Azores: São Miguel and Terceira

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in Ponta Delgada

   Ponta Delgada Airport (PDL) to your hotel in Ponta Delgada

   • Environ 15 min de route
   • Welcome dinner
   • Nuit : Ponta Delgada
   Détail du jour 1

   Fly into Ponta Delgada's João Paulo II Airport (PDL) on São Miguel, the largest island of the Azores. It sits only a few kilometres west of the town, so a driver meets you in arrivals and you are at the hotel within about fifteen minutes. Most flights from North America connect through Lisbon or Porto, or arrive overnight on direct routes, so the day is kept free to rest. In the late afternoon your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short walk through the old centre: the 18th-century city gates on the waterfront, the black basalt and white plaster of the churches, and the patterned calçada pavements. Then a briefing on the week, including how we swap the São Miguel days around the weather, and a welcome dinner of island fish and local cheese at a restaurant in town.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Ponta Delgada Airport (PDL)
   • Short walk through the old centre with your guide
   • Welcome briefing and welcome dinner

   Temps libre : Free until the late-afternoon walk

   Activité : Plan to land by about 3 pm to join the walk and briefing; later arrivals are met and join the group at dinner. If you land in the morning or on an overnight flight, we hold your bags at the hotel; early check-in is not promised, so book the night before (at extra cost) if you want a room on arrival.

   

2. Jour 2 : Sete Cidades and the crater rim

   Ponta Delgada to Vista do Rei and Sete Cidades, then back

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Ponta Delgada
   Détail du jour 2

   We leave after an early breakfast to reach the Vista do Rei viewpoint before about 9 am, when the air is often clearest and the tour vans have not yet arrived. Below you, inside a volcanic caldera about 5 km across, lie the two lakes of Sete Cidades, Lagoa Azul and Lagoa Verde, joined by a narrow bridge. From the viewpoint we walk part of the crater rim, about 7 km on a broad track with long views to the sea on one side and the lakes on the other, then drop down into the village of Sete Cidades. Lunch is at a restaurant in the village. Afterwards there is time to stroll to the bridge between the lakes before a short drive to the Boca do Inferno viewpoint by Lagoa do Canário if the cloud allows. We are back in Ponta Delgada by mid-afternoon, with the rest of the day free.

   Compris

   • Vista do Rei viewpoint over the Sete Cidades lakes
   • Guided walk along the crater rim
   • Lunch in Sete Cidades village
   • The bridge between Lagoa Azul and Lagoa Verde
   • Boca do Inferno viewpoint, weather permitting

   Option plus facile : Skip the rim walk: ride down to the village with the vehicle and walk the flat lakeside path to the bridge.

   Temps libre : Afternoon free in Ponta Delgada

   Activité : About 7 km on a broad, mostly downhill track; this day can swap with day 3 or day 5 if cloud sits on the crater.

   

3. Jour 3 : Furnas, cozido and the hot pools

   Ponta Delgada to Furnas, then back by the Pico do Ferro viewpoint

   • Environ 2 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Ponta Delgada
   Détail du jour 3

   About an hour east along the south coast brings us to Lagoa das Furnas. We walk part of the lakeshore path to the fumaroles, where steam hisses from the ground and restaurants bury their cozido pots in the hot earth for about six hours. Arriving in the late morning, we watch the pots being lifted out around midday, then drive the few minutes into Furnas village to eat cozido for lunch: meats, sausage, cabbage and potatoes cooked slowly in the volcanic ground. After lunch we walk through the village caldeiras, where hot springs bubble beside the streets and you can taste the naturally sparkling mineral water from the public fountains. The afternoon is in Terra Nostra Park, an old garden of tall trees and ferns with a large thermal pool of warm, iron-coloured water. On the way home we stop at the Pico do Ferro viewpoint for the whole Furnas valley from above.

   Compris

   • Walk along Lagoa das Furnas to the fumaroles
   • The cozido pots lifted from the ground
   • Cozido lunch in Furnas village
   • The caldeiras and mineral springs of Furnas village
   • Terra Nostra Park entry, with time in the thermal pool
   • Pico do Ferro viewpoint

   Option plus facile : Ride to the fumaroles with the vehicle instead of walking the lakeshore, and spend longer in the pool.

   Temps libre : Evening free

   Activité : About 5 km of easy, level walking. Bring swimwear and an old towel; the pool water can stain light fabric. Vegetarians: cozido is a meat dish, so we arrange a vegetable alternative with the restaurant when you tell us at booking.

   

4. Jour 4 : Whales and a free afternoon

   Ponta Delgada marina, out to sea and back

   • En bateau
   • Petit-déjeuner
   • Nuit : Ponta Delgada
   Détail du jour 4

   This morning we walk down to the marina and board a whale-watching boat with a licensed local operator. The Azores sit over deep water close to shore, and lookouts on the cliffs radio the skipper when they spot a blow, which is how the old whalers worked before the hunt ended in the 1980s. Sperm whales live here all year, and common, bottlenose and Risso's dolphins are often seen; in spring, migrating blue, fin and sei whales pass the island. Sightings are never certain, and the skipper decides on the day whether the sea is safe; if not, we go on day 5 instead. Trips take about three hours, and we are back for lunch on the waterfront, which is your choice. The afternoon is free: the Carlos Machado Museum in an old convent, the pineapple greenhouses on the edge of town, or a long coffee on the seafront.

   Compris

   • Whale-watching boat trip from Ponta Delgada with a licensed operator and onboard guide

   Activités en option

   • Carlos Machado Museum
   • A pineapple greenhouse in Fajã de Baixo

   Option plus facile : If you are prone to seasickness, stay ashore and take the morning at your own pace; your guide can suggest a walk along the harbour.

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free in Ponta Delgada

   Activité : About 3 hours on open water, often with swell. Take seasickness tablets before boarding if you need them, and bring a warm, windproof layer.

   

5. Jour 5 : Lagoa do Fogo, Caldeira Velha and tea

   Ponta Delgada to Lagoa do Fogo, Caldeira Velha, Ribeira Grande and Gorreana, then back

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Ponta Delgada
   Détail du jour 5

   We climb the mountain road above the south coast to the high viewpoint over Lagoa do Fogo, at about 900 m, early enough to beat the cloud that often gathers by midday. The lake fills a crater of the Água de Pau volcano and is protected as a nature reserve, with no buildings anywhere around it. Those who want to can walk the steep path down to the beach at the water's edge and back. On the northern side of the same mountain, Caldeira Velha has warm pools and a waterfall under tree ferns, and we have a booked slot to bathe. Lunch is in Ribeira Grande, the town on the north coast, before we follow the coast road east to Gorreana, a family-run tea plantation working since 1883. Walk between the rows of camellia bushes, see the old machines in the factory and taste the black and green teas, then drive back across the island to Ponta Delgada. At about two and three-quarter hours, this is the longest day on the road, split into short drives.

   Compris

   • Lagoa do Fogo viewpoint
   • Caldeira Velha entry and a booked bathing slot
   • Lunch in Ribeira Grande
   • Gorreana tea plantation: the tea fields, the factory and a tasting

   Option plus facile : Stay at the viewpoint while others walk down, and use the Caldeira Velha visit for the short boardwalk to the waterfall rather than the pools.

   Option plus active : Walk the steep path from the viewpoint down to the shore of Lagoa do Fogo and back, about 1.5 hours.

   Temps libre : Evening free

   Activité : The path down to Lagoa do Fogo is steep, loose and often muddy; it is optional.

   

6. Jour 6 : Fly to Terceira and walk Angra

   Ponta Delgada to Lajes Airport (TER) by air, then Angra do Heroísmo and Monte Brasil

   • Environ 45 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   • Nuit : Angra do Heroísmo
   Détail du jour 6

   A short transfer to the airport and a short scheduled flight west to Terceira, the third largest island; we confirm the flight time when we book it. Our second vehicle and driver meet us at Lajes and it is about half an hour across the island to Angra do Heroísmo, where we stay two nights. Lunch is your choice in the old town. In the afternoon your guide walks you through Angra, listed by UNESCO in 1983 as the port where ships crossing the Atlantic stopped for centuries. Much of it was carefully rebuilt after the earthquake of 1 January 1980, and the grid of painted houses, the cathedral and the town hall square look much as they did in the 16th and 17th centuries. We climb through the Duque da Terceira garden to the Alto da Memória monument for the view over the roofs to the bay, then drive up Monte Brasil, the old volcano beside the harbour, for the late light over the town.

   Compris

   • Flight from Ponta Delgada (PDL) to Terceira (TER)
   • Transfers to and from both airports
   • Walking tour of Angra do Heroísmo with your guide: the cathedral, the town hall square and the Duque da Terceira garden
   • Alto da Memória viewpoint
   • Monte Brasil viewpoint

   Temps libre : Lunch and evening free in Angra

   Activité : About 3 km on cobbled and sloping streets, with steps up to Alto da Memória. Your bags travel in our vehicle to and from both airports; the airline's checked-bag allowance is confirmed when we book the flight.

   

7. Jour 7 : Terceira's fields, lava pools and caves

   Angra do Heroísmo to Serra do Cume, Biscoitos, Algar do Carvão and Gruta do Natal, then back

   • Environ 2.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Angra do Heroísmo
   Détail du jour 7

   We start at the Serra do Cume viewpoint on the eastern side of the island, where stone walls divide the green fields into a patchwork that runs down to the sea. From there we cross to Biscoitos on the north coast, where black lava has made natural rock pools you can swim in on calm summer days, and visit the small wine museum for the story of vines grown inside walls of volcanic stone and a tasting. Lunch is alcatra, Terceira's beef slow-cooked in a clay pot, at a local restaurant. The caves on the island open mainly in the afternoon, so we go underground after lunch: Algar do Carvão is an old volcanic vent you walk down into by a tunnel and steps, with mineral formations on the walls and a pool at the bottom, and Gruta do Natal is a lava tube you walk through. Back in Angra, the farewell dinner is in town.

   Compris

   • Serra do Cume viewpoint
   • The Biscoitos lava pools
   • Biscoitos wine museum with a tasting
   • Alcatra lunch
   • Algar do Carvão volcanic vent, with a guide
   • Gruta do Natal lava tube
   • Farewell dinner in Angra do Heroísmo

   Option plus facile : Skip the steps down into Algar do Carvão and wait at the visitor centre; Gruta do Natal is a mostly level walk.

   Option plus active : Walk the Mistérios Negros trail through the 18th-century lava field near Algar do Carvão, about 5 km, in place of Gruta do Natal.

   Activité : Algar do Carvão is damp and has many steps; wear shoes with grip. Cave opening hours vary by season and are confirmed with your final itinerary. If the caves open in the morning on your dates, we swap the order: caves first, then Biscoitos and a later lunch.

   

8. Jour 8 : Angra and home

   Angra do Heroísmo to Lajes Airport (TER)

   • Environ 30 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   Détail du jour 8

   The morning is free in Angra. Walk the harbour and the Prainha beach, buy queijadas or Dona Amélia cakes for the journey, or, if your flight is after about 2 pm, join your guide for a walk on the forest paths of Monte Brasil to the Pico das Cruzinhas monument above the bay. We check out after breakfast and keep your bags at the hotel until it is time to leave. The drive to Lajes Airport is about half an hour, and your guide sees you to the terminal and checks your flight before saying goodbye. Most travellers connect home through Lisbon or Porto; routes and seasonal flights from Lajes change, so we confirm the current schedule with you at booking. Book a flight leaving after about noon so the morning is not rushed.

   Compris

   • Drop-off at Lajes Airport (TER)

   Option plus active : A guided walk on Monte Brasil to Pico das Cruzinhas, about 4 km, for flights after about 2 pm.

   Temps libre : Morning free in Angra

   Activité : Book a flight out of Lajes (TER) after about noon; for the Monte Brasil walk, after about 2 pm.

   

Faune et météo : Cloud can hide the crater lakes on any day, so the São Miguel days swap to catch clear weather. Sperm whales and dolphins are seen year-round; migrating blue, fin and sei whales pass mainly in spring. Boats do not sail in rough seas, so the whale trip has a spare day.

• Ponta Delgada5 nuits
• Angra do Heroísmo2 nuits