The Azores islands are often called the Hawaii of Europe, and it's easy to see why. With their stunning landscapes and amazing weather, they are a true paradise. We have not seen a place in Europe that would be greener than this.
Some basic facts everyone considering visiting should know: The Azores are an archipelago that consists of 7 islands, and they are an autonomous region in Portugal.
As you can see from the map below, we have visited only one of the islands so far.
We flew to the island of São Miguel, the biggest island of the Azores, in July 2022. We spent 11 days on the island. This time we went in a big group of 10 people, as we connected a vacation with a family event of one of our friends.
The reasons to visit the Azores are the nature (oh my, the nature), the hospitality and friendliness of locals, the low numbers of tourists, and some unique experiences you can only find there.
If you're considering visiting the Azores, here are the ultimate tips to help you make the most of your trip, from flights, accommodation, car rental, places to see, food to eat, and unique things to experience.
1. Why should you travel to the Azores?
Honestly, we wouldn't have discovered the Azores so early, if our good friend didn't have a family event on the island. Thanks to him and his family, we started exploring this amazing place (there is still a lot to explore on future trips).
The Azores are of volcanic origin, so you can find amazing lava caves (maybe also lava cakes), black sand beaches, geysers, and hot springs.
You can go whale and dolphin watching, scuba diving, surfing, visiting pineapple plantations, the oldest tea factory in Europe, you can swim in waterfalls, and more.
If you love nature, the Azores are definitely a place for you. There are many hiking trails with stunning views, and even if you are not a big fan of hiking, you will still be able to enjoy the incredible landscapes as there are many viewpoints on the island.
2. Searching for a flight deal.
The flights will probably be the biggest or second biggest category of your Azores' budget. Close to the date, especially for the summer season, the tickets might climb up to around 1,000 USD/EUR even from most European countries.
We prepared a special article focused on tips to find cheap flights specifically to the Azores. The article covers flights from New York, Boston, London, and Lisbon. The article includes also a tip on how to get free inter-island flights if you are flying from Portugal or Madeira.
We flew from Vienna, with layovers in Lisbon, and our round-trip tickets with TAP were 232.99 EUR per person, including 8kg baggage per person. We could have paid a bit less if we chose to combine different airlines (TAP+Ryanair), however, that is always a big risk. Moreover, we know about people who paid almost triple the price for the same tickets because they booked it too close to the travel date.
2. Finding the right accommodation
Depending on how many days you are staying and what parts of the Azores you will want to explore, you might consider booking different accommodations throughout your trip. As we stayed for 11 days, we booked 3 different accommodations in different parts of São Miguel island.
There are many options for accommodation in the Azores, from camping and hostels to apartments and hotels. Camping is a great option if you are on a budget, but it is important to note that there are no camping sites on the island of São Miguel. Hostels are also a good option for budget travelers, and there are many hostels located in the capital city of Ponta Delgada. Our friends stayed in City's Hostel Ponta Delgada for a night and talked about it highly.
For those who are looking for a more comfortable stay, there are many apartments and hotels located throughout the islands. There are also many Airbnbs available, which can be a great option if you are traveling with a group of people.
As we traveled in a group of 10, looking for accommodation was a very interesting experience. We knew that the options will definitely be limited for such a big group, and that is why we booked it 4-5 months in advance. We booked all places via booking.com due to a better cancellation policy than other platforms (due to covid season, it was one of the most important requirements). If you are traveling solo, in a couple, or in a small group, you will have a much easier time finding the right place for you.
We still recommend booking at least 1 month in advance.
Our accommodation:
- 2 nights in CC Guest House - Ao Mercado in Ponta Delgada (34-38 € per person per night, depending if you choose a double or triple room). The host was amazing and gave us a lot of recommendations. Every morning we found little pastries or fruits in our rooms, everything was perfectly clean, and the location was perfect, right next to the biggest farmers' market in the town. We really cannot stop with compliments on this place.
- 5 nights in Casa Primavera in Ribeira Grande (29.1€ per person per night) a.k.a. our personal favorite accommodation we had. We honestly want to go back to that comfy bed. The house is divided into 3 apartments that you can book independently, but as we were such a big group, we got the whole house for ourselves. Thus, we had 3 kitchens and living rooms, 6 bedrooms, and 3 bathrooms, which was very beneficial in the middle of the trip.
- 4 nights in Quinta da Cidade in Ponta Delgada (18.3€ per person per night). This place was a great deal. We had the whole house for ourselves, a huge garden with outdoor dining and parking in a garage, and the hosts even left us some gifts when we arrived.
On average, we spend 26.6€ per night per person. In the two last places, we even had empty bedrooms, and there were no more than 2 people in a room. Those options were perfect for couples and our solo friends as well. We were also surprised that everyone liked a different property the best. We had people in our group who absolutely loved the first place due to the community around it and the possibility to meet other travelers. Some, including us two, liked the second place the best, as it was very modern and spacious. Others absolutely loved the third place due to its architecture and traditional vibe.
No matter what your budget or preference is, there is sure to be an accommodation option that is perfect for you in the Azores!
3. Renting a car
This is an absolute must. In our opinion, it's even more important than accommodation, unless you are staying for less than 3 days - in that case, it might be better to choose guided tours or hire a taxi for a day. We were very lucky that the owner of one of the accommodations (Casa Primavera) manage the booking of the car for us in Auto Ramalhese 5 months in advance.
Other options to find car rental options are for example Kayak and Sixt.
It's always good to ask your host if they can help with booking a car for you, or even recommend some of the experiences, like a surf school or scuba diving, as those might get booked early.
We got 3 cars - all were Fiat Panda with manual transmission. The basic price was 39€ per day, and 54€ including full insurance (remember, this was in the peak season in July).
These cars got us to such amazing places, that we wouldn't be able to get there by public transport, and hiring a taxi or getting guided tours for so many days and for 10 people would empty our wallets very easily.
No matter how you choose to get around, you are sure to have an amazing time exploring the Azores! But we still recommend renting a car :)
4. Places to see and visit
Some of the top places to see in the Azores include waterfalls, natural parks, lakes, a tea factory, and pineapple plantations. The waterfalls of the Azores are truly a sight to behold, and there are many different ones to choose from.
5. Unique experiences
Some of the unique things to experience in the Azores include whale and dolphin watching, hiking, surfing, and visiting the volcanic caves. More on this later.
First things first, do not go swimming with dolphins. There are a few companies still financially benefiting from this, however, please note that this is disturbing the animals. The priorities when traveling are to respect the nature and the culture of the place.
There are plenty of activities to keep you busy while you're on the Azores. Hiking, biking, and kayaking are all popular options. There are also plenty of great beaches to relax on. If you're interested in history, be sure to visit the Azores Museum.
One of the activities that really helped us get to know the island's history and see the capital city was a walking tour. Our guide Emese was very knowledgeable and friendly, and she showed us some hidden spots and shared stories you would hardly find on Google.
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Best whale and dolphin watching company
Based on the online reviews and personal experiences of our friends, we recommend using the services of Azores Whale Watching & Islet Boat Tour.
Best hiking trials
As we are not experts on hiking trails, we are adding the best resource we found online - 12 best São Miguel hikes you shouldn't miss - Wapiti Travel.
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Best viewpoints
One of the last days we spent making a full circle around the whole island.
This is the list of viewpoints you can add to your travel plan:
- Miradouro (Viewpoint) de Santa Iria
- Miradouro do Salto da Farinha
- Miradouro da Vigia das Baleias (Lookout viewpoint of whales)
- Miradouro Despe-te que Suas
- Miradouro do Pelado
- Miradouro da Ponta do Arnel
- Miradouro da Ponta do Sossego
- Miradouro da Ponta da Madrugada
- Miradouro do Pôr-do-Sol
Best beaches?
For some of you, this might be surprising, and for some not at all. We expected that we will be spending time at the beach and in the ocean a lot, as it's famous for other islands and archipelagos, such as Madeira or the Canary Islands. However, the Azores are a lot more north than the mentioned places, and you can definitely feel it. To say the least, the ocean is cold even in the warmest months. We also brought snorkeling equipment, but because of the low temperature, we couldn't use it even once.
Our learnings: 1. Do not expect to go to the Azores to swim in the ocean or sunbathe at the beaches. 2. Even if you feel cold, the sun is so strong, that you will regret laying on the beach.
Even if the Azores are not the typical beach destination, our favorite beach was Praia de Agua D’Alto.
More suitable activities are water sports. The best beach for surfing or bodyboarding is by far Santa Barbara Beach - located in Ribeira Grande (map), confirmed by the fact that this beach regularly hosts events of the World Surf League. As the wind and waves are very strong at this beach, we do not recommend this for swimming.
6. Food
We read a review of one local restaurant that said "The chicken sandwich tasted as if the chicken came with Santa's elves just to throw a party in your mouth." and we were sold.
The restaurant is A Tasca in Ponta Delgada, and we can confirm that. The tuna steak was to die for.
In 11 days we had tuna steak in 6 different restaurants, and this one was perfection.
Some great restaurants that we have to mention:
- Casa da Sardinha in Ponta Delgada - this is a more high-end restaurant, in a perfect location with a great view of the marina. We paid 14-22€ per person including appetizers, main dish, and drinks/wine. The average per person was 16€.
- Rotas in Ponta Delgada - vegetarian restaurant.
- Tony's in Furnas - here you can find the best and most traditional Cozido das Furnas (a stew cooked in a volcanic crater).
- Restaurant Tronqueira in Nordeste - the food is not perfect but it's "All you can eat" with a big variety of meals, and we paid 13.2-14.5€ per person including drinks. Moreover, we were looking for a restaurant in Nordeste for quite a long time and tried ordering in at least 5 of them, until we found something open, working, and with nice options.
- O Poejo (Casa de Cha) in Sete Cidades - there are not many options in the village next to the famous Sete Cidades lakes. This place offers meals, delicious desserts, and a variety of teas (thus the name Casa de Cha/ "House of Tea"). We tried cakes and local tea from Chá Gorreana, and paid 3.5-7€ per person. 7€ included tea, a cake, and water.
You can find fresh local seafood everywhere, as well as local meat, fish, pastry, fruits, dairy products, wine, and more.
The prices are generally quite okay, we would say it's an average of prices in Europe.
Coffee - espresso usually from 0.8-1.2€, and it's delicious.
Breakfast - 4-5€ for a drink, savory pastry, like a sandwich, and a sweet dessert. Pastel 1€.
The Azores also grow pineapples, however, due to the special procedures in how they are produced, they are more expensive than in other countries. A small pineapple can cost between 4-8€.
All the experiences and prices are from July 2022.
Pack your bags and head to the Azores for an unforgettable vacation.
We hope our ultimate list will help you plan your trip and make the most of your time on these amazing islands!
- Yada team
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