The Azores (or Açores) comprise nine Portuguese islands located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Visiting them had been on my Bucket List for years, and in July 2024, this dream finally came true. I spent eight days in the largest island, São Miguel, with my parents and it was a wonderful holiday. We spent a few nights in each of three areas, starting with Furnas in the East, followed by Grande Ribeira in the North, and ending in the capital, Ponta Delgada, in the South.
Before visiting, I knew to expect accents that were difficult to understand, lots of cheese and milk production, and beautiful landscapes, but other than that everything else was a surprise. Due to the climate, there are only a few months of the year in which good weather is guarenteed on the islands, and even then it can be temperamental, as we discovered. Despite Portugal being in the same timezone as the UK, the Azores are actually an hour behind the rest of the country.
Day 1 - Furnas
We took a direct flight from London to São Miguel on the Saturday, which was ideal as often flights go via the mainland, but the flight flew by (haha, get it?) and once we arrived, we rented a car. It took forever to get a car, as most people visiting the island rent them and it's almost a necessity in order to make the most of what the island has to offer.
My first impressions of the island on the drive over to our first destination, Furnas, were that there were windy roads, similar to in Madeira (another Portuguese island in the Atlantic), but rather than large mountains, the island more comprises small hills. There were also many cows, streams, and blue hydrangeas lining the roads, all of which proved to be consistent across the island.
Furnas is located towards the east of the island and is where the geothermic activiy of the island can be best seen. By the time we had arrived in the region and checked into our hotel, it was dinner time and we followed the recommendation of a local, ending up at a restaurant called 'Tony's' for dinner, which was within walking distance. We ordered a variety of meat and fish, and everything was delicious. The Azores are known within Portugal for its tasty pineapples, so we tried some for dessert, and it was honestly the sweetest pineapple I'd ever had - so much so that it became part of our daily routine whilst on the island. We also had some local red wine, which was divine and cost only 6€ for four small glasses.
We then walked around the town centre, which was beautiful and offered the backdrop of some cows on hills. There was a prominent church and also an upside down house, similar to the one in Brighton.
Day 2 - Furnas
We woke up bright and early with the aim of doing a morning hike before breakfast. We entered the name of the hike, Cascata do Salto do Prego, into Google Maps and away we went. Unfortunately, it sent us to the end of the hike, rather than the starting point, and we realised after a quick Google that we hadn't timed it correctly so would miss breakfast if we started then, so instead headed back to the hotel (with the aim to complete the hike the following morning, with a bit more planning). That said, it was a very scenic drive and we had beautiful weather, at 25°C, with blue skies. One thing that I noticed was that there were very few cars on the roads, which isn't the case in Madeira nowadays at all.
After breakfast, we headed to Caldeira das Furnas, where not only can the smoke from the geothermic activity be seen, but also the bubbling of the liquid itself, and the smell of sulphur is intense. I'd already seen plenty of hot springs before, including in Bolivia and Iceland, however something I hadn't seen prior to this was sacks on the craters. My dad asked some locals what was in the sacks on the craters, thinking it was sand in order to keep them from spluttering, but instead learnt that it was corn! They were being cooked using the heat from the geothermal activity below and then sold about 10 metres away. We bought one and it was so sweet and delicious. Unfortunately, we also drank some sulphur water from a fountain nearby, which tasted exactly as it smelt and I wouldn't recommend.
As we walked through the town, we saw bags on each house door, with differing quantities of bread inside, which provided a real village feel and I enjoyed seeing. We walked towards Parque Terra Nostra, 'terra nostra' being a popular cheese in Portugal made in the Azores. Here there were botanic gardens, which we explored, and thermal springs, including a mineral pool and hot jacuzzi, both of which were great, especially in the summer heat. Other nearby options for hot springs include Poça da Dona Beija or Caldeira Velha, but we only decided to visit the main one.
We then headed to Lagoa das Furnas, which was beautiful, and en route we passed a small house selling 'bolo lêvedo', which is similar to Madeira's 'bolo do caco' in appearance, however instead of being garlic and buttery, is sweet and fluffy. Since it was a Sunday, there were many families picnicking in the mountains, which is a part of Portuguese culture that I love, and we decided to go on a roadtrip to Vila Franco do Campo, a town in the south, famed for a picturesque island off it: Vila Franco do Ilheu. During the drive, parts of the island were reminiscence of the Yorkshire Dales, and the scenery was very green (which makes sense given that it rains a lot). We had lunch at a restaurant on the seaside, and although the food was delicious (from the fish and fresh cheese to the pineapple and local beer), there was a long wait and the staff were in over their heads. We finished the meal at 3:30pm, then saw a viewpoint and church nearby, Miradouro Senhora da Paz, which reminded me of Braga's Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte, but was much smaller.
We then cut across the island to the north, specifically to Santana and Cascata da Ribeira dos Caldeirões. Here, there's a botanical garden and park, which is free to enter and has incredible views, including of a large waterfall. We had an ice cream here and this is where I learnt that, alongside milk and cheese, the island also produces its own ice cream (it follows!). We drove along the northeast coast to 'Ponta do Nordeste', where a lighthouse sits near the bottom of a steep hill. There was a notice advising against driving down said hill, however my dad thought it was fine, so down we drove. It's safe to say, the sign was appropriate, and despite getting most of the way down, our rental car wasn't filling us with confidence, so at some point we turned around and drove back up.
The final stop on our tour of the north east, before heading back to Furnas, was to a viewpoint called 'Miradouro da Ponta do Sossego', with one of the most beautiful views on the island, alongside various BBQ and picnic areas and gardens. Once we arrived back to Furnas, we went to 'A Quinta' for dinner, a nearby restaurant in a rustic barn with a nice bar and outdoor area.
Day 3 - Furnas
After yesterday's mishap, we actually researched the starting point of the hike and how long it would take to complete, and so before breakfast we drove to 'Faial da Terra' to drop off the car, then hiked to Cascata do Salto do Prego, a beautiful waterfall in which you can swim. The entire hike took about an hour and a half, however we had a little break and snack at the waterfall, so it could definitely be done quicker. I loved this hike a lot as it was cool when we started it, we only ran into one other couple the entire hike, and we saw many cascades and animals (including cockrels, turkeys, and ducks!). The hike was similar to Madeira's levadas, but rather than walking alongside waterways, there was instead a larger stream at the bottom. The trail was slippy in parts but gorgeous and the perfect level for us as it wasn't a walk in the park, but not hard either.
The sun started to make its presence known on our return and we managed to make it back to the hotel just in time for breakfast. Here, we spoke to a local lady who was lovely and made me laugh when she complained about their cold winters, before informing us that the coldest it gets is around 16-18°C, which as a Londoner I found very funny. I also learnt that in Portugal, the prison sentence doesn't change based on how many crimes you commit, but rather the nature of the crime; for example, whether you murder one person or ten people, the sentence will remain the same (which she wasn't happy about).
This was our final day in the east of the island, so we decided to visit a few more places in the southeast, before eventually heading north. We started by visiting a beautiful beach called 'Praia dos Morros', which reminded me of Seixal in Madeira, with its green mountains in the backdrop, black sand, and beach waves. We spotted various lizards, as well as a propeller by the marina. We then headed to a nearby town, Povoação, for a coffee and not only did a waiter figure out that my mum was Madeiran after her saying one word, but he also convinced us to try a traditional pastry from the region, 'fofas da Povoação', which were similar to eclairs and absolutely delicious.
We then headed to a popular beach in Ribeira Quente, Praia do Fogo, which was beautiful but since it was too windy to swim, we just walked along the beachfront and back. Eventually, we headed back to Furnas for a reservation that we'd made on our first day at Tony's, to eat a local dish called 'cozido das furnas', comprising various meats, vegetables, and spuds, cooked in the ground by the geothermal activity. Although the food wasn't my favourite, it was decent and the experience was enjoyable and unique. It was also here that I tried the local ice cream, specifically the Mucca passionfruit ice cream, which was absolutely incredible and I'd highly recommend. I also rated that the restaurant refused to serve us pineapple on this day (as it had been too hot so the pineapple had started fermenting), and advised ordering the cozido for two instead of three to start with, as it showed the priority of customer satisfaction over profits.
We spent the afternoon driving towards our next destinating, Ribeira Grande, which is located on the north of the island. We passed Goreanna tea plantation en route, which was reminiscent of Indonesia, and where they offered delicious teas on the house (alongisde tours, meals, and souvenirs). We then headed to 'Miradouro de Santa Iria', a beautiful viewpoint, where my mum tried to buy a souvenir before realising that she had no money, and despite never having seen my mum before, the shopkeeper offered for her to take the souvenir and pay it off another day, which I thought was very telling of the people here.
Eventually, we checked into our hotel in Ribeira Grande, and my first impression was that the area was much more populated than Furnas, and slightly rougher (in fact, there's an area nearby, called 'Rabo do Peixe', which is apparently often on the news and doesn't have the best reputation). After exploring the town slightly, where we learnt there would be a town party later in the week, we headed to a restaurant recommended by my aunt for dinner, Restaurant Associação Agrícola de São Miguel, which was fantastic, although be aware that the portion sizes are large. Before calling it a day, we drove around Rabo do Peixe, specifically visiting the natural pools, which were nice but underwhelming.
Day 4 - Ribeira Grande
We only had the car for the first two legs of this trip, as we were staying in the capital, Ponta Delgada, for our last leg so a car was unnecessary. This meant that we only had two more days to explore the remainder of the island, and so we decided to focus on the whole western part of the island, which offered a lot of beauty but surprisingly not a lot of miles on the road, which was ideal. I'd also been inspired by the abundance of picnic areas to pick up some bits from the supermarket in the morning and enjoy them al fresco over a lovely view, which, spoiler: is exactly what we did.
We started with a quick stop in 'Moinho do Pico Vermelho', a red-capped windmill and then visited the gorgeous beach 'Praia dos Mosteiros', however once again it was too windy to swim, which I was disappointed by as swimming in the sea brings me joy like nothing else. Instead, we happened across 'Termas da Ferraria', natural hot springs which were free to swim in and a great experience. Initially, we'd planned to visit 'Sete Cidades', which is one of the most picturesque areas of the island with a viewpoint overlooking two large lakes, one green and one blue, however given the overcast skies, we postponed this for the following day (which was forecast to be sunny) and instead bathed in the natural springs, spotting various black crabs on the rocks.
By this point, we'd already driven to the most western point of the island, and continued south along the coast, stopping for a picnic in the mountains over lunch, which comprised sandwiches, bananas, and nectarines, all of which were delicious. We then continued our loop until we eventually arrived back at Ribeira Grande. Only 15 minutes from our hotel was a black sand beach called 'Praia do Areal de Santa Barbara', which we did walk along, however it was very windy so the sand was hitting our legs, although given the heat, the wind was actually appreciated. We ended up back at our hotel, where surprisingly it was actually sunny, and I spent the afternoon reading my book by the pool, swimming, and sunbathing. My parents explored the town, however I'd gotten blisters from the previous day so was resting up.
For dinner we went to 'O Silva' nearby, where we enjoyed one of my favourite Portuguese dishes, lapas (or limpets), and fish. Something I'd come to realise was that, unlike in Madeira, where most tourists are European, in the Azores, the vast majority of tourists were actually North American! Although, given the location of the Azores, it is in fact much quicker for those living on the East coast of the US to visit these islands, compared to Hawaii, for example.
Day 5 - Ribeira Grande
In order to control the flow of tourists one of São Miguel's most popular attractions, Lagoa do Fogo, cars are prohibited from accessing the road leading to this lake within certain times of the day (9am to 7pm). Therefore, we made sure to visit first thing in the morning and the view was gorgeous. There are apparently incredible hikes around this area too, however we wanted to visit Sete Cidades before it got too busy so headed straight over. Funnily enough, at one point the traffic was pretty bad, and as we inched forwards, we eventually learned that the reason for this traffic was the herd of cows walking along the road. We passed 'Muro das Nove Janelas', a picturesque aqueduct with nine windows, as well as Hotel Monte Palace, which was closed but offered a nice view and was reminiscent of Monsanto in Lisbon as both had become abandoned viewpoints.
Annoyingly, Google Maps had said that we could access the main viewpoint of the lakes, 'Boca do Inferno', which literally translates to 'mouth of hell', by car, however after researching it, we learnt that it was actually pedestrianised and would take roughly an hour to see it and return, which we didn't have as we had to check out of our hotel. Once again, we hadn't planned this to the best of our ability, but at least we were kept busy, and after checking out of the hotel and then returning to Sete Cidades, we parked up and walked towards the viewpoint. It was very sunny at this point and full of tourists, which was annoying as many of them were beyond the barrier, meaning that they obstructed any pictures taken of the view. That said, the view itself was absolutely breath-taking, it's just a shame about the crowds.
We tried to have lunch in the town nearby, however everything was fully booked so we ended up at 'Quinta dos Açores', which was fine, and then checked in to our final hotel, which was in the city centre of the capital, Ponta Delgada. I chilled by the rooftop pool reading my book whilst my parents returned the rental car - this was absolute bliss.
In the evening, we walked around the city centre, taking in the various churches and shops. My favourite spots included a telephone box functioning as a free library, and a sardine shop with very aesthetic tin cans. We learnt that the festival of the Holy Spirit (Festas do Espírito Santo) would be taking place in the capital that weekend, which is a big deal in the Azores, and it was a complete coincidence that we were there over not just one party, but a party in each area we stayed during our trip! We had dinner at the popular 'A Tasca', which was delicious, with very good service, but is walk-in only and always has long queues so is worth visiting early.
Day 6 - Ponta Delgada
This was our first day without the car, and since we had several days to explore the city, we took it easy. We started by visiting Mercado da Graça, a fruit market that was under construction but offered a great selection of fresh fruits. We then walked to a botantical garden, specifically Jardim Botânico António Borges, where we saw many little chicks, but not actually many flowers, which was slightly disappointing. Thereafer, we visited a natural history museum and convent, Museu Carlos Machado, which was decent but not my favourite place in the world.
At this point, we were getting peckish, so we headed to a pineapple plantation nearby, where my dad tried a pineapple pastel de nata and pineapple beer, whilst my mum and I stuck to sliced pineapple, which may have been the best I've had to date. We had lunch at Restaurante São Pedro, which was delicious, and I spent the afternoon sunbathing and swimming in the hotel's rooftop pool once more over a new book.
Day 7 - Ponta Delgada
Something that had been on my Bucket List for years, but had never come to fruition, was whale watching. I had tried to go last year in Madeira, where everyone told me that seeing dolphins is pretty much guaranteed, but whales are unlikely, and where I saw neither. Nonetheless, I was hopeful in the Azores and after checking in with the wrong group, we eventually found our rightful place and boarded the catamaran. I love being near the sea, so I was very content with our half day tour, and even more so when we spotted two types of dolphins: bottlenose and Atlantic spotted dolphins. I was sad that we hadn't spotted any whales once again, however there's still next time and I loved the experience!
We had a quick lunch by the sea at Bom Pesqueira, which offered great customer service, however it started raining soon thereafter so we spent the afternoon in the hotel. We enjoyed some complimentary cheese and wine, which was a lovely treat, and got chatting to an American family, which was interesting. A while later, we headed to the rooftop bar to drink and read, before dining at Restaurante São Pedro.
Day 8 - Ponta Delgada
Our final day on the island was very relaxed and mainly consisted of souvenir shopping. By this point I'd already bought an olive dish, a teacup and saucer, various teas, and a magnet, however we wanted to buy fresh pineapples for our loved ones back home to try, and some novelty tinned sardines for the aesthetic, both of which we managed.
We checked out of the hotel at 12pm, before heading back to Bom Pesqueira for lunch, where we overhead a band rehearsing for the big festival of the Holy Spirit procession, which would be occurring that afternoon. As we walked along, we saw the parade floats that each town had designed, alongside the bulls that would be pulling them. It looked to be a great event, although we would be missing it as our flight was in the afternoon.
Final Thoughts
Although I knew that I would enjoy the Azores, since I love Portugal and especially Madeira, I loved it much more than I'd expected - making this the perfect destination for my 150th blog post! The views were stunning, the people were lovely, and the tourist levels were still fairly low. Furthermore, I wasn't bitten by a single mosquito (I'm allergic to mosquito bites so this was a big deal for me), and there was so much on offer, from town parties, to canyoning, to hiking. The food was delicious and I'd love to explore some of the other islands eventually too.
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