Guides ·Day trips

The drive and the fee

BR-101 north, exit at Porto Belo, follow signs to Bombinhas. One toll R$8.60. In summer (December 15 to March 15) the peninsula charges an environmental preservation fee, TPA, of R$8.30 per person collected at the entrance. Bus option: Praiana line from Rita Maria to Bombinhas terminal, R$45, 2 hours. Drivers should budget the full 90 minutes only outside the January rush; on a Saturday in high season the BR-101 backs up past Tijucas and the same trip can run to two and a half hours.

Parking near Praia Central fills by 10am in January and February, so arrive early or park at Praia de Bombinhas' municipal lot for R$25 the day and walk. There is no toll on the return leg, only the outbound one at Porto Belo. If you are coming from Balneário Camboriú rather than Florianópolis, shave 25 minutes off the drive by cutting through Porto Belo without touching the BR-101 at all. The Praiana bus runs roughly every two hours and is the honest budget option if you are traveling without a car and do not mind a slower return.

Which beach to pick

Praia da Sepultura for snorkeling — small, protected, water so clear you’ll see fish without a mask. Praia de Bombinhas itself is the main strip with kiosks and easier parking. Praia da Lagoinha for the walk-in cove feel. Rent snorkel gear at Sepultura for R$25 the day. Lunch at Casarão dos Camarões, camarão à provençal R$140 for two. Reserva do Arvoredo boat trips (R$180 per person) leave from the pier and remain the honest way to see the marine reserve. Sepultura is the pick if you only have time for one stop; it rewards a 20-minute walk down from the road with the calmest water on the peninsula.

Praia de Mariscal, on the ocean-facing side, has heavier surf and suits swimmers over snorkelers — skip it if visibility is the goal. Canto Grande, further south past Bombas, is quieter and better for families with small children who want shallow, gentle water rather than a mask-and-fins outing. Zimbros, on the bay side near the entrance to the peninsula, is convenient if you are short on time but the water is noticeably less clear than Sepultura or Retiro dos Padres. For a full day, pair Sepultura in the morning with Praia Central for lunch and kiosks in the afternoon.

Diving and the marine reserve

Reserva Biológica Marinha do Arvoredo sits a short boat ride offshore and is the reason serious divers detour to Bombinhas rather than staying in Florianópolis. Dive operators based at the Bombinhas pier run two-tank trips for around R$350 to R$420 per person including gear, with visibility best from April to June and September to November when the water runs 6 to 12 meters clear. Snorkel-only boat trips, the ones advertised as passeio de barco, run R$180 per person and stop at Ilha do Arvoredo and Galé without letting anyone in the water at the strict no-anchor zones.

Book dive trips at least two days ahead in shoulder season and a week ahead in January, when boats sell out by Wednesday for the coming weekend. Skip the jet-ski and banana-boat touts that work Praia Central — they are priced for tourists who have not checked the snorkel-boat rate and add nothing the R$180 trip does not already cover. If you only want to look rather than dive, a mask and the Sepultura walk-in is the free version of the same view on a calm day.

Where to stay if you turn it into an overnight

Most visitors do Bombinhas as a day trip from Florianópolis or Balneário Camboriú, but the peninsula works as an overnight if you want an early boat or a second beach day without the drive twice. Castellammare Bombinhas Flat Residence sits near Praia de Bombinhas itself, useful for walking to kiosks and the pier, with flats running roughly R$280 to R$450 a night in January and half that in May. Pousada Vila do Coral is the smaller, quieter pick, better suited to a couple wanting proximity to Praia de Mariscal rather than the main strip.

Neither property is walking distance to Sepultura, so budget a five-minute drive or a R$20 taxi for the best snorkeling regardless of where you sleep. Booking two to three weeks ahead is enough outside December and January; inside high season, a month ahead is safer since the peninsula's bed count is small compared with Florianópolis. If price is the only factor, a day trip beats an overnight — accommodations here run noticeably higher than equivalent options back in Florianópolis.

Eating beyond the beach kiosks

Casarão dos Camarões, already worth the stop for the camarão à provençal at R$140 for two, also does a whole fried fish plate for around R$110 that serves two comfortably and is the better choice if shrimp is not the point. Kiosks along Praia Central sell grilled fish plates for R$45 to R$60, fine for a fast lunch but not worth planning a meal around. For a slower dinner, the restaurants clustered along Rua Alberto Ademar Franchi in Bombas serve the same seafood at prices 10 to 15 percent below the Bombinhas strip proper, since Bombas draws fewer day-trippers.

Skip the beachfront spots directly on Praia de Bombinhas after 7pm in January — turnover is fast, service slows, and the same dishes cost more than they do two minutes' walk inland. Ice cream stands along the main drag charge R$18 to R$25 for a small cup, standard for a Santa Catarina beach town rather than a Bombinhas markup specifically. Reserve a table at Casarão dos Camarões on weekends in high season; it does not take walk-ins after 8pm from December through February.

When to skip Bombinhas entirely

The last two weeks of December through Carnaval are the wrong window for anyone chasing the clear-water reputation: the TPA fee is at its highest enforcement, parking is gone by mid-morning, and the water itself carries more sediment from crowds and boat traffic than the photos suggest. If clear water is the actual goal rather than a beach day, March through May or September through November deliver the calm, plankton-free sea the peninsula is known for, at a fraction of the summer prices and none of the queue at the entrance booth.

The boat tours sold aggressively along Praia Central promising a full-island circuit for R$250 or more are usually the same Arvoredo-and-Galé route as the R$180 snorkel trip with a longer commentary track added — check the stops before paying the difference. Overcast winter weekdays, June through August, are genuinely quiet and cheap but the water runs cold enough that snorkeling loses its appeal; that season suits a walking and lunch day rather than a swimming one.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask before they set off on this one.

Rooms worth pairing with this guide.

Bombinhas Pousada Vila do Coral

4.0/5 See price

Bombinhas Castellammare Bombinhas Flat Residence

4.0/5 See price

Bombinhas Refugio Costeiro II

4.0/5 See price

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