza Itapema Resort & Spa was inaugurated in 1975. Although it is a short course, with just nine holes, it attracts many players because of its setting, between sea and mountain, in the most privileged spot of the Catarinense coast, due to the level of difficulty it provides, which is a good training ground for golf tournaments. Just 72 km from the capital, Florianópolis attracts golfers from other South American countries, from Sao Paulo, and from neighbouring states in the Southern Region.

Ducking expedition on the Cubatão do Sul River.
Descent, lasting four hours, in an inflated kayak – for two people – over a wild stretch of the river, bordering the Tabuleiro mountain range. Class II, III and IV rapids. Requires experiences in at least one downstream rafting event.

Rafting in Cubatão do Sul River
Descent, lasting 2 hours, over two stretches of the river – one basic and the other radical – with level III rapids.


Shopping

Ceramics
Florianópolis’ handicraft artists produce ceramic utensils – pots, vases and jugs – and decorative items, representing the folklore, religious feasts and the people of the island. Most are descendents of Açorian immigrants.
- Casa da Alfândega - Av. Paulo Fontes, tel. +55 (48) 224-6082, next to the public market, Downtown district.
- Casa Açoriana - Rua Cônego Serpa, 30, tel. +55 (48) 235-1262, Santo Antonio de Lisboa district.
In São José, 6.5km from Florianópolis, the best ceramics are in Escola de Oleiros - Rua Frederico Afonso, 5545, tel. +55 (48) 343-0311.

Handicraft
- Lampshades made with banana leaves – Rua Des. Flávio Tavares da Cunha Melo, 343, Coqueiros, on the continent. Tel. +55 (48) 249-0918.

Spool lacework
Av. das Rendeiras, Lagoa da Conceição. Tel. +55 (48) 231-9344.

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