12 Best Things to Do in Florianópolis: Beaches, Dunes, Trails and Oysters

From hiking through primary Atlantic Rainforest to an uninhabited beach to gliding by water bus across a mountain-ringed lagoon or feasting on freshly harvested oysters watching sunset over eighteenth-century colonial chapels, Florianópolis packs a remarkable range of coastal experiences onto a single island.

1. Boat to Ilha do Campeche and Its Prehistoric Petroglyphs

Cross 1.6 kilometres of open water from Praia da Armação or Barra da Lagoa to Ilha do Campeche, where calm Caribbean-blue waters meet guided trails to over 100 prehistoric rock petroglyphs.

2. Sandboard the Joaquina Dunes and Surf Praia Mole

Rent a wooden board at the edge of the shifting white Dunas da Joaquina to slide down steep sand slopes facing the Atlantic breakers of Praia da Joaquina and Praia Mole, then swim in the granite rock pools of Barra da Lagoa.

3. Take the Cooperbarco Boat to Car-Free Costa da Lagoa

Board the municipal wooden ferry at Lagoa da Conceição for a 40-minute cruise along roadless rainforest shores to Ponto 16 in Costa da Lagoa, where family-run seafood restaurants sit on wooden piers and a forest trail leads to a waterfall.

4. Hike to Wild Lagoinha do Leste and Morro da Coroa

Follow the coastal cliff trail from Pântano do Sul or Matadeiro into the municipal park of Lagoinha do Leste, climbing the granite crown of Morro da Coroa for the island's most dramatic photograph.

5. Essential Cultural, Heritage, and Culinary Experiences

• Walk Across the 1926 Ponte Hercílio Luz and Mercado Público: Cross Brazil's longest eye-bar suspension bridge (819.47 metres), pedestrianised on weekends, and sample crisp pastel de berbigão at the 1899 Mercado Público.
• Watch Sunset Over Oysters in Santo Antônio de Lisboa and Ribeirão da Ilha: Dine at a candlelit deck in 1750 Azorean Santo Antônio de Lisboa or 1748 Ribeirão da Ilha, tasting raw and gratinéed Pacific oysters harvested 100 metres offshore.
• Tour the 1740s Fortresses and Guarda do Embaú: Visit Fortaleza de São José da Ponta Grossa above Jurerê and day-trip south to Guarda do Embaú.