Joaquin Dedomenici, who covers Operations for our Group Tours department, shares his personal recommendation as to where to seek the sun during the British winter.
Being a patriotic young Argentinean, I didn’t think that it was a great idea when my dad told us that we were going to go to Florianópolis in neighbouring Brazil for the summer. I was 15 years old, and I can tell you that I was mistaken. Now many years later, and after spending many subsequent summers there, I consider Florianópolis the place to be during the summertime in South America – the UK winter.
The easiest way to get to Florianópolis, a beach island in the south of Brazil, is by flying there from São Paulo. On the island you will find more beaches than you could possibly visit in one trip – 42, to be exact. The beaches on the west side of the island are calm and warm, so ideal for families and swimming. The east side of the island is very well known within the surfing community as a year-round surfing destination.
In the northeast of the island you find Jureré International where the Brazilian jet-set stay; another beach in the east is Canasvieiras where from January until the end of February you will find many Argentinean families. On the other hand if you go to the west coast of the island you will find vast and near-deserted beaches, such as Praia Brava, Mozambique or Joaquina, another surfers' destination. Other beaches which you shouldn’t miss include Matadeiros (my favourite), Santinho and Barra da Lagoa.
There are lakes on the island as well, which are excellent for water sports like kite surfing, waterskiing and windsurfing. The most famous of these lakes is the Lagoa da Conceiçao.
If you have more time you could also explore the interior of Santa Catarina, the state in which Florianópolis is located. One of the absolute highlights is the mountain range of the Serra Geral where there is amazing trekking to be enjoyed.
I highly recommend all of it!