In short
Florianópolis is an island — Santa Catarina Island — linked to the mainland by three bridges. It has more than forty beaches, and it divides clearly in two.
The north (Jurerê, Canasvieiras, Ingleses) is built up, equipped, visited by mass Brazilian and Argentine tourism. The south (Campeche, Armação, Pântano do Sul) has stayed rustic, with fishing villages and little-built beaches. Lagoa da Conceição, in the centre, is the hub of nightlife and remote work.
Arriving and getting around
Hercílio Luz airport is south of the city, with domestic links and some regional international flights.
A car is very useful: the island is about fifty kilometres long and the bus network, where it exists, requires changes at the terminals.
What it really costs
Florianópolis is more expensive than the Brazilian average, especially in summer.
Prices double in January–February, when Brazilians and Argentines arrive en masse. Out of season, the island is cheap and quiet.
It is one of Brazil's most established remote-work bases, with coworking spaces around the Lagoa.
When to come
March–May and September–November: water still warm, island alive, reasonable prices.
January–February is saturated. Winter (June–August) is cool and windy, the water too cold for swimming without a wetsuit.
What nobody tells you
The water is markedly colder than you expect of a Brazilian beach: the Falklands current runs up this coast. Even in summer the sea is cooler than at Rio.
Joaquina and Praia Mole are the surf beaches; Praia da Galheta, reachable only on foot, is naturist and officially recognised as such.
Lagoa da Conceição is a brackish lagoon, warmer than the ocean, and that is where kitesurfing and windsurfing happen.
The island's cooking is Azorean: the Azores supplied most of the settlement in the eighteenth century, and the farmed oysters of the northern bay are its emblematic product.