Planning for Portugal – Azores:
Visiting Europe was certainly part of my plan, but Azores, Portugal was not. I wanted to visit Azores at some point in my travel journey but was not having a targeted travel plan for Sao Miguel Island in Azores, Portugal. Overall Azores consists of 9 volcanic Islands and is Autonomous region of Portuga. I visited Sao Miguel Island of Azores in August 2023.
- Places in Blue above are the Places I Visited.
- Places in Orange are Places I didn’t Visit because of time constraint but are of Tourist Importance.
- Place marker in Green is the Airport of this Island of Sao Miguel
Flights:
I was looking for my way out from Europe after visiting the 5 smallest countries in Europe, i.e. Vatican City (Holy See), San Marino, Liechtenstein, Monaco, and Andorra in July – August 2023. While visiting these small nations, I was traversing through the big countries of Italy, France and Spain.
Generally, most of the flights out of Barcelona were costing me upwards of 1000$ and points and miles options were showing me limited options into North America. After looking for 2 days, I landed on a great deal on google flights, which took me to a travel website in Spanish language called lastminute.com. In contrast the English version of the same website was quoting me the ticket much higher. I purchased a ticket into Toronto with a layover for 24 hours in Ponta Delgada, capital of Azores Islands on the Island of Sao Miguel. The price of one-way ticket into Toronto was 474.83 € on SATA Azores Airlines.
Accommodations:
I booked my hostel for 53.31$ using hotels.com as I had a credit of 37 $ in my account in the form of onekeycash. Hotels.com has changed its loyalty program to onekeycash under Expedia Umbrella recently. I stayed in a 4-bed dorm in Azores Youth Hostels. This place is close to the City Center, a 7-minute walk to city center square. It was decent place for one night stay. Additionally, this place also has individual rooms that could be booked for family stays.
Transportation:
Firstly, the best way to experience the entire island would be by renting a car. As I visited the Island in the peak season, I learnt the rental cars were sold out for the coming 2 weeks. Alternately, Public transit buses were reliable for short distance visits from city center. Generally, the frequency of buses is sparce over the weekend, if any available.
Boots on the Ground:
Day 1:
I had landed in Ponta Delgada on Sunday evening. After checking into my hostel, I went out walking to the Harbour Front. I stopped at Museu Carlos Machado- Nucleo de Arte Sacra, which was closed on Sunday after 5:00pm. The museum was closed on Monday, the only other day I was on the Island, so didn’t plan to go back. Next stop was at Teatro Micaelense, which is a place where conferences, business meetings and other social events are held on island of Sao Miguel.
Later I left to see the parish church named Igreja Matriz de Sao Sebastiao made from basalt stone, naturally found on volcanic Islands. The Ornate is carved out of Limestone. From here I could see the 3 arches of the original 18th century City gates. Soon I continued to the main street in Ponta Delgada called Avenida Infante Dom Henrique.
Marina
I turned left and headed to Marina. While strolling along the Marina, I saw the sail boats docked in the Marina, passed by a couple of restaurants and bars. Especially this is where whale watching tours could be booked, as whale watching tours are quite popular in the months between April and October. The tours cost 65€ and last for 3 hrs. They could be done on either zodiacs (inflatable small boats) or on catamarans.
Fort
Later I wanted to explore the 16th Century Forte de Sao Bras, a renaissance fortress that’s used today by the Portuguese navy and houses the Azores Military Museum. As it was located on the other side of the Avenida Infante Dom Henrique, I walked along the promenade enjoying the waterfront and the sea breeze. Definitely it was nice way to wrap my evening with gorgeous sunset before hitting my bed.
Day 2:
Pineapple Plantation
I started my day early on day 2. After taking my breakfast at the hostel, which was complementary, I took a bus from main street to see the pineapple plantations. Arruda Acores Pineapple Plantation is located in green houses as the pineapples cannot grow in open in Azores. The bus ride costs 1€ 4¢ one way. Surprisingly, entrance to the pineapple plantation is free of cost and it opens at 9:00 am in the morning.
Lava Tubes
Afterwards I left to Gruta do Carvao, which is a lava tube in Sao Miguel Island. The entrance fee for the guided tour is 8€ and the tour lasts for around 40 minutes. The first guided tour starts at 10:30am in the morning, which is in Portuguese. The second guided tour to the Lava tube starts at 11:30am and this tour is in English. There are 2 more tours offered in the afternoon to see the Lava tubes. There are 2 lava tubes shown on the tour, the north and south lava tubes. Certainly, stalactite and stalagmite formations inside the Lava Tubes are quite interesting.
Jardim
The Jardim Antonio Borges was very impressive, with lots of biologically diverse trees and plants that were well laid out. Especially, there is an ancient tree, straight out of a fairy tale, at the center of the botanical garden. It was located right next to the hostel I was staying at in Ponta Delgada.
Black Sand Beach
I returned to the city center after Lava Tubes visit. Finally, it was time for me to hit the beach in Sao Miguel before catching my connecting flight to Toronto. All the beaches on Sao Miguel are black sand beaches and I choose to visit “Praia do Populo” beach. The bus form the city center charged me 1€ 17¢ to drop me at the beach. The beach offered soft black sand and Lukewarm waters with gentle waves to enjoy. Though the beach had people, it was not crowded as it was a weekday.
Other day Trips Popular on the Island:
Sao Miguel volcanic Island is made of 5 volcanos (3 active and 2 dead volcanos). There are 2 volcanic crater lakes Lagoa das Sete Cidades and Lagoa do Fogo on the Island which could be hiked to, to enjoy beautiful views of the crater lakes. Furnas and the Caldeiras das Funas is also a popular day trip location where hot springs, geysers and geothermal activity could be witnessed. Spa resorts could also be found here.
Conclusion:
Sao Miguel is definitely a beautiful Island with breathtaking terrain, crater lakes, panoramic views, geothermal activity and awesome beaches. In my case it was a spontaneous visit on a layover flight. But, depending on the time you have there are additional islands Azores offers, which have their own unique characters. Specially, the 5 central Islands are very conveniently connected with Ferries. In summary I would say, exploring the central islands on my next visit to the Azores is for sure on my to-do list.
