If they’re not already, the Azores Islands deserve a spot on your vacation short list. These Portugese islands are in the Atlantic Ocean, about a three hour flight from the mainland (or a 5 hour flight from the East Coast USA). The islands are accessible, affordable, easy to get around, beautiful, and so much fun! I can’t recommend a trip here enough.

For this trip, I was traveling with my pal Katharine. Unfortunately, John didn’t have enough time off work to join us on this adventure. It was an awesome girls vacation and I was lucky to have the opportunity for some summer travel!

Here’s the skinny on our time in the Azores:

Tips for Getting Around

Use Ponta Delgada as a Home Base

There are 9 islands that make up the Azores archipelago. Sao Miguel is the largest, most populated, and easiest to get to so naturally, that’s where we went! We stayed at the Azores Dream Hostel in Ponda Delgada, the biggest town on Sao Miguel.  Every day, we took day trips to different parts of the island which was a perfect way to explore; even the areas furthest from Sao Miguel are still less than a 2 hour drive.

Rent a Car

Booking a car is without a doubt the best way to travel around Sao Miguel. We used ANC Azores Holidays, which was reasonably priced (we ended up paying about $55 per day) and easy to use. We were able to book in advance online, we could pick up and drop off the car right in town, and they provided a shuttle to the airport at the end of our trip for no additional cost. We ended up with a cute little car and were happy with our experience.

Overnight Parking

Parking throughout much of central Ponta Delgada costs money during the day but is free starting sometime in the evening and overnight until about 8am. We weren’t thrilled about having to be up and at ’em by 8 every day, so we spent some time looking around for free unmetered spots in Ponta Delgada that would allow us to leave a bit later in the mornings. Sure enough, we got pretty lucky and found a street without parking restrictions. After parking there our first night, we dropped a pin and navigated back to this street every day when we returned to town. Might be worth it to try your luck, too!

4 Day Sao Miguel Itinerary

There is so much to do on this island, it would be impossible to see everything in just four days. However, we got a good taste of what Sao Miguel has to offer by exploring a different section of the island each day. We started in the northeast, then in the southeast in and around Furnas, then the west, and finally around Ponta Delgada.

Day 1: Northeast

We didn’t do a lot of planning for our first day; we hit the road with the goal of loosely following an itinerary we had found online and stopping at anything along the way that looked interesting. As soon as we started driving out of town, we were treated to quiet roads and spectacular views of the island.

One of our first stops was at Parque Natural da Ribeira dos Caldeiroes, a beautifully manicured waterfall park with a mix of paved and dirt hiking trails. The hikes were all short, but the scenery was nice and the park is well-kept.

From there, we continued east along the northern coast of the island. We made a quick stop to check out the views from Miradouro da Ponta da Madrugada, a pretty garden overlooking the ocean. Amazing views seem to be the M.O. for Sao Miguel.

Eventually, we got to Nordeste, a town in the Northeast corner of the island. We spotted this adorable lighthouse at the bottom of the hill overlooking a cliff. Naturally, we wanted to get a closer look so we hiked down a (very steep) hill for about 15 minutes until we got to the lighthouse. As we were walking around, we noticed some visitors exiting the lighthouse so we went to see if we, too, could go inside. Sure enough, the man who lives there (with his wife and two young boys!) welcomed us and gave us a tour of the tower. It was fun to explore and get to learn a little bit more about their lives.

After all that hiking around, we were ready to chill out. We did a quick Google search for a beach and went to nearby Praia do Lombo Gordo.The drive down to the beach is steep and scary (lots of blind turns), but the water was nice and this beautiful black sand beach was a great place to chill for a bit. The hike to and from the parking lot is also very pretty and scenic.

As the afternoon went on, we decided we wanted to check out at least one hot springs before the day was over. We ended up driving back west towards Ribiera Grande to explore Caldeira Velha, a nice park with a few hot springs of varying temperatures. We ended up there as it was starting to cool off for the evening, so this was a great way to wrap up our first day adventuring around the island.

Day 2: Southeast

On our second day, we drove straight to Furnas, a town in the southeast part of the island best known for it’s geothermal activity. Our first stop was Lagoa de Furnace, a lake near the town. This didn’t knock our socks off so after walking around for a few minutes and snapping a few pictures, we kept moving.

We drove a few minutes further to the Caldeira das Furnas where visitors can get views of the bubbling hot springs. This actually reminded us a lot of Yellowstone National Park with the geysers, etc. We also loved seeing the mounds throughout the park where local restaurants are cooking “cozido,” a traditional stew prepared in the ground. Each restaurant has a little advertisement with their name and number sticking out of their cooking area!

From there, we moved onto the main attraction in Furnas: the hot springs! We beelined for Dona Beija Thermal Springs, which we had seen some pictures of. There are a few man-made pools of varying temperatures fed by the natural spring waters, so we wandered around and sat in each for a few minutes. It was very relaxing, but after awhile we were feeling pretty toasty and ready to get out of the water. Pro tip: the sulfur from the hot springs will stain your bathing suit a burnt orange color. Avoid wearing anything white or light-colored that you care about!

After all this activity, it was time for lunch and we set out in search of some cozido. We didn’t realize until we were in Furnas how popular this is; we actually went to three restaurants before we found one that wasn’t sold out of this this dish! Pro tip: pick a place and make a reservation in advance if you want a guaranteed opportunity to try this meal. We ended up eating at O Miroma and had a good experience. To be honest, the cozido wasn’t anything special (just meat, potatoes, and veggies) but nevertheless worth a try.

After all of the hot springs, were were ready to find some cooler waters. We drove towards Ponta Delgada along the south coast and eventually followed signs in the direction of a beach. We ended up at what quickly became one of our favorite spots on the island: Praia Ribeira das Tainhas. This little beach had a laid-back, local vibe. The water was calm, cool, and comfortable and there was a fun little rock with a ladder to swim out to. There were also changing areas and a nice picnic area with benches where we lay to read and dry off, which made this an easy stop. This was an awesome find and a fabulous way to end our day.

Day 3: West

We spent our third day exploring the western side of Sao Miguel, which was my favorite part of the island. We set off in the morning to see Sete Cidades, arguably the island’s most well-known point of interest. We had been holding off on seeing this until the weather seemed to be clear (we checked the live webcams on Spot Azores daily), but after two days when the cameras were still showing clouds we decided to just go for it and hope for the best.

Our first stop on our quest to see the Twin Lakes was this abandoned hotel. This place is a little creepy, but there is funky graffiti and amazing views that make it worth a stop.

The best view of Sete Cidades was from Lagoa do Canario Miradouro, the incredible lookout spot with panoramic views of the twin blue and green lakes and much of the west of the island. In addition to the killer views, this spot also has a particularly picturesque path out to a lookout point which only adds to the allure. We totally lucked out with the weather on this day, too; when we first arrived, it was pretty overcast. However, as we walked around, the sky cleared up and the colors of the lakes became even brighter.

After snapping some pictures, we hopped back in the car and continued driving north along the coast. We were on the lookout for some tidal pools and ended up at Ponta da Ferraria, a wonderful rocky beach that’s fed by the ocean and volcanic hot springs. Depending on the tide, you get a mix of warm and cool water when swimming in this area. There are ropes and ladders built into the pool for easy access and to hang on as the current pulls in and out.

We were lucky enough to be in Portugal for the first games of the world cup, so after lunch we headed back into town early to catch the match at a bar. It was fun to chat with some locals and cheer on the hometown team!

Day 4: In and Around Sao Miguel

We spent our last day in the Azores in and around Sao Miguel so we could be close to the airport for our flight back.

In the morning, we went whale watching with Moby Dick Tours which ended up being a highlight of our time in the Azores. We saw nearly a dozen sperm whales, which was pretty exciting. However, my favorite part was passing through two separate schools of dolphins. The dolphins got very close to our boat and appeared to be quite playful; we were especially lucky to see one jump out of the water!

In the afternoon on our last day, we took one last trip to our favorite beach, Praia Ribeira das Tainhas, before returning to the airport for our journey home.

Our time in the Azores was so fun and I hope to make it back here; I feel like there is so much more we could have seen and done! Apparently there is good scuba diving with lots of visibility and some cool marine life like manta rays – that’s definitely on my list and I know John would love this. I’d also love to check out some of the more far-flung islands and get a feel for what the smaller places are like. Considering how easy it would be to get back to the Azores, I’m sure another trip will be in our future.