Experience the best of Itajaí

Itajaí stands at the mouth of the Itajaí-Açu River in southern Brazil, and its harbour is one of the country's major container ports, with a fishing fleet working beside the cargo ships. The older streets run along the river, where fishing boats unload their catch, and the neighbouring town of Navegantes lies across the water.

To the south, Balneário Camboriú is the coast's resort town, a forest of high towers along a long beach, and quieter beaches such as Praia Brava lie on the headlands between. Inland, the Itajaí valley leads up to Blumenau, founded by German settlers in 1850 and known for its half-timbered buildings and October Oktoberfest, and Florianópolis and its island lie farther south.

Seafood comes first here: shrimp, fried fish, fish stew thickened with manioc paste, and oysters and mussels grown along the Santa Catarina coast. Inland, the German-Brazilian table adds sausages, beer and cuca, a crumb-topped cake. The climate is humid, with long warm summers, mild winters and rain spread through the year.