Surfing in Brazil: The Island It All Revolves Around

We are not a surf company and we are not going to pretend to be one. We do not run surf camps, we do not read swell charts for a living, and if what you want is a fortnight of dawn patrols with a coach, somebody else should sell you that. What we do know is where surfing sits inside a Brazil trip, which island the whole thing revolves around, and how to build days that work for a surfer travelling with people who do not surf.

Quick answer: The centre of surfing in Brazil, for a traveller, is Florianópolis, an island of 42 beaches whose southern half is undeveloped on purpose and carries a strong surf culture. The north is calmer, flatter and sociable, which is what makes the island work for a mixed group. Joaquina is the beach the surfing is built around. Elsewhere, the ocean-facing side of Ilha Grande has surf and wind. April to May and September to November are the pleasant, uncrowded months; December to March is high summer and busy.

Where is the surfing in Brazil, for someone on a trip?

Florianópolis, and it is not close. Locals call it Floripa, it is an island of 42 beaches joined to the mainland, and the clearest way to understand it is as two islands stuck together in the middle. Which half you are in tells you almost everything about the day ahead.

The south is the surf half. Dirt access roads, Atlantic forest running down to the sand, beaches you can only reach on foot, and a surf culture that has been there far longer than the tourism. This is the half people mean when they say Floripa still feels wild. It is quieter and cooler in mood and it rewards anybody willing to walk a little.

The north is the other trip. Developed, sociable, warmer and flatter water, family beaches and the island's most polished districts, including the beach clubs at Jurerê Internacional. Less effort and more comfort.

That split is the actual reason we send surfers here rather than anywhere else. One island holds both a wild surf coast and a calm family beach twenty minutes apart, which is a rarer thing than a good wave.

Joaquina, and the beaches worth building a day around

Joaquina is the one. Surf and sand dunes in the same frame, with the big pale dune field rising behind the beach and sandboarding on it for anybody who has had enough of salt water. If you only get one surf beach on the island, it is this.

Around it, the beaches that make the island worth a week rather than a weekend:

• Lagoinha do Leste. The signature walk. A ridge trail drops you onto an empty crescent of sand with its own lagoon behind it, Atlantic forest on both sides. Hike in, which is exactly why it stays empty.
• Praia Mole and Santinho. The other names that come up constantly in the surf south, and where a lot of the island's surfing actually happens day to day.
• Ilha do Campeche. Not a surf beach at all. A protected island offshore with shallow turquoise water, and the right way to spend the day the sea is flat.
• Mocambique. A very long, empty, forest-backed beach, the sort you walk down rather than sit on.
• Lagoa da Conceição. The big inland lagoon ringed by green hills, which is where the island goes when the ocean is not cooperating.

Is there surf anywhere else on our routes?

Some, and we would rather name the two we actually know than list a coastline we do not sell.

The ocean-facing side of Ilha Grande is exposed to the open Atlantic and has surf and wind, along with a handful of remote beaches, Aventureiro among them, that take a long boat ride or a serious hike to reach. It is not a surf destination and nobody should route a trip around it for the waves, but if you are on the island anyway and the swell is up, the wild side is where it will be.

Brazil has famous surf well beyond both of these, on coasts where we do not run trips. We are not going to write those up from a map. Our beach guide covers the coasts we do know, and it is honest about which is which.

When should a surfer come?

Florianópolis is in the south of Brazil, which means the seasons are sharper here than anywhere else in the country and they are upside down from the northern hemisphere.

December to March is high summer: hot, the beaches busy, afternoon storms common, and the island at its most social. It is the peak of the Brazilian holiday season, so it is also the priciest and the fullest.

April and May are the window we would pick. Late summer easing into autumn, still warm, the crowds gone.

June to August is winter, and in the south that means genuinely cold, especially inland and at night. The beaches are quiet. It also brings something else worth knowing about: the southern right whales arrive off the Santa Catarina coast, roughly July to November with September and October usually the best months for sightings.

September to November is spring, warming and greener, and along with April and May it is where the good months are.

Our guide to the best time to visit Brazil puts that next to the rest of the country, which matters if the surf is one leg of a longer route rather than the whole trip.

How we actually handle this

We build private, tailor-made travel, so the surfing goes into a trip rather than being the trip.

In practice that means the flexible version: a base on the island, a guide who knows which half of it to be on given the day, and days that split when they need to, so one of you is at Joaquina while the rest of the group is on flat water in the north or on a boat to Campeche.

We also arrange lessons for people who want to try it rather than pursue it, which is most of the people who ask us. That is a different request from a surf trip and we would rather you got the right one.

The honest limit, again: for a dedicated surf holiday with a coach, daily sessions and a chase for the best conditions, a specialist surf operator will serve you better than we will, and we will say so on the call rather than after the deposit.

Summary FAQ

Where is the best surfing in Brazil for a traveller? Florianópolis, in the south. The island's southern half is deliberately undeveloped, with forest-backed beaches, dirt access roads and a long-standing surf culture, and Joaquina is the beach most of it is built around.

Is Florianópolis good for non-surfers too? Yes, and that is the main reason we recommend it. The island splits into a wild surf south and a calm, sociable north with flatter water, family beaches and beach clubs, so a group can do both without splitting up for the week.

When is the best time to surf in Brazil? April and May or September to November are the pleasant, uncrowded months in Florianópolis. December to March is high summer, hot and busy at Brazilian holiday prices. June to August is winter and genuinely cold in the south, though the beaches are empty and the whales arrive.

Can you see whales in Florianópolis? Southern right whales appear along the Santa Catarina coast roughly July to November, with September and October usually the best sighting months. It pairs naturally with a quiet winter stay on the island.

Do you run surf trips? No. We build private tailor-made travel and fit surfing into it, including lessons for people who want to try it. For a dedicated surf holiday with a coach and daily sessions, a specialist surf operator is the better choice and we will tell you so.

Does Ilha Grande have surf? Its ocean-facing side does, being exposed to the open Atlantic, along with wind and several remote beaches reached by long boat rides or serious hikes. It is not a reason to go there, but it is where the waves are if you are on the island already.

Tell us whether the surfing is the trip or one part of it, and we will build the island days around the answer, including the ones where half your group wants flat water. You will have a personal, non-binding proposal within 24 hours. Our adventure and active journey is where those island days sit inside a longer route.