Florianopolis

I've been visiting Florianopolis once a year for the past 6 years for 2-3 weeks at time. This year I stayed there for 2 and a half months in Jurere, so I am somewhat of a mini expert.

Florianopolis is like many mini cities in one, essentially each neighborhood is it's own city and to traverse between neighborhoods you'll need a car. Fair warning the traffic in high season months (November - March and including those) is ridiculous, the city swells up x2 in population and it's simply not built for it. On top of that the island is quite big, so to go from one end to the other (i.e. north to south) you're gonna need 1-1.5h (assuming you have no traffic). All this to say that your choice of location is key for a great experience in Floripa. Here are my top pics

1. Jurere - this is the most upscale neighborhood in Floripa and one of 3 most upscale neighborhoods (and consequently most expensive real-estates) in the country. You will hear a lot of Russian spoken here, essentially if you see a family with a baby or a toddler there's an above 80% chance they are Russian. It's very safe, 9.8/10, children are riding bicycles into dusk on the street, it sits on one of the two best beaches with calm water (not for surfing), it's super clean and walkable and you'll want to walk to see all the beautiful villas. You can also get one of those electric scooters to buzz around and the roads are pretty good for Floripa standards. Speaking of which, half of the neighborhood are fancy condos and the other half Holywood villas. On one end of Jurere they inaugurated a new huge park full of capybaras and gators, which is ideal for walks and jogs. If you want to be fully car independent the key here is finding a place within walking distance from the super market. The two super markets are Imperatriz and Angeloni (Imperatriz has a decent gym two floors above in the same building). Drawback there's really not way to much to do. There's 2 good cafes, there's one fancy restaurant, lots of mediocre pizza places, and you are quite isolated from the rest of the island. In short it's great for people who are looking for a chiller experience and for families.

2. Centro - the center is very hilly, full of traffic, but decently well covered in sidewalks. There is no beach here, but there is a very long and nice promanade along the sea for jogging, outdoor gyms, roller blading and walks. You have access to some of the best restaurants on the island, cafes, bars, and other facilities (dentists, clinics, gyms etc). I never stayed here, but next time I go to Floripa I will stay here. I would avoid getting accommodation in the strict center (right next to Praca XV) it's crowded, unimpressive and not aesthetically pleasing. Same rules apply as with Jurere, get something within walking distance from super markets if you don't plan on getting a car. Again this is the urban center of the city, no beach here, if it's your first time in Floripa I suspect you may wanna be close to a beach* however, it will give you a good location for Ubering to pretty much any beach or hike path you may wanna visit, whether on the south or north of the island. As for the safety, I'd give it a 6.9/10 it's safer than 98% of Brazil, which is not saying much. I never felt threatened but a few years back my wife was almost mugged at the bus stop at around 9pm at a bus stop at "gun point" (guy pretended to have a gun likely) and the girl next to her was mugged. Be conscious, don't go to dodgie unpopulated dark streets in the middle of the night.

3. Campeche (and Novo Campeche) - so one year ago I stayed here for 2 weeks and that trip remained a pretty good memory. This neighborhood is heavily under construction and it's actually not super walkable, due to lack of side walks, with the exception of Av. Pequeno Principe which is the main restaurant street. At the time you are reading this, they will have many new fancy condos. I saw a lot of people surfing here, and the beach is very windy which makes it great for walks, less ideal for chilling on it. There's a very niche lifestyle here that works well, if you find one of those condos with a pool and a gym facing the sea in walking proximity of a good cafe and a super market, you can have nice walks on the beach, coffee, work outs, and chill (mega bonus points for you if you surf). And for a date night you can Uber to one of the restaurants in the main avenue (after traffic rush hour, because this is one of the most heavily congested part of town). Safety, I'd give it a 7.8/10 if your sticking closer to the beaches, less so if you are in more urban areas.

I've seen a comment here about the inhospitability/hostility of people, frankly I did not have that experience in the 6 years that I have been visiting Brazil. Generally I find Brazil services to some of the best in the world and fall into one of two categories, the disinterested phlegmatic ones that seem perpetually lost and the overwhelmingly helpful and hearty that will go above and beyond to make you feel welcome. Luckily about 85% of people fall in the latter. It does help that I speak Portugues though.

*Beaches - beaches are full of natural beauty, some have palm trees, others have nice cliffs and stones, others yet are long and wide and the open space itself is breath taking. Beaches along the east coast, facing the open sea, are for surfing, while those on the north are calmer waters. However, what these beaches are not, is for snorkling. Do not get fooled by google images of clear turquoise colored waters. The only exception is the Ilha do Campeche island, which is uninhabited and only accessible by boat.