4 answers
★ Best answer
Do you want to stay in a specific neighborhood or are you open to any beach on the island?
Either way, the most affordable neighborhoods near the water are the ones that are a bit further from the tourist center. Canasvieiras and Ingleses, up north, usually have much cheaper hostels and pousadas than Lagoa da Conceição or the east-side beaches. If you stay a few blocks inland, away from the actual beachfront, you can find really reduced prices. Praia do Forte and Santinho also have more budget-friendly options because they're not as crowded as other spots.
Another strategy is to look for low season - outside of summer and holidays makes a brutal difference in prices. Hostels with shared rooms are generally cheaper than pousadas, and there are plenty of options in Floripa. It's worth checking Airbnb and Booking filtered by price too, because sometimes something surprising pops up. Avoid January and February when it gets absurdly expensive there.
Ines asker
Thanks! I'm open to any beach really, I'll check out Canasvieiras and Ingleses then.
Don't fall into the trap of thinking the closer you are to the ocean, the better the price - it's the opposite. Besides the more distant neighborhoods that people already mentioned, check out simple guesthouses in Lagoa da Conceição, which is just a few minutes' walk from the water and way quieter than the main beachfront, so the daily rates are lower. Another option is to stay a bit up north on the island, in neighborhoods like Ingleses or Santinho - they've got good beaches and the guesthouses tend to be way cheaper than in Canasvieiras or Bombas.
People have already mentioned the outlying neighborhoods, but there's a detail that often gets overlooked: the beaches on the north side of the island tend to be cheaper than those on the south. Canasvieiras, Ingleses, those areas have way more simple guesthouses and hostels than people realize. It's farther from the bustling center, but the beach is right there.
If you really want to go cheap without giving up being near the water, find something in Governador Celso Ramos or even in neighborhoods that are like a thirty-minute walk from the beach. It ends up costing you more to commute by bus every day than staying somewhere a bit more inland but with decent prices. It's also worth asking about room rental houses - like Airbnb - because sometimes the price is better than a guesthouse, especially outside peak season.
If you're willing to stay a bit away from the waterfront, neighborhoods like Itacorubi and Córrego Grande have way cheaper accommodations and still have buses that get you to the beach in about 15-20 minutes, nothing crazy. Ends up being a lot cheaper than those people who want to be literally right on the water and end up paying triple for a tiny room.
Your answer
Log into answer.