Joaquina, Surfing beach in Florianópolis, Brazil

Joaquina is a 3,000-metre ocean beach on the east coast of Santa Catarina Island in Florianópolis, between Ponta do Retiro and Praia do Campeche. Its width varies from 8 to 70 metres. The beach is bordered by the Lagoa da Conceição Dunes Municipal Natural Park, and rounded granite boulders sit on the left shore.

The area around Joaquina was originally home to fishing families who lived off the Atlantic. In the 1970s, surfers began using the beach for national competitions, which gradually turned it into a well-known surfing destination in South America.

The beach has long been a meeting point for surfers from across Brazil, and that influence is still visible today in the surf shops, schools, and the easy pace of daily life along the shore. Walking along the waterfront, visitors often see people carrying boards, watching the sea, or waiting for the right wave.

The beach is reachable from central Florianópolis by bus or car, with a short drive across the island required. The waves here can be strong, so it is worth checking conditions in advance and staying within the areas marked for swimming.

On the left edge of the beach, basins and sharpening grooves polished into granite and basalt mark where Indigenous people who lived in the region made their stone tools. Some of these lithic workshops sit in hard-to-reach spots or have been lost, but the polished hollows near the shoreline are easy to see.