After more than a year on the Magic Island, we’ve come to a conclusion: the reason we love Florianópolis is the same reason choosing where to stay in Florianópolis matters so much.

Florianópolis is one of three Brazilian state capitals on an island: Ilha de Santa Catarina, a little bigger than the whole country of Malta. It’s an island with a huge variety of scenery, vibes, infrastructure and natural beauty. From sand dunes to mangroves, from city life to fishing villages, from surf beaches to waterfalls: you can find it all.

Fun fact Florianópolis was called Nossa Senhora do Desterro until 1894, when it was renamed after President Floriano Peixoto; Floripa is just the short version. Ilha da Magia, the Magic Island, comes from the witch legends of the Azorean settlers, collected by the folklorist Franklin Cascaes.

But for all that variety, it is not a small place. Add a road system that isn’t great for getting around the island, and if you’re visiting for a few days, choosing the right place to stay decides how many hours of your days you spend enjoying the island and how many you spend commuting.

Below are the main areas of the island (and which one is our favorite), where we have stayed ourselves in over a year and a half of Floripa island life, our favorite hotels and, at the end, a few practical tips that can make your visit a lot easier.

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

The short version

  • Our favorite: the south of the island (Campeche and Rio Tavares), for a good balance of nature, great beaches, restaurants and nightlife.
  • All-inclusive resorts by the sand with your family, or luxury beach clubs: the north (Jurerê Internacional, Canasvieiras and Santinho).
  • A bustling city vibe, bars and restaurants: the city center.
  • A laid-back fishing-village lifestyle or a lake setting: the east (Barra da Lagoa and Lagoa da Conceição), also the place to meet other travelers.
  • Skip it for a short stay: the mainland (Coqueiros, Capoeiras and anything past the bridge).

The best areas to stay in Florianópolis (and the one to skip)

In this guide we cover the four main areas we recommend, who we’d recommend each one for, and the one area we would skip if you’re only visiting for a few days.

Florianópolis by region

  1. North of the islandCalm beaches, all-inclusive resorts and luxury beach clubs
  2. City centerCity vibes, bars and restaurants
  3. East of the islandLaid-back, beach-filled days
  4. South of the islandOur favoriteA great balance of beaches, nature and everyday amenities
  5. Continental FlorianópolisWe’d skipCoqueiros, Capoeiras and anything past the bridge

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

For us, it really depends on the vibe you’re looking for. Do you enjoy all-inclusive resorts by the sand with your family, or luxury beach clubs? That’s the north of the island. Do you prefer a bustling city vibe? That’s the city center.

If you’re looking for a laid-back, fishing-village lifestyle, the east of the island might be the best choice. For a good mix of everything in a beautiful lake setting, Lagoa is a good choice, though there are no beaches within walking distance.

But if you’re looking for a good balance of nature, great beaches (they surround the whole island, but of course we have our favorites), restaurants and nightlife, the south of the island is your pick (and usually ours).

That said, there is one part of Florianópolis we wouldn’t recommend for a stay of a few days, even though a friend of ours has lived there and loves it: the mainland part of the city (Coqueiros, Capoeiras and anything past the bridge). It’s still a great area to live in if you’re staying longer, but every trip to the island, where the main spots to visit are, goes over the same bridges, and that can cost you precious time.

North of the island: best for calm beaches, all-inclusive resorts and luxury beach clubs

The north of Floripa is known across Brazil as one of the most luxurious, prestigious and expensive places in the country. With unwalled mansions of questionable taste, beach clubs where celebrities show up and perfectly groomed lawns, this stretch of the island really puts the country’s inequality on display.

At the same time, if you’re visiting the island and really enjoy luxury places or all-inclusive resorts, the north might be the perfect place for you.

Especially if you’re not into surfing, you’re traveling with young kids, and you want to enjoy the beach as a family without worrying too much about big waves. Because of the way they face, the beaches in the northwest of the island are usually protected from the prevailing south and east swells, so the water tends to be calmer and better for the little ones. Still, be careful: never disregard rip currents, and always look out for the lifeguard signs.

With all that luxury, finding a budget place to stay in the north is a harder quest.

The main areas in the north are Jurerê Internacional (the most luxurious), Canasvieiras (very popular with Argentinian tourists) and Santinho (where the calm water does not apply), so we picked one option in each.

1. Fuso Concept Hotel (Jurerê Internacional)

A living room at Fuso Concept Hotel, white sofas and a glass wall open onto a deck and the sea
Fuso Concept Hotel from above: a deck with loungers and a pool among the trees, under a planted roof

Photo: Fuso Concept Hotel

With bungalows with private pools overlooking Praia do Forte (the beach of the fort), which happens to be our favorite beach in the north of the island, this boutique hotel is widely regarded as the best hotel on the island.

If you’re looking for high-end service in the north and don’t mind the nightly rates (which can be the most expensive on our list), this is the choice for you.

2. Costão do Santinho (Santinho)

A wooden deck at Costão do Santinho with palm trees, parasols and a curtained daybed, the sea behind them under a hazy sun
Photo: Costão do Santinho

Remember what we just said about calm beaches? Forget it for this one. But since this is the biggest all-inclusive resort on the island, we couldn’t leave it out of our three picks for hotels in the north of Florianópolis.

In the middle of the Atlantic Forest and overlooking Santinho beach, a very wavy beach in the northeast of the island, this resort has seven restaurants, eleven swimming pools, a spa, a golf course and a massive area for the whole family to enjoy. If you’re into all-inclusive resorts and would rather spend your whole stay there, Costão do Santinho is the pick for you.

3. Palace Praia Hotel (Canasvieiras)

Palace Praia Hotel’s infinity pool and palm trees beside the beach at Canasvieiras
Breakfast at Palace Praia Hotel: croissants and cheese bread in red serving dishes

Photo: Palace Praia Hotel

Right on the beach, with direct access to the sand, this hotel offers the comfort and amenities the previous two have, but at a friendlier price and still in the north of the island.

With a modest finish, a fitness center and even an infinity pool overlooking the beach, this could be a great option for a couple or a small family.

City center: best for city vibes, bars and restaurants (and budget stays)

Florianópolis is not a destination we’d recommend for big-city life or big-city tourism. But if you’re really into city life, even on a beach trip, you still have that option on the island: the city center.

We really like the city center for its variety of restaurants, bars and nightlife. But since we like staying close to the beach, it wouldn’t be our first pick for a stay of a few days.

Artur and Michelle with their arms raised on the Hercílio Luz Bridge at sunset, its tower behind them

For a reference on what we recommend doing on the island, you can check our guide to the 15 best things to do in Florianópolis.

And these are our two picks for hotels in the city center.

1. Novotel Florianópolis (Beira-Mar Norte)

The Novotel tower beside Beira-Mar Norte, the city center’s main avenue
Photo: Novotel Florianópolis
A room at Novotel Florianópolis with a double bed, an armchair and a window over the bay
Photo: Jorge Scherer / Novotel Florianópolis

On Beira-Mar Norte, the city center’s main avenue, the Novotel is a safe bet if you’d rather stay in the city center, close to restaurants and bars.

2. Majestic Palace Hotel (Beira-Mar Norte)

A room at the Majestic Palace Hotel with a double bed, an armchair and a window onto the sea
A glass-walled balcony at the Majestic Palace Hotel with bar stools and a sofa, at sunset

Photo: Majestic Palace Hotel

Also on Beira-Mar Norte, the Majestic Palace Hotel is very close to Beiramar Shopping, one of the biggest and most popular malls on the island. Here you get an outdoor pool, a full spa and a five-star hotel setting.

This hotel’s rooftop also has one of the most popular bars and nightclubs in the city center, which is the Roof, an upscale nightclub with a DJ. If you want to also read more about our nightlife recommendations in Florianópolis, you can check our guide.

If you’re looking for an even more upscale option in the city center, this is the pick for you.

East of the island: best for laid-back, beach-filled days

In this part of the guide we also include the Lagoa da Conceição area, which the manezinhos (as people born on the island are called) also consider the east of the island.

Fun fact Nobody knows for sure where “manezinho” comes from. One theory is Manuel, a common name among the Azorean settlers, and since 2005 the city has celebrated Dia do Manezinho every 5 June.

Along with Lagoa da Conceição, we include Barra da Lagoa. Those two places are what we mean here by the east of the island.

Even though we’re bundling them into one area, the two have very different vibes. Lagoa da Conceição is a place we love for its lake views and sunsets.

Barra da Lagoa, where Artur lived for six months before meeting Michelle, is to this day a fishing village, with a canal that connects the north part of the lake to the ocean. It’s a very chill place: fewer places to eat out and fewer things to do, but good beginner-level surfing on the right days and, overall, good infrastructure for a beach day.

Artur and Michelle in wetsuits, holding their surfboards on the beach at Barra da Lagoa

On top of that, this is the area on our list with the best budget options in Florianópolis.

But while you’ll find the best budget options here, remember to factor in the cost of gas, Uber or public transport to get to the other parts of the island, especially if you stay in Barra da Lagoa.

Lagoa in particular is probably the area with the most international expats, international students and, overall, the biggest international community, along with young tourists traveling solo. If you’re a solo traveler who wants to meet people, this might be a great hub to connect with other travelers and like-minded people.

With that in mind, here are our two picks for staying in Lagoa da Conceição and Barra da Lagoa.

1. The Search House Hostel (Barra da Lagoa)

The covered skate half-pipe in the garden at The Search House, with a lawn and a ping-pong table
A party at night at The Search House, a crowd dancing under coloured stage lights

Photo: The Search House

The Search House Hostel is one of our favorite places to hang out on the island, even as non-guests. The surf and skate vibe that runs through the whole island is very well represented here. They have a surf school and a half-pipe where you can watch some pretty good skaters, and where you, as a beginner, can also give it a go with the help of a professional and the right safety equipment.

Right by the beach, with its own private access to it, the Search House also gives travelers a great community to meet people and a great restaurant. This is for sure our pick in Barra da Lagoa.

A double room at The Search House with a window onto the trees
A dormitory at The Search House with curtained bunk beds

Photo: The Search House

If you’re a solo traveler looking to experience the magic part of the Magic Island, this would be our pick from the entire list.

2. Pousada Casa da Lagoa (Lagoa da Conceição)

Pousada Casa da Lagoa, a brick house with balconies among palm trees and bougainvillea, under an orange sunset
A room at Pousada Casa da Lagoa with a turquoise bedspread, a sloping wooden ceiling and a window onto green hills

Photo: Pousada Casa da Lagoa

Our pick for the Lagoa da Conceição area is a place we have never stayed in, but we would always see it whenever we went to watch the sunset by the lake (after our favorite açaí on the island).

Right by the southern part of the lake, Pousada Casa da Lagoa offers you and your family a great location in the middle of the island and easy access to everything the center of Lagoa has to offer.

This is a great pick if you plan on going to many different places on the island and don’t care so much about being right by the beach.

South of the island: our favorite, and the best for longer stays

Oh yeah, the south of the island: our favorite place to stay in Florianópolis. This is where we decided to make our home for about a year of our lives, between 2023 and 2024, and it’s simply our favorite place on the island.

It’s considered the region of Florianópolis with the best-preserved nature, so this is where you’ll find, in our opinion, the best beaches, the best hikes and the best waterfalls. On top of that, parts of the south have great infrastructure for everyday life, with plenty of restaurants and cafes.

In the southwest of the island, around Ribeirão da Ilha, there’s a good restaurant scene serving seafood and oysters among Azorean colonial architecture. In the southeast, you’ll find hikes through the Brazilian rainforest, paradise-like beaches and, in Artur’s case, beaches with great surfing waves too.

Artur and Michelle sitting on a rock at a viewpoint on the Saquinho trail, the sea and green hills behind them

And although the south of the island is made up of many neighborhoods, like Ribeirão da Ilha, Pântano do Sul, Carianos, Morro das Pedras and Armação (Artur’s favorite beach on the island), in this part of our list we mainly focus on Campeche and Rio Tavares.

Campeche is the neighborhood we lived in, and Rio Tavares is probably the birthplace of the surf and skate culture that runs through the island today. These are areas where you might walk into the supermarket and stumble upon a world surfing champion doing their groceries (it happened to us).

Now for our picks of places to stay:

1. Pousada Ilha Faceira (Campeche)

A room at Pousada Ilha Faceira with a double bed and photographs of the beach on the wall
A bathroom at Pousada Ilha Faceira with a stone wall, a freestanding tub and a glass shower

Photo: Pousada Ilha Faceira

When Michelle’s family came to visit us in April 2024, Pousada Ilha Faceira gave them a great place to stay, with a great breakfast, right by the beach and across the street from where we lived.

With great service, rooms, food and location, it was a comfortable base on the island for Michelle’s family.

So if you decide to stay in Campeche, this would be our first pick.

2. Pousada Vila Tamarindo Eco Lodge (Campeche)

A room at Pousada Vila Tamarindo with turquoise walls and an open window full of plants
Photo: Pousada Vila Tamarindo Eco Lodge

Very close to our first pick, Pousada Vila Tamarindo Eco Lodge sits among the trees, very close to the beach. It’s a good alternative to our number one in case it has no vacancy by the time you book.

Continental Florianópolis: the area we’d skip if you’re only going for a few days

The continental part of Florianópolis is one of the most important areas of the city: it’s the only part on the mainland, and the part that connects the island to the rest of Brazil.

Yes, Floripa is not just an island.

Even though it’s very important to the city (and a great place to live, with good shops and services), it’s just not where we’d recommend staying if you’re only visiting for a few days. You might find cheaper options there, but you can still find great budget options (like the ones on our list) that are much closer to the things you’re probably going to Florianópolis for.

Getting around Florianópolis (and from the airport)

Wherever you stay, the best way to get around Florianópolis is by car. You have two main options: rent a car (we recommend checking the cars here), or get a driver through one of the apps, Uber or 99.

Florianópolis has a public bus network, but no metro or train. With the way the island is laid out, and the way the roads and the bus lines run, the lines are just too fragmented: you might have to change lines several times to get around the island and lose a lot of time. But if you’re on a budget or traveling alone, it might make sense.

If you’re on a budget but traveling with other people, the bus fare for everyone will usually cost more than hiring a driver on one of the ride-hailing apps. When you share it, the ride from the airport to the south of the island can be around R$30. It can cost a lot more if you’re going to the north of the island, the farthest area on our list from the airport.

To the north of the island, the fare can be anywhere from R$60 to R$90, depending on the category and on demand. We never use taxis in Florianópolis, just because the ride-hailing apps are so convenient. But even with the apps, as always, watch out for unlicensed drivers at the airport exit.

When to book and what it costs

Car rental rates vary by category, of course, but in Florianópolis they also vary by season. If you’re going in high season (especially December to February), we’d recommend reserving your car at least a month in advance, or even earlier, as rates get a lot higher and the options a lot more limited. We once had to rent a car for a day after selling ours when we left in July, which is low season, but there was a concert in town and it was pretty hard to find one.

  • Cars: between R$70 and R$400 per day.
  • Hotels and hostels: between R$200 and R$1,500 per night, depending on the season.

Questions people ask

What is the best area to stay in Florianópolis?

For us, the south of the island, around Campeche and Rio Tavares: a good balance of nature, great beaches, restaurants and nightlife. It’s where we made our home for about a year.

Where should families stay in Florianópolis?

The north of the island. The beaches in the northwest are usually protected from the prevailing south and east swells, so the water tends to be calmer and better for young kids, and it’s where you’ll find the all-inclusive resorts. Still, never disregard rip currents, and always look out for the lifeguard signs.

Where should solo travelers stay in Florianópolis?

Lagoa da Conceição. It’s probably the area with the biggest international community on the island, from expats and international students to young tourists traveling solo, which makes it a great hub to meet other travelers.

Do you need a car in Florianópolis?

Wherever you stay, the best way to get around is by car: a rental, or a driver through Uber or 99. There’s a public bus network but no metro or train, and the lines are fragmented, so the bus only makes sense if you’re on a budget or traveling alone.

How much is an Uber from Florianópolis airport?

Around R$30 to the south of the island, and R$60 to R$90 to the north, depending on the category and on demand.

More Florianópolis guides