- Best season
- Diving is possible year-round
Updated July 2026
Good to know
Good to Know
- This is a day-boat and shore-dive destination, not a liveaboard one — expect half-day boat trips departing in the morning from beaches like Jurerê, Canasvieiras, Barra da Lagoa or Praia dos Ingleses, not multi-day boat charters.
- The star site, Ilha do Arvoredo, is a federal marine biological reserve — diving is restricted to its south face only, landing on the island is prohibited, and trips typically go through a licensed dive operator rather than independent boat hire.
- October–April is the window locals recommend for the clearest water and calmest seas; June–August cold fronts bring choppier conditions and reduced visibility, though some operators still run trips.
- The shipwreck near Praia dos Ingleses is one of the rare sites you can reach by swimming straight from the beach — no boat needed — but only attempt it on clear-water days given the sharp metal wreckage.
- There's conflicting information on whether scuba tanks are allowed at Ilha do Campeche versus snorkel-only — worth confirming directly with a local operator before booking a tank dive there.
- Most dive shops cluster in the island's northeast (Ponta das Canas, Canasvieiras, Barra da Lagoa) for easy boat access to Ilha do Arvoredo, the main dive site/marine reserve — if you're staying elsewhere on the island, factor in transfer time to reach a shop.
- PADI is the most common certifying body, but SSI is also available locally (e.g. at Divemore), so you have a choice of certification system.
- Higher-level courses (Rescue Diver, Divemaster, even Instructor-level IDC) are genuinely offered locally, not just entry-level Open Water — useful if you want to work toward a diving career while based here.
- If you specifically want a freediving course rather than just scuba, Explorer in Itacorubi is a named option that teaches both disciplines.
- Diving conditions and visibility are seasonal and can vary a lot day to day (best Oct–Apr); some divers report poor visibility even outside the cold season, so book with realistic expectations rather than assuming guaranteed clear water.
Dive Sites And Conditions
- Best Season
- Diving is possible year-round, but visibility and comfort are best from roughly October/November to April, coinciding with warmer water (24–27°C) and calmer seas. June–August cold fronts from the south bring reduced visibility and colder water, so this is considered the weakest window for diving quality even though some operators still run trips.
- Overall Access Model
- Diving around Florianópolis is predominantly day-boat and shore/short-swim based — there is no liveaboard scene here. Most named sites are small islands and rock islets a 10-45 minute boat ride from beaches on the north and east of the island (Jurerê, Canasvieiras, Cachoeira do Bom Jesus, Ponta das Canas, Barra da Lagoa, Praia dos Ingleses), plus a few genuine shore/rock-entry spots and one wreck reachable by swimming out from the beach.
Sites
Ilha Do Arvoredo (Arvoredo Marine Biological Reserve)
- Type
- Rocky reef / partial wall, with scattered wreck remains
- Access
- Boat only, roughly 11 km off the coast; about 1h30 by boat from Jurerê, or shorter crossings from Bombinhas (~70 km away). Departures also run from Canasvieiras, Cachoeira do Bom Jesus and Ponta das Canas. Diving is only permitted on the south face of the island; landing on the island itself is prohibited.
- Best Season
- Year-round, but clearest and calmest November–April.
- Depth Range
- Average around 13–15 m, reaching 30 m in places.
- Marine Life
- Considered the top dive site in southern Brazil for biodiversity: sea turtles, reef fish, rays (including stingray, butterfly and eagle-type rays), moray eels, and occasional seahorse sightings, plus live coral and some wreck debris.
- Notes
- It's a federal biological reserve, so access is restricted/controlled; suits all levels from discover-dive to advanced, with night diving also possible.
Ilha Do Xavier
- Type
- Rocky reef with wreck
- Access
- Boat from Praia da Barra da Lagoa, roughly 20–30 minutes' navigation; the island sits off Praia Mole.
- Best Season
- Year-round; clearer November–April.
- Depth Range
- Roughly 5–18 m around the island, with adjacent rock formations dropping to about 30 m.
- Marine Life
- Known for a rich variety of fish and frequent turtle sightings on the island's south point.
- Notes
- Contains the semi-dismantled wreck "Alalunga II", found on the south side of the island between about 15 and 29 m depth — one of the more distinctive wreck dives near Florianópolis. Currents running north–south require awareness since the site sits further from the coast.
Ilha Das Aranhas (Aranha Grande & Aranha Pequena)
- Type
- Rocky islets with steep-walled fissures/crevices
- Access
- Boat from Praia dos Ingleses (right-hand side) or from Barra da Lagoa, roughly 30 minutes; the islets sit between Praia do Santinho and Praia de Moçambique.
- Best Season
- Best with swell coming from the south; year-round but conditions vary with wind direction.
- Depth Range
- Aranha Grande: steep cliffs on the south side to about 20 m (limited visibility); a shallower, more protected north side. Aranha Pequena: up to about 11 m, suited to less experienced divers. Site overall has seven fissures with steep walls reaching up to 30 m.
- Marine Life
- Groupers (garoupas), salemas, sargentinhos, frades, marimbaus, maria-da-toca, and "olho-de-cão" (largehead hairtail-type fish) among the rocky crevices.
- Notes
- The islets' L-shaped layout creates wind-sheltered pockets, allowing calmer dives even when conditions elsewhere are rough.
Ilha Mata Fome
- Type
- Rocky reef, sandy further out
- Access
- Boat from the right side of Praia dos Ingleses, roughly 10 minutes' navigation — one of the shortest boat transfers of the named sites.
- Best Season
- Year-round; more protected when southern winds are strong, making it a reasonable option even in rougher weather.
- Depth Range
- Roughly 4–12 m near the island, sandy bottom further from it.
- Marine Life
- Notable for numerous orange sponges along the rocky bottom near the island.
- Notes
- Widely recommended for beginners and first-time certified dives rather than advanced divers, due to its shallow, sheltered profile.
Naufrágio (Shipwreck) Off Praia Dos Ingleses
- Type
- Wreck
- Access
- Genuinely shore-accessible — sits only about 100 m from the sand at Praia dos Ingleses and can be reached by swimming out (no boat needed) on days with good water clarity.
- Best Season
- Only attempt on clear-water days; visibility is essential given the wreck's exposed metal edges.
- Depth Range
- Around 7 m.
- Marine Life
- Functions as an informal sanctuary for sea urchins, corals, starfish, and small reef fish such as sargentinhos and marimbaus sheltering in and around the structure.
- Notes
- Local guides caution against penetrating the wreck due to sharp metal edges and occasional fishing nets nearby; treated as a good easy/beginner option precisely because no boat is required.
Shore-accessible Rocky Reef
- Name
- Rocky shore points (costões) — Ponta das Canas/Lagoinha, Barra da Lagoa shoreline, Armação/Praia do Matadeiro
- Access
- True shore entry — no boat required; these are described locally as better suited to freediving/snorkeling than scuba.
- Best Season
- Year-round, condition-dependent.
- Depth Range
- Not standardized; shallow rocky-shore profiles.
- Marine Life
- General reef fish and invertebrates typical of Santa Catarina rocky shorelines.
- Notes
- Currents and swell can be significant at some of these points, and local advice is to check conditions with a local before entering.
Ilha Do Campeche
- Type
- Rocky reef with submerged archaeological engravings
- Access
- Boat transfer from Praia do Campeche (short crossing).
- Best Season
- Year-round; visibility reported up to 15 m on good days.
- Depth Range
- Shallow, snorkel-depth.
- Marine Life
- Tropical reef fish, rocky formations, and ancient submerged rock engravings that draw both nature and archaeology interest.
- Notes
- Sources disagree on whether cylinder (tank) diving is permitted here: some list it as a scuba site suitable for beginners and advanced divers, while a local Florianópolis tourism source states it is a preservation area where only monitored snorkeling is allowed, not scuba. Treat it primarily as a top snorkeling site and confirm current tank-diving permission locally before planning a scuba dive there.
Certifying Bodies And Levels
- Primary Body
- PADI
- Secondary Body
- SSI
- Notes
- PADI is the dominant certifying body among Florianópolis-area operators, with SSI offered by at least one operator (Divemore, in Ribeirão da Ilha).
- Level Source Note
- Água Viva Mergulho, a PADI Five Star Resort in Florianópolis, explicitly lists this progression from Discover Scuba Diving through Divemaster and IDC.
Levels Commonly Offered
- Discover Scuba Diving / 'baptism' try-dive (no certification)
- PADI Open Water Diver
- PADI Advanced Open Water Diver
- Enriched Air (Nitrox) Diver
- Rescue Diver
- Emergency First Response (EFR)
- Divemaster
- Instructor Development Course (IDC)
Typical Open Water Course Cost
- Description
- Full PADI/SSI Open Water Diver certification, including pool/theory sessions and open-water checkout dives (commonly done at Ilha do Arvoredo marine reserve).
- Structure Note
- Course is typically split into a theory/pool stage (roughly R$900) and an open-water graduation-dive stage at Ilha do Arvoredo (roughly R$1,800), per a regional operator's published price list; individual Florianópolis-based shops did not have a clearly published all-in price at time of research.
Price Range
BRL
BRL
Operator Density
- Caveat
- PADI's own official dive-shop locator tool showed no listed PADI dive shop directly in Florianópolis at time of research, despite multiple of these operators self-identifying as PADI centers/resorts on their own sites and on PADI's individual dive-center pages — likely a locator/mapping quirk rather than an actual absence of PADI shops.
- Summary
- Florianópolis has a genuinely multi-operator dive scene rather than just one or two shops — at least 6-7 named, currently active operators/schools were identified, mostly clustered in the northeast of the island (Ponta das Canas, Canasvieiras, Barra da Lagoa) close to boat access toward Ilha do Arvoredo, plus a couple further south (Ribeirão da Ilha, Itacorubi).
Named Operators
ÁGua Viva Mergulho
- Area
- Ponta das Canas
- Notes
- PADI Five Star IDC Resort; courses from beginner through Divemaster/IDC.
Floripa Dive
- Area
- Barra da Lagoa
- Notes
- PADI-standard courses from Discover Scuba Diving through Divemaster; bilingual instructors.
Divemore
- Area
- Ribeirão da Ilha
- Notes
- Combines dive school with trip operator; SSI-affiliated.
Explorer
- Area
- Itacorubi
- Notes
- PADI centre offering both scuba and freediving courses.
Parcel Dive Center
- Area
- Florianópolis
- Notes
- PADI courses from Open Water through Advanced, Rescue, EFR and Nitrox specialty.
Scuba Point
- Area
- Florianópolis
- Notes
- Publishes a course price table.
Acquanauta
- Area
- Florianópolis
- Notes
- Mentioned by divers as a recommended local operator for Arvoredo trips.
Freediving Crossover
- Detail
- At least one identified operator, Explorer (based in Itacorubi), explicitly offers freediving courses alongside its scuba programs, rather than freediving being assumed or inferred.
- Genuine Crossover Found
- Yes
- Site Crossover Note
- No specific evidence was found that Florianópolis's main scuba sites (e.g. Ilha do Arvoredo) are separately marketed as notable freediving destinations in their own right — the crossover found is at the operator/course-offering level (one shop teaching both disciplines), not a documented dual reputation of the dive sites themselves.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
This section has no cited sources.
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.