Brazil: Florianópolis
Florianópolis is a major travel hotspot in Brazil, with local Brazilians flock from all over the country to this beautiful island renowned for its long sandy beaches. Think travellers paradise, we arrived and headed to a cute hipster café on the same street as our hostel, and sat back watching a woman paint a beautiful mandala on a bare piece of concrete on the side of the street. We instantly dropped back into beach life, and the friendly, welcoming atmosphere continued everywhere we went. As we were there in January, which is the islands high season, we were able to see the amount of love that Brazilians have for this place. The overflowing beaches, buzzing bars and restaurants provided a welcoming, buzzy exciting atmosphere for the next leg of our trip. As well as having a beach, visitors also have the choice to relax along the lake front (Lagoa de Conceiçao) which was a beautiful chilled spot, especially for the paddle boarders.
Having heard many good things about Barra Beach Club Hostel (above) we decided to stay here during our time in Florianópolis. The hostel was in a great location, just up from a beautiful beach cove and the perfect distance from Barra beach which was the other main one in the area. One thing to mention about the hostel is it does run out of water and so having a shower can sometimes be hard, we learnt this mid-shower which was a bit of a shock at first. However, this is very normal on the island so don’t be quick to judge the hostel! One hidden gem we did find when on the island was Rosemary Dream Hostel, if you are looking for the perfect place to relax we would highly recommend a visit. The hostel looks over Barra Beach and is about 500 metres from the Natural swimming pools. Offering activities such as; yoga, meditation, dance class, workouts, therapies and massages the hostel is the perfect place if you are looking for peace and tranquility (pictured below).
There are 42 beaches on Florianópolis and so you can easily find one to match your mood. If you are looking for a more chilled out beach then we would recommend visiting Mole Beach. Mole beach (our favourite one on the island) is known for its strong and long waves which make it ideal for surfing, there are also loads of lively beach bars stretching along the beachfront, offering live music, dance areas and even some with a more party vibe for the late afternoon. Another beach we visited was Barra beach, we found this to be extremely busy down the left hand side, however if you head towards the right you can find the perfect peaceful spot to set up for the day. If you are interested in surfing this beach also offers the perfect waves for beginners!
After 4 days in Florianópolis we had certainly made the most of their local food and drinks. Pretty much every street corner there’s a funky stall serving açai bowls loaded up with fresh fruit and chocolate sauces. You’ll also find stalls all along the beach and city serving Brazil’s finest ‘caipirinha’, a cocktail made from their local spirit cachaça, trust us when we say they’re worth a try.
As we were trying to budget at this point in our trip, in terms of restaurants we didn’t visit many, choosing instead to cook in the hostels and make picnics for our beach days. Again there are many local fruit and veg markets where you can cook up a storm for about £3. Here’s a candid photo of me enjoying our home-cooked stir fry from a tupperware on the beach, ahh the wonderful crash back to reality. Overall we loved our stay in Florianópolis, depending on your mood you can stay in the city, on the lake or on the beach front giving a variety of choice.
