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.

Bali for grownups.
It's perfectly safe. I could walk in 95% areas of Floripa at night with my phone taken out without any feeling of danger. Safer than Rio, for sure.
All types of water sport and hikes are available here, so it's a good place for people who are into nature.
Place isn't very trendy and service sometimes isn't that good but it's getting there.
As anywhere in Brazil, people here don't in general speak English. But they're so friendly that they will always try to help you out and smile.
Outside of Centro you usually need a car, even though it's walkable as there are sidewalks, but distances are quite big for walking. Uber works everywhere so that wasn't an issue for me either. There is also a working food delivery.
Weather can be really nice in low season of June-August, in case you don't like when it's too hot.

In short, it's a great place to get familiar with Brazil if you're worried about safety.

Most unfriendly people I met in Brazil. Rest of Brazil average is very friendly and even Rio known for being a bit colder at least still relatively nice. Here they are plain aggressive. Maybe because so many tourists come so they don't care to be nice. Also infrastructure is too small for the amounts of people coming here now. A lot of traffic. And then there's the invisible speed bumps everywhere. The malls were quite nice. The housing also. We got an Airbnb on the lagoon for $150/night for an entire house. Very nice. You definitely need a car yes, Uber hard to get in some places here.

Florianopolis is absolutely beautiful. Amazing beaches and hiking. The seafood here is incredible. YOU NEED A CAR HERE. This place is hard to navigate without a vehicle. Public transportation and uber aren't great.

I think this is an amazing place to go with someone else. I wouldn’t recommend it for a long term solo traveler. The reason for that is I found the people to be a bit cold. I approached a lot of people and the interactions always felt so strange. IMO not a great place to mingle with the locals. They just seemed a bit standoffish and cold (I also have heard from other Brazilians that people from the south are cold. In comparison to Sao Paulo the people are so much more friendly and welcoming). It's much easier to mingle with the other foreigners.

Stayed one month in Floripa in Lagoa de Conceicao in February and March.
To sum up - if you like nature and hikes and tranquility it's gonna be good for you.
But if you're like me, prefer to be in big cities with big city benefits (walking distance to everything etc) there are better places. The distances between the places here are big and you need to get a uber everywhere (it's cheap but then if you take it everywhere it accumulates). There is not a lot of city infrastructure and benefits unless you go to centro. You should also do a research about weather because you might end up in a rainy month.

Pros:
- carnival in Feb - lots of parties and people going wild on the streets (if you like)
- very safe city for Brazilian standards
- more rich and happy people - there is mostly middle class and not a lot of differences between rich and poor like in other cities
- lots of nature - amazing views, hikes, beaches
- very diverse group of people, mostly with european origin
- people are super friendly
- cheap uber
- not a lot of foreigners (expats groups big enough to meet people and make friends but there are not foreigners everywhere)
- lots of gay people (if you're into that)

Cons:
- nature: lots of big insects, cockroaches in houses are normal, pretty humid climate which makes you sweat a lot and some people have respiratory problems
- climate a bit rainy - make sure to do proper research
- relatively small city not much going on
- carnival in Feb - (if you don't like parties) - also high traffic
- expensive for Brazilian standards
- places are spread out a lot - lots of distances to travel
- lots of gay people (as I straight guy and solo traveller I was a bit of tired of being approached by men - maybe it's mostly for carnaval)
- water in the sea is cold - reminds me of European seas

Great place to live!
Florianopolis is such a beautiful city, from the beaches to the buildings in Beira Mar Norte, I loved everything.
I lived in Coqueiros for 7 months and was awesome, quiet place, safe and lots of great restaurants to eat.

Great place to live , except during december, january and february - because it really gets crowded and it is not worthy, but the rest of the year, just go!!

This is a beautiful place with nice sandy beaches. There are plenty of places to go hiking and beaches to go relax at. Even with the pandemic, you can still visit some beaches. You can sometimes find bonfires and parties on Mole Beach. People sometimes rent boats here and take a tour of the other small islands around Florianopolis. Barra do Lagoa is nice if you want to take some surf lessons; the search house (hostel) is a great place to stay. Jurere is more upscale; it's a nice place to get an apartment with a few friends and have cookouts. Lagoa is nice, less expensive, and convenient, but not directly on the beach. In terms of safety, this place is the safest place I've been in Brazil - granted I didn't stay in central Florianopolis

One of the best places in Brazil. Beaches, hiking trails, connection with other Brazilian cities by air and the flights are not that expensive. I stayed there in April-June. No tourists, prices go down, everything is calm. Definitely it's the best in shoulder season (March-April or October-November). It can be noisy and pricey in the summer. People very friendly like everywhere in Brazil. I rented a studio room for 350$ in a nice quiet neighbourhood in 2019.

1Year there: I lived in this beautiful island for one year, and doing short trips abroad. Summer is the best time to visit and live in Floripa, but winter is not so bad.
Sports: If you love surfing and water sports like kitesurfing the island is for you.
Safety: The crime rates in Floripa are low and I never had problems or felt unsafe there no matter the time.
Cost of Living: in the winter I don't go out often and spend around $1000/monthly. But summer time is crazy, too many parties, barbecues, beach days, and countless dates ... I couldn't believe but my expenditure raised to +U$5000/monthly, but as I like to think "we just live once"

First off,the cost of living for Floripa is listed way to high, I rented a whole house for 1200 reais which is around $320 USD per month, food was about $25 a week pending on if you were to go out to eat a couple ti es a week. Beer and liquor were the pricey items. It was around $15 for a 12 pack of craft beers, (32 oz), but other than that, I got by on $500 a month for two months and still had more than enough money to live well, surf, party and meet tons of great people. Everytime I go to Floripa, I end up stayingfor at least a month or longer. People do speak English, butithelps if you can speak Portuguese orhave google translate. Not hard at all toget around either by car or by bus. They have all the modern tech you have at home there. Instead of staying in centro explore the other sides of the island you can find very inexpensive living outside of centro on the western shores and still be a stone throw away from the beach. My house was located in Rio Travieso, SC or the otherside of the mountain from centro. Tons of brew pubs, acia stands, gastro pubs, sushi and traditional resturants. Someplace chill, safe, andcost effective.

It is a good city, one of the bestest of Brazil because of the advanced respect in the city.
With a rich culture and respect, the city goes on.
You need to be careful just with manifestations, which occurs seldom.