The Costa da Lagoa hike is one of our favorite things to do in Florianópolis. For many people, hiking is all about the journey and the process, but for us, and on this one especially, the rewards at the end are what really make it.

Costa da Lagoa is a lakeside community in the middle of the island, pretty much cut off from the rest of it, surrounded by the dense Atlantic Rainforest (the Mata Atlântica) and its waterfalls: a place where life seems to move to a different rhythm.

We were there. Aug 2023 – Jun 2024 & Jan 2026 — about a year living in Campeche

Michelle on the Costa da Lagoa trail, with the lagoon and its boulders through the trees ahead

Costa da Lagoa at a Glance

  • Distance and time: About 7.5 km (4.7 miles) and 2.5 hours each way, at an easy pace
  • Difficulty: Easy and mostly flat, with roots, a few boulders and short climbs; muddy after rain
  • Where it starts: Canto dos Araçás, where the road ends, in the north of Lagoa da Conceição
  • The waterfall: About 10 to 15 minutes’ walk from Ponto 16
  • Lunch: Sabor da Costa, at Ponto 16, for the moqueca
  • The way back: Cooperbarco’s boat from Ponto 17, to the center of Lagoa or to Canto dos Araçás (Ponto 3)
  • Boat fare: R$15 a trip on the tourist boat
  • Last tourist boat back: 18:30, every day
  • Who it suits: Most people: we see quite a few families on it

Before You Go: What to Know About the Costa da Lagoa Hike

Where Costa da Lagoa Is

Costa da Lagoa is a community on the west side of the larger part of Lagoa da Conceição, in the middle of the Atlantic Rainforest. It’s a fishing community that cannot be reached by car, so you can either hike there, about 2.5 to 3 hours each way, or take the boat.

To understand it, you have to go back to the middle of the 18th century, when the Portuguese crown encouraged thousands of families from the Azores to settle in the south of Brazil. The aim was a bigger Portuguese presence in the south, a strategy against the Spanish, who were colonizing the lands that are now Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

From 1748, about 6,000 Azoreans arrived on the island of Santa Catarina, where Florianópolis is today, bringing much of their culture with them, and the first colony settled right on the Lagoa da Conceição. That’s when Costa da Lagoa started to be settled too.

Around the island you see many places that still reflect a bit of the Azorean colony and its culture, but nowhere is quite like Costa da Lagoa, which has kept much of it. That is mainly because it is so hard to reach: the community was cut off from the rest of the island and lived in its own little bubble.

Visiting it gives you a different feel of the island, and a glimpse of how a community with no road still has its basic services: a health center and a small school at Ponto 16, the boat for everything else and, in an emergency, a rescue helicopter. The older kids go to school on the main part of the island, so they’re not completely cut off.

Costa da Lagoa from the air: the village’s houses and its boat docks on the edge of the lagoon

How Hard Is the Hike?

The hike is a bit long, but quite easy. Sometimes you have to step over roots and a few boulders, and it can get muddy after rain, but we see quite a few families doing it. It’s mostly flat, with only a few parts where you climb a little more. Because it takes a while, make sure you wear appropriate clothing and bring enough water for the way there.

Hike Both Ways, Hike and Take the Boat, or Boat Only

There is also a boat to Costa da Lagoa, so you have four options:

  • Hike there and come back by boat (what we usually do).
  • Go by boat and hike back.
  • Hike both ways.
  • Take the boat both ways.

Getting to the Trailhead in Canto dos Araçás

The trail starts in Canto dos Araçás, the last point you can reach by car, where the paved road turns to dirt. The easiest way to get there is by car.

If you go by car, depending on the time, it can be hard to find a place to park close to the trailhead. There are some parking lots there that overcharge a bit, but if you get there early enough, you can find a spot on the street. Before you reach it, buses run up and down a very narrow street, so make sure you don’t park in a way that blocks them. You can also take the bus, or an Uber, to the trailhead.

Tip

If you parked at the trailhead, make sure you get off the boat back at the Canto dos Araçás stop, where the trail starts, instead of going all the way to the center of Lagoa. Otherwise, you’ll have to walk, or take an Uber, back to your car.

The Trail: Canto dos Araçás to Costa da Lagoa

Through the Bamboo and the Forest

Most of the trail is open and goes through the jungle and some bamboo, like in the photo. It’s quite a chill hike through a beautiful place: you can see the lagoon beside you, and you pass through some very small communities and settlements.

The Costa da Lagoa trail through the jungle and a stand of tall bamboo
Michelle stopping on the Costa da Lagoa trail among boulders and dense green forest

Boulders, Views and Capybaras on the Way

You might even run into some wildlife, like capybaras. They look cute and harmless, but if they feel threatened, they can bite, so don’t get too close or do anything that could threaten them: they are still wild animals.

A capybara grazing on the grass beside a big boulder on the Costa da Lagoa trail, with the lagoon behind
A boat crossing the lagoon, seen through the trees and banana leaves from the Costa da Lagoa trail

Arriving in the Village

As you get to the village, you start to see more houses and more art on the streets, and at Ponto 8 you pass an old engenho de farinha, a cassava flour mill from around 1790. Even before you reach the heart of Costa da Lagoa, it’s a beautiful place.

Costa da Lagoa from the air: the village’s houses and boats along the shore of Lagoa da Conceição, the forest above them and the sea in the distance

The Costa da Lagoa Waterfall (Ponto 16)

If you come by boat, we’d recommend getting off at Ponto 16, the closest stop to the waterfall: from the pier, walk past the restaurants, up the steps and left along the village lane, about 10 to 15 minutes in all. It’s a great place to cool down on a hot day, or to just admire the lush green surroundings, but watch out for the slippery rocks. After the waterfall, head back to the main area of Costa da Lagoa, with its restaurants and food shops, and enjoy the rest of your day.

The Costa da Lagoa waterfall from the air, falling over the rocks in the middle of the Atlantic Forest
The waterfall at Costa da Lagoa, falling over the rocks into a pool in the forest
The Costa da Lagoa waterfall from its pool, the stream running over flat rocks between the trees
The waterfall’s several falls from above, a line of white water through the forest
Looking straight down on the lower falls and the pool beneath them

Where to Eat in Costa da Lagoa

Here, we can’t recommend Sabor da Costa, right at Ponto 16, enough, or its moqueca mista, the mixed moqueca with fish and seafood. It is one of our favorite dishes on the whole island. Moqueca is most common in the northeast of Brazil, but Artur, who is from the northeast, can testify that this is one of the best moquecas he has ever had in his life.

It’s just an amazing dish, often called one of the best in Brazil: a fish and seafood stew made with dendê (palm) oil, served with rice and farofa, and we usually get some fries on the side to go with it. It makes our mouths water just talking about it.

Sabor da Costa from above: boats moored at its dock and its tables under the trees and a white awning by the lagoon
Lunch at Sabor da Costa in Costa da Lagoa: the moqueca in its clay pot on a table by the water, with boats moored on the lagoon behind

Taking the Boat Back with Cooperbarco

Which Pier to Take the Boat From

After lunch, you can catch the boat back from Ponto 17. This pier is a bit further north, still in the restaurant area: you even have to walk through one of the restaurants to get to it. It’s one of the first stops in Costa da Lagoa on the way back, so it makes it easier to find a seat on the boat, on a weekend or any day when more people are coming and going.

Boat Prices and the Schedule

The tourist boat costs R$15 each way.

Cooperbarco’s timetable has two kinds of boats. The tourist boats (turístico) are the ones for visitors. The collective boats (coletivo) are the city’s public line: cheaper (R$4.25), but residents and workers board first, visitors only if there are seats left, and they stop at every pier, so the ride takes about 55 minutes. Here is the timetable as of 2026:

Monday to Friday. “Tourist” marks the tourist boats; the others are collective boats.
From Lagoa da ConceiçãoFrom Costa da Lagoa
07:1005:00
08:1005:45
09:4006:30
11:00 · tourist07:00
11:30 · tourist07:45
12:00 · tourist08:30
12:30 · tourist09:30
13:30 · tourist11:00
14:2011:45
15:1013:00
16:1514:00
17:1015:00 · tourist
17:4016:00 · tourist
18:3017:00 · tourist
19:0018:30 · tourist
19:4021:30
20:30
21:30
22:40
23:30
Weekends and holidays.
From Lagoa da ConceiçãoFrom Costa da Lagoa
08:0006:00
09:0007:15
10:00 · tourist08:00
11:00 · tourist09:40
11:30 · tourist10:30
12:00 · tourist11:30
12:30 · tourist13:00 · tourist
13:00 · tourist14:00 · tourist
14:00 · tourist15:00 · tourist
15:00 · tourist16:00 · tourist
16:0017:00 · tourist
17:1018:30 · tourist
18:4021:00
20:00
22:00

Cooperbarco’s timetables change from time to time, so check their latest schedule before you go.

Going by Boat Both Ways

If you prefer to take the boat both ways, you can park your car somewhere in the center of Lagoa instead of near the trailhead, which makes it easier to find a spot close to where the boat leaves. There is a parking lot, or you can try to find a place on the street. On the way back, just get off where you got on, the last stop, in Lagoa.

Best Time to Do the Costa da Lagoa Hike

We usually start the trail in the morning, around 9 am, and come back by boat. After eating a whole lot of moqueca, it’s a lot easier to take the boat back than to do another 2.5-hour hike.

That timing lets us visit the waterfall when we arrive, and after a couple of hours there, we’re ready for lunch and still ahead of the crowds, especially on weekends. That said, we do recommend going on a weekend: that’s when the restaurants expect more customers, so they have fresher fish and seafood, there’s live music, and overall the place is a lot more lively.

What to Pack for the Costa da Lagoa Hike

If you take the trail, bring:

  • Good shoes
  • Water, with some extra for the waterfall
  • Some cash, in case you can’t use your phone
  • Sunscreen
  • Bug spray

We’d recommend about 1.5 L (50 oz) of water per person: it’s a long hike. If you’re going by boat, maybe bring a change of clothes, so you’re not in wet clothes all day.

Prefer a Guided Hike?

Prefer to go with a guide? GetYourGuide has a Costa da Lagoa catamaran tour with the hike and lunch, and other Costa da Lagoa tours.

Other Hikes in Florianópolis

FAQs About the Costa da Lagoa Hike

How long is the Costa da Lagoa hike?

About 7.5 km (4.7 miles), around 2.5 hours each way at an easy pace, from Canto dos Araçás through the village.

Where does the Costa da Lagoa trail start?

In Canto dos Araçás, in the north of Lagoa da Conceição, the last point you can reach by car. You can get there by car, Uber or bus.

Is the Costa da Lagoa hike difficult?

No. It’s a bit long, but quite easy and mostly flat, with some roots, a few boulders and short climbs, and it can get muddy after rain. We see quite a few families doing it.

How much is the boat to Costa da Lagoa?

R$15 each way on Cooperbarco’s tourist boat. The city’s collective boat costs R$4.25, but residents and workers board first.

What time is the last boat from Costa da Lagoa?

The last tourist boat leaves Costa da Lagoa at 18:30, every day. After that, a collective boat leaves at 21:30 on weekdays and at 21:00 on weekends and holidays.

Can you drive to Costa da Lagoa?

No. Costa da Lagoa can only be reached on foot or by boat.

Can you swim at the Costa da Lagoa waterfall?

Yes, people swim in its pool: it’s a great place to cool down on a hot day. Just watch out for the slippery rocks.

Is Costa da Lagoa worth visiting?

Yes. It’s one of our favorite things to do in Florianópolis: a village cut off from the rest of the island that has kept much of its Azorean culture, a trail through the Atlantic Rainforest, a waterfall, and one of the best moquecas we’ve ever had.

Final Thoughts on the Costa da Lagoa Hike

Costa da Lagoa is one of our favorite things to do in Florianópolis, and the rewards at the end are what make it: a village that has kept much of its Azorean culture, a waterfall in the Atlantic Rainforest and, at Sabor da Costa, one of the best moquecas we’ve ever had.

Our tip: start the trail around 9 am, see the waterfall first, have lunch before the crowds and take the boat back from Ponto 17. And if you can, go on a weekend, when the place is at its liveliest.

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