What a great place to live! A stunning island in the South Atlantic, located just an hour by plane from São Paulo, with more than 40 beaches.

Guga’s  famous tips about Floripa!

What a great place to live! A stunning island in the South Atlantic, located just an hour by plane from São Paulo, with more than 40 white-sand beaches, an amazing lagoon surrounded by lush nature, good surfing, outdoor sports and lots and lots of beautiful people, chosen by The New York Times as the best party destination in Latin America.

The place to be is Florianopolis, one of the coolest destinations in Brazil.

“As South American jet-set spots like Punta del Este in Uruguay lose their novelty, affluent Brazilians and in-the-know internationals have taken the party to Florianópolis and the 40-odd white-sand beaches of the 33-mile-long island that makes up much of the city. Caipirinha-soaked lounges, stylish beach bars and cavernous mega clubs have sprouted all over the island. Once a favored spot of the surf-world cognoscenti, Florianópolis, some 450 miles southwest of Rio de Janeiro, has emerged as Latin America’s hottest new party destination…..”

“Here you have the combination of Sunset Strip-style and Ibiza-style night life mixed in with the Brazilian proclivity for relaxing and having fun”  By S.Sherwood.

You will find a lot of things on the internet about Florianopolis, but these are my personal tips, so you can enjoy the island at its fullest!

Lagoa da Conceição & Barra da Lagoa. Stay in the Lagoa area and you will be close to the best surfing beaches, restaurants, pubs, bars, cafés and nightclubs. Stay in lagoa da Conceição and you won’t regret it, for more information contact www.americadosol.com my favorite travel agency on the island, managed by three smart Brazilian women, Camila, Ana and Juliana. If you are thinking of buying real estate here and living the life of your dreams, visit my friend Leo´s website:  www.imoveisflorianopolis.net  (English spoken).

• Joaquina : (classic) good surfing, watch out for locals while surfing, amazing dunes (for R$ 5,00 you can rent a sandboard, just ask the locals for Waimea dune).
• Praia Mole – good surfing, good hang out, young crowd;
• Campeche – Riozinho Spot and Novo Campeche – alternative crowd, beautiful people, perfect for kitesurfing and surfing and if there are no waves and you are brave enough, you can try paddling your surfboard to Campeche Island (20 min). Whales can be seen in the winter (June – August)
• Jurerê – amazing day clubs like P-12 and Café de la Musique, it’s the beach you can go to see and be seen, if you know what I mean…
• Praia Brava: Good surfing, crazy  traffic, nice kiosk on the beach called Pirata. Rent a scooter at Locomotos and have a laugh watching the car jam on the way to the beach.

Lagoa da Conceição during the day

Try the refreshing Brazilian Amazon fruit called Açai and empanadas found everywhere in Floripa… Café Cultura in lagoa is a must go coffee shop, my friends Josh and Luciana speak English and can give more info about the island…When I am hungry at lunchtime..(remember  most of the restaurants open from 12:00 to 3:00pm) I normally go to Rancho da Jackie at Porto da Lagoa, all you can eat self service for only R$ 12,00 (for the munchies try  Melona Ice-cream). Lagoa Oriental is a kilo restaurant inside the mall in lagoa (kilo restaurants have a self service system that you pay per kilo, so you pay for what you actually eat….honest, don’t you think? Sol do Meio Dia, owned by an Armenian friend of mine is located at Porto da Lagoa, near Rancho da Jackie and serves really good organic food… try the aloe vera juice….

If you are willing to spend a little bit more you can try these seafood restaurant:  Barba Negra, near LocoMotos on Rendeiras Ave. has an amazing selection of fish and great octopus (try the shrimp festival they have, one of Floripa`s most traditional dishes (sequencia de camarão). Ponta da Caranhas owned by a native family has one of the best views while eating on the island….the waiters are super friendly, but they have to practice playing soccer a little bit more because they always lose when they play against my team at Mar-5…

Secret Spot – the best squid stuffed with shrimp – Toca da Lontra located between Lagoa and Praia Mole, if you can find it you will see a little piece of heaven on earth.

Lagoa da Conceição by night

The are so many options in lagoa at night that you can just go with the flow …. But here are my choices… from a great Thai dinner at Thai Restaurant owned by Luciano and Beto Flesses on the way to Joaquina, one of Kelly Slater´s favorite restaurants on the island…Creperia Degrau, a historic house near the main church of Lagoa (Santuario da Imaculada Conceição) is  considered to be the oldest creperia in Brazil… good variety of draft beer. Fatto a Mano, need some carbohydrates?, Paulinho serves the best pasta in lagoa…. Talking about pasta, on a Sunday night (Brazil’s traditional day for pizza) go to Pizzeria Basilico at Canto da Lagoa and enjoy one of the best pizzas in the world…

South of the Island

Ribeirão da Ilha on the south has the largest oyster farms on the island. Porto do Contrato Restaurant and Ostradamus are my favorite options. The sunset there is unbelievable (bring your camera).

At Pantano do Sul beach you will find the most traditional Brazilian restaurant on the island, Arantes, go there during the day….the cachaça is on the house, owned by Seu Arantes and his family… Going there you will understand what Floripa is all about !

North of the Island

Santo Antonio de Lisboa and Sambaqui are also very famous for oysters. In Santo Antonio de Lisboa head to the kiosk across from the old church called Cantinho da Ostra, one of the freshest and cheapest oysters in Floripa…. Ask for pastel de camarão com queijo for only R$ 2,00... together with an Original gelada (Brazilian classic beer served chilled). Try Espagueteria  Santo Antonio and Restinga Restaurant.

Downtown

If the weather sucks, go to Mercado Publico (Public Market) in downtown Florianopolis and check Spinoza Bar and the famous Box 32, frequented by locals, tourists (even the President of Brazil, Lula was there), you will see why some people say they serve the best pastel de camarão (Shrimp Empanada) of the island.

Botequim, simply the best draft beer on the whole island, good variety of cachaças (brazilian aguardiente) amazing appetizers.

It’s so good to be in Floripa at night, there are so many options, less than Sao Paulo, but really fancy clubs, lounge bars, pubs…. In Floripa, samba, house music, bossa nova and rap will always be together.

Confraria das Artes – One of the best Clubs in Brazil (really good restaurant inside) if you eat there you don’t have to pay the entrance fee.

Vecchio Giorgio – In my golden years I used to go to Vecchio Giorgio´s first and afterwards head to Confraria das Artes, arriving home in the morning with my wife Camila…. Vecchio Giorgio has good caipirinhas, try the Persian lime and red berry caipirinhas, good & alternative bands playing bossa nova, with electronic music and percussion…

John Bull Pub – My friend Glauber´s favorite club for good old rock & roll – Thusday night Ladies free.

Botequim -  simply the best draft beer on the whole island, good variety of cachaças (Brazilian aguardiente) amazing appetizers.

Confraria Chop da Ilha – the best picanha on the island. The meat is cooked at your table while having a cold Brahma Chop. Prost !

El Divino Lounge – young crowd from 17 to 25, beautiful women. A friend of mine told me : “…a place to see and be seen, but without love.”  House music and hip hop... hang out in the lounge area, and if you feel like it, you can pay the entrance fee and get inside the club.

Pacha – In Jurere, this franchise from a club in Ibiza used to be called El Divino Club, holds big concerts and electronic festivals.

Bianco Lounge – new club that opened near the Pizza Hut on Beira Mar Ave. Not cheap, beautiful crowd (25 – 35), house and lounge music.

Freedom is our soul’s oxygen! Public transportation in Florianopolis is good, but normally you have to wait a long time at the bus stop waiting for the right bus to come…. Renting a car can be nice, but you will be stuck inside a car and be in traffic for hours, spending lots of gas and time while on the Magic Island. So send us an email locomotos@locomotos.com.br or call us at  +55-48-3232-1717  and choose from a Suzuki scooter 125cc to a  Honda trail motorcycle 150cc… with more than 20 motorcycles, scooter and bicycles, LocoMotos is the only motorcycle rental shop in southern Brazil. English and Spanish spoken, we will provide you a map and point out the best routes, so you can make the most of your time in Floripa.

Getting to know the nicest beaches, trails, landscapes, cafés, bars, clubs, ruins….carpe diem !

LocoMotos – Av. das Rendeiras, 1462 – Lagoa da Conceição Florianópolis – Santa Catarina – 88062-400  - Tel. +55(48) 3232-1717 (from the aiport take any taxi to lagoa (R$ 30,00), If you arrived in Florianopolis by bus, walk from the bus station to the main terminal across the street from the public market and take a bus to Barra da Lagoa or Lagoa da Conceição (R$ 2,00), ask the driver to let you down near the Barracuda Restaurant at Rendeiras Avenue and you will find LocoMotos.

Trekking – with a lot of options prepare your best sneakers, and get ready to explore the Magic Island, there are treks connecting deserted beaches like the trail from Armação to Lagoinha do Leste. Amazing trails with secret spots for surfing, like the trail between Joaquina and Praia Mole, mountain climbing like the Cambirela  6-hour trek where you can see the whole island from the mainland... Be a traveler not a tourist and get to know the magic beauty of Floripa…. 

Surfing -  Depending on the swell, wind, normally northeast or south you can choose more than 10 beach breaks, like Praia Mole, Moçambique, Joaquina, Santinho, Armação, Matadeiro, Capeche, Lagoinha do Leste, Ingleses, etc. Check the website www.waves.com.br for more info.

Fortress Ruins (Santo Antonio Fortress) – Among the most significant architectural elements of the forts are the portada, the water well and the aqueduct which joins the commander´s house to the troop quarters. It has an original and interesting method of retrieving, transporting and using rain water from the roofs of the main buildings. Santo Antonio Fortress is only accessible by boat. You can arrange a half day or one day trip with America do Sol travel agency and visit all of them.

Hanging out – Its really good to do nothing in Floripa, so get your motorcycle, scooter or bicycle and go with the wind, before you know it you will find yourself hanging out on the beach, watching the sun go down while smoking or reading a book, thinking…. Ahhhh Floripa…. Its so good to be here, its so good to be alive.

May the force be with you !

Abraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaço ! Axé !

Guga Tarikian

Contact : locomotos@locomotos.com.br