Laguna
Colonial fishing town where fishermen and wild dolphins cooperate to catch mullet — historic centre and long ocean beaches.
Colonial waterfront buildings and fishing boats at Laguna's historic centre
Why people stay in Laguna
Laguna is one of the strangest and most beautiful stops on the south coast: a colonial town founded in 1676 with a proper historic centre (Anita Garibaldi's house, the Museu Anita, 18th-century Portuguese façades) and, at the mouth of the lagoon on Praia do Molhe, a unique fisherman-dolphin cooperation that has continued for 150 years. Local mullet fishermen wait in the shallows; wild bottlenose dolphins drive fish into casting range and signal with a specific tail-slap when to throw the net. Nobody trained the dolphins. It just happens, still, daily during mullet season (April–July).
Beyond the dolphins and the colonial centre, Laguna has 30 km of open-ocean beach at Praia do Mar Grosso and Cabo de Santa Marta — the southernmost lighthouse of Santa Catarina and one of the best kite-surf spots in Brazil (Cabo Santa Marta consistently ranks in the top-3 kite destinations for consistent southerly winds October–March). Laguna town itself is quiet and undertouristed relative to what it offers. Base yourself here for two nights on the way south from Florianópolis if you want history, dolphins and empty beaches.
At 9pm the historic centre is close to silent — a couple of bars on Rua Gustavo Richard with plastic tables out on the cobbles, the odd guitar, cats on the church steps. It is not a nightlife town and does not pretend to be. Mar Grosso has a bit more going on in January and February, with kiosks along the beach road serving grilled fish and caipirinhas until midnight, but even that shuts down hard by March. This suits couples, birdwatchers, kite-surfers and anyone who has already done the party towns further north and wants quiet instead.
Families with small children and travellers with only one night to spare should probably skip Cabo Santa Marta and stick to the town and Mar Grosso — the 40-minute drive down SC-100 only pays off if you can give the lighthouse and the wind a proper afternoon. Anyone chasing bars, clubs or a lively beachfront promenade should carry on to Florianópolis or Balneário Camboriú instead; Laguna's appeal is entirely about dolphins, colonial streets and open, uncrowded sand, not evening entertainment.
The Centro Histórico around Praça República Juliana is walkable and has 4–5 small hotels in colonial buildings at R$150–R$280, with Rua Gustavo Richard and Rua da Praia the two streets worth booking on for that after-dark cobblestone-and-church-bell atmosphere. Mar Grosso beach (5 km east) is the summer base with pousadas at R$180–R$320 peak (December–February), dropping to R$120–R$180 in winter (May–August), and it is the better pick if you want to walk straight onto sand each morning. Cabo Santa Marta (30 km south, on the SC-100) is the kite-surf base with 6–8 rustic pousadas at R$220–R$400 — remote but the best wind, worth it only if you are actually kiting or chasing the lighthouse sunset. Avoid the sprawl on BR-101 between Laguna and Tubarão — cheap but disconnected, a 20-minute drive from anything worth doing. Book the historic centre for atmosphere and dolphins, Mar Grosso for beach convenience, and treat Cabo Santa Marta as a separate one- or two-night side trip rather than a base.
Things to do in Laguna
Praia do Molhe at the lagoon mouth, 10 minutes from the historic centre. Best April–July during mullet season, early morning 6am–10am and late afternoon 3pm–6pm. Fishermen line the shore, wild dolphins herd the fish. Free, patient watching required. The tourist office can confirm current dolphin activity.
The house of Anita Garibaldi (Giuseppe's wife, born here in 1821) on Praça República Juliana. R$10 entry, open Tuesday–Sunday 9am–6pm. Combine with a walk through the surrounding colonial grid — Rua da Alfândega, Rua da Praia, the old customs house, the Igreja Matriz.
30 km south of Laguna town on SC-100, near the lighthouse. World-class steady southerly winds October–March. Kite schools at the beach — Cabo Kite runs 3-day beginner packages at R$1200 including all gear. The lighthouse (1891) itself is R$10 entry and worth the visit.
The 1891 lighthouse at the southernmost point of the Santa Catarina coast. R$10 entry, open 9am–7pm summer. Climb to the top for a 360° view over the ocean, the coastal lagoons and the kite beach. Best 30 minutes before sunset — the lighthouse itself lights up.
Praia do Mar Grosso, a 10-minute drive or R$5 local bus from the centre. Flat, open-ocean sand runs for kilometres with almost nobody on it outside January and February. Kiosks along the beach road serve grilled fish plates from R$35. Free to walk, best in the two hours either side of low tide.
Rua da Alfândega, by the waterfront in the historic centre. The 18th-century Alfândega (customs house) building is worth a look from outside even when closed; the small morning fish market nearby runs roughly 7am–11am and sells the same mullet the dolphins help catch.
What to see
Hotels near Laguna
No hotels are listed in Laguna yet. The nearest ones are on the region page.
Getting around Laguna
From Florianópolis 2 hours south on BR-101, Uber R$260, intercity bus R$52 (2h30, several daily departures from the Terminal Rita Maria). From Hercílio Luz Airport 2 hours, same road and same bus options — book the bus a day ahead in summer as seats fill. From Garopaba 45 minutes further south, useful if you are stringing coastal towns together. Inside Laguna the historic centre and Mar Grosso are 10 minutes apart by car, local bus every 30 minutes for R$5, or a 40-minute walk along the waterfront if you prefer to see the town on foot. Cabo Santa Marta is 40 minutes south on SC-100 — you need a car or Uber (R$60), no reliable public bus, so plan the return trip before you go.
Questions about Laguna
Wild bottlenose dolphins drive schools of mullet toward the shallows at the mouth of Laguna's lagoon. Fishermen wait waist-deep with cast nets. Specific dolphins (locally named, identifiable by fin markings) signal with a distinct tail-slap when the fish are within range. The fishermen throw; the dolphins pick off the confused fish that escape the net. It's the only documented case of this kind of intentional cooperation between wild dolphins and humans and has continued for 150+ years.
Mullet season is April to July. The activity happens twice a day, roughly 6am–10am and 3pm–6pm, tide-dependent. Ask at the Laguna tourist office (in Praça República Juliana) for current daily activity — the office keeps notes. Outside mullet season you may see dolphins but the fishing cooperation itself is intermittent.
Yes — the historic centre alone justifies a night, with genuine 18th-century Portuguese colonial streets that are quieter and less restored-for-tourists than Florianópolis's. Add 30 km of open beach at Mar Grosso and the lighthouse and kite scene at Cabo Santa Marta and there is easily two days of content even outside mullet season. It suits travellers who want history and space over nightlife.
Two nights covers the historic centre, the dolphin-watching window and a beach afternoon at Mar Grosso comfortably. Add a third day, or a separate one- or two-night stay, if you want to properly explore Cabo Santa Marta or take a kite-surf lesson, since the 40-minute drive each way makes it a poor fit for a rushed half-day.
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