Pousada Rota das Praias
Pousada Rota das Praias is an economical option in Penha, Santa Catarina, handy for travellers focused on Praia Mole and the main sights.
Guests typically choose Penha for its balance of location and price; Pousada Rota das Praias is a good fit if you want to be near the action in Santa Catarina.
Key facts
What’s included
Around Penha
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How many nights and a sensible first-timer route
Seven nights is the sweet spot for a first visit. A workable shape: two nights in Florianopolis (one south-island beach day at Campeche or Armacao, one in the Centro and Lagoa), two in Praia do Rosa or Garopaba for the surf coast and — from June to October — the southern right whales off Imbituba, then three in the serra split between Urubici and Sao Joaquim for the canyons, apple country and Morro da Igreja.
Ten nights lets you add Bombinhas for snorkelling at Ilha do Arvoredo and a night in Blumenau or Pomerode for the German-colonial stretch. Four or five nights is enough if you stay only on Florianopolis island and pick two or three beaches. Don’t try to do the coast and the serra in under a week — the 250 km from Florianopolis to Urubici eats a full day each way once you factor in the climb up Serra do Rio do Rastro.
What hotels actually cost in Santa Catarina
In low season (April-November, excluding July inland and Oktoberfest), budget pousadas in Ingleses, Canasvieiras, Bombas or Garopaba run R$180-280 a night for a double with breakfast. Mid-range three-star hotels in Florianopolis Centro, Balneario Camboriu or Blumenau sit around R$350-550. Top-end in Jurere Internacional, Praia do Rosa boutique pousadas or the Ponta dos Ganchos in Governador Celso Ramos start at R$1,200 and climb past R$3,000.
In peak summer (late December to mid-February) and over Carnaval, expect roughly double across the board — a R$300 pousada in Bombinhas becomes R$600, and Jurere beachfront can clear R$2,500 a night. Oktoberfest doubles Blumenau and Pomerode rates for three weeks in October; July doubles Urubici, Sao Joaquim and Treze Tilias. Booking three months out for these windows is normal, not cautious.
The Santa Catarina booking trap: north island vs south island
First-timers book Canasvieiras or Ingleses because they’re cheap and called "Florianopolis", then find themselves 40 km and an hour of traffic from Lagoa, the Centro and the south-island beaches everyone told them to visit. The north of the island is calm-water, family-holiday territory aimed at the Mercosur summer crowd; the south (Campeche, Armacao, Pantano do Sul, Praia do Rosa is further still on the mainland) is the surf-and-scenery side. They are effectively different holidays.
The fix: decide first whether you want warm calm water and Argentine buffets (north) or wilder beaches and a car (south and centre), then book the area, not the city. Lagoa da Conceicao is the compromise base — central, restaurants, buses to both coasts, and rates lower than Jurere. Also worth knowing: "Florianopolis" the municipality covers the whole island plus a bit of mainland, so a hotel address saying Florianopolis tells you almost nothing until you check the bairro.