Santa Catarina

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd
Santa Catarina
Pop 6.25 million
Includes 
Ilha de Santa
Catarina......................289
Florianópolis................291
The Mainland..............300
Joinville.......................300
Blumenau....................303
North of
Florianópolis...............308
South of
Florianópolis............... 310
Best Places
to Eat
¨¨Bistrô Santa Marta (p297)
¨¨Restaurante Lagoa Azul
(p297)
¨¨Urucum (p312)
¨¨Black Sheep (p291)
¨¨Abendbrothaus (p307)
Why Go?
Life’s a beach. At least in sunny Santa Catarina, which boasts
560km of spectacular coastline. If you like your beach deserted, there is a spot of sand for you in the south of Ilha
de Santa Catarina. If you prefer a party scene, head further
north on that same island. If you’re all about big surf, it’s
up in Guarda do Embaú and Praia do Rosa, two absolutely
stunning surf villages south of Florianópolis.
Sun and sand aside, the inland regions are also where
Santa Catarina exhibits the profound influence of its German ancestry, most evident during Oktoberfest, Blumenau’s
huge festival for folk dancing, accordion playing and beer
drinking (mostly beer drinking). But the alpine architecture
and fresh-brewed beer are here to enjoy year-round.
Like the other southern states, Santa Catarina enjoys
some of Brazil’s highest standards of living, with sound infrastructure and a blonde-haired, blue-eyed population that
often feels more European than Latin.
When to Go
Florianópolis
Rainfall inches/mm
°C/°F Temp
40/104
20/500
16/400
30/86
Best Places
to Stay
¨¨Janela de Márcia (p297)
¨¨Pousada Natur Campeche
(p299)
¨¨Pousada La Roca (p312)
¨¨Quinta do Bucanero (p312)
¨¨Tucano House (p296)
12/300
20/68
8/200
10/50
0/32
4/100
0
J
F
M
Jan, Feb & Oct
Whether Sommerfest or Oktoberfest, Blumenau is
awash in beer and
brats.
A
M
J
J
A
Mar & Apr
Post-Carnaval, the
sun still shines in
Florianópolis.
S
O
N
D
Jun & Jul Join the
Brazilian celebration of winter
kitsch in Santa
Catarina’s Serra
Geral.
Ilha de Santa Catarina has a vibrant and varied coastline, from the calm, crowded bays
of the north, to the wild, cliff-hugging beaches of the south. But it’s not just the beaches
that make this island so enchanting. A forest of protected pines shelters the east coast,
while the dunes near Praia da Joaquina create a lunar landscape. The spine of mountains, luxuriant with the Mata Atlântica
(Atlantic rainforest), drops precipitously
down to the lovely Lagoa da Conceição.
Though technically speaking, the whole
island is Florianópolis, it’s downtown Floripa, known as Centro, that is both the political capital of Santa Catarina, the cultural
capital of southern Brazil and the gateway
to the rest of the island. The island’s bairros
(districts) can feel like completely different
towns, with their own distinct personalities
and infrastructure.
88 Getting There & Around
Florianópolis is the state’s transportation hub,
with direct bus and air services to every major
city in Brazil. Joinville also has direct air services
to São Paulo, with connections to other major
cities. Most destinations within Santa Catarina are accessible from Florianópolis by bus;
­services are extensive and dependable.
BR
BR
Xanxerê
Caçador
Barragem do
Passo Fundo
Chapecó
Joaçaba
Concórdia
Erechim
BR
153
Carazinho
BR
285
Cruz Alta
Passo
Fundo
BR
BR
158
29ºS
0
0
53ºW
Rodeio
São Francisco
do Sul
Ilha de São
Francisco
Barra Velha
Piçarras
Armacão
Balneário 27ºS
Camboriú
Porto Belo
Rio do Sul
Florianópolis Ilha de
Santa
Costa da
Catarina
Lagoa
Ri
Ilha do
Lages
o
São José Campeche
Pe
Parque
Guarda
lo
Urubici Estadual da
ta
do Embaú
Serra do
s Parque Nacional
Garopaba
Praia do Rosa
de São Joaquim Tabuleiro
Imbituba
Rio Grande
São Joaquim
Tubarão
Laguna
do Sul
Vacaria
Criciúma
BR
470
282
116
BR
BR
101
do Sul
Vale Europeu
BR
Blumenau
116
rra
Se eral
G
Frederico
Westphalen
Santa
Catarina
153
282
27ºS
Serra do MarJaguará
100 km
50 miles
Bento
Gonçalves
Caxias
do Sul
51ºW
Cambará
do Sul
Tainhas
S
Ge erra
ra
l
São Miguel
D'Oeste
BR
49ºW 376
Joinville
51ºW
Pato Branco
BR
101
Araranguá
Parque Nacional de
Aparados da Serra
Torres
49ºW
29ºS
Santa Catarina Highlights
rich beer culture in the Vale
Europeu (p309).
Oktoberfest in Blumenau
(p303).
sophisticated surfer
atmosphere in stunning
Praia do Rosa (p312).
4 Joining the parade of
surfers and sun-worshipers
wading through the Rio
da Madre to the stunning
beach at Guarda do Embaú
(p310).
6 Losing a day gorging on
fresh seafood and cold beer
on the waterfront in Costa
da Lagoa (p297).
3 Drinking your way
5 Saying Prost! to the
1 Sunning, surfing and
snorkeling around the wild
sands of beautiful Ilha de
Santa Catarina (p289).
2 Sucking up the
through Santa Catarina’s
world’s third-largest
7 Beach-hopping via the
fun-packed Parque Unipraias
in Balneário Camboriú
(p308).
Sa nta Cata ri n a IGlLHA
ehtting
a d
DE
e STA
ahN
nta
eTA
r eC&ATAR
ata
A rroIin
u
Nn
ad
A
In the 1820s, a newly independent Brazil
realized the strategic importance of this
region on the frontier between the Spanish and Portuguese Americas. The ­emperor
invited German-speaking immigrants to
develop the land and serve as a buffer
against Spanish insurgency. The German
immigrants – and Italians who followed –
never adopted the plantation culture of the
Northeast. Instead, the economy was based
on small, family-­owned farms, a legacy that
lives on in the region’s egalitarian politics
and equitable distribution of income.
53ºW
289
Ilha de Santa
Catarina
History