The Azores: The Most Interesting Destination You Never Heard Of
If you love the striking, jaw dropping landscapes of Iceland, then you’ll love the Azores. We concluded that the Azores are basically Iceland, just tropical! The nature on the island is alive and sparkles and dazzles, exploding in color from the tropical lush green plants to the miles and miles of hydrangea bushes along every road. This was the perfect ending to our honeymoon adventure.
We don’t have any friends who have been to the Azores. The Azores are a string of 9 volcanic islands that sit right smack in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. While we were there, we met a young waiter that told us that the Portuguese would send criminals and Catholic priests to settle the islands back in the 1400s!
We only had 4 full days and we regret not booking more time here! However, we made the most of the short time we had. You can do Sao Miguel in 3 or 4 days – it’s a small island. But there are so many things to do, trails to hike, other islands to explore, that you really want to spend more time here if you can!
We referred to The Ultimate Itinerary of Sao Miguel Island (Made By An Azorean) by Geeky Explorer. It was a really great blog post to work off of. Bruno is from the Azores and he very thoroughly describes what to see and where to visit.
We stayed at the Azor Hotel in Ponta Delgada, and we can’t recommend it enough. The service was incredible, the food was 5-stars, and the location was stellar. It’s a beautiful little town and the closest to the airport. We don’t regret staying at the Azor Hotel, but if we went again, we would spread out our stay around the island so we could really explore each area. I would highly recommend staying a night in both Sete Cidades and Furnas so you can really explore each area!
Sete Cidades
Flowers, in particular Hydrangeas, are gloriously blooming EVERYWHERE. The Azores gave me so much flower envy! Why can’t my garden look half as good?
Cows are to the Azores as sheep are to Iceland. The cows graze on the mountainsides abundantly.
She has a little gelato shop in Ponta Delgada. You HAVE to try her gelato. She mixes unique flavors. For example, the best flavor I had was her Port Wine gelato
Back on the bike after a busy day exploring Sete Cidades.
We ordered every single slice of cake they had. They were all amazing.
Up in the clouds watching the sunset. Breathtaking!
Caldeira Velha
On day 2, we rented mopeds and we decided to explore the middle of the island. Caldeira Velha is a popular nature preserve with hot springs and waterfalls. After having gone to Blue Lagoon, I was admittedly underwhelmed BUT it’s still cool to check out. There are two thermal pools, one smaller with hot water. The second, larger pool has a waterfall, however it’s lukewarm if not cold. I get weirded out by water that’s lukewarm, so we skipped that one. Still, for an entrance fee of only 2€, it’s a unique experience. We heard that the Terra Nostra pool in Furnas is better, but we didn’t get a chance to check it out because of time constraints!
My whip for the day
Ponta Delgada
Ponta Delgada is the capital of the Azores, located on São Miguel Island. This is the main hub of the island with an international airport and historic downtown. It’s a great home base for your Azorean adventures!
Queijadas: The Azorean equivalent to the continental Portuguese pasteis de nata. We had these up north in Ribeira Grande on our third full day!
The Pineapple Plantation
We went to the Arruda Pineapple Plantation. It’s an easy ride from Ponte Delgada, about 15 minutes by moped. It’s cute to see the little pineapples popping up from the ground in the plantation. Am I the only one that didn’t know pineapples grew from the ground? I thought they hung from trees like coconuts! Shows how much I know
Tea Plantations
There are TWO major tea plantations on the island of São Miguel, and they’re right next to each other! We recommend you visit both of them.
Tea Porto Formoso was our favorite. It’s smaller than Gorreana, but it’s much more intimate and better cared for. There were only two other tourists when we visited, compared to the hordes of tourists at Gorreana.
The Gorreana tea plantation is much larger, and has free tea for you to try (along with some amazing gelato!). Their tea is 100% free from chemicals and pesticides.
The Nordeste
The Nordeste is the north eastern part of São Miguel Island. For those familiar with Iceland: it’s the West Fjords of the Azores!
We rented a car on our last full day in the Azores for this trek! It’s the least populated area on the Island and most of the interior is covered by forests. Most recommended a car because the roads are “terrible:” take this with a grain of salt. The roads are all paved and relatively well-preserved and maintained. If you take the corners slowly you’ll be fine.
Farol Ponta do Arnel
Miradouro da Ponta da Madrugada
We stumbled upon a garden filled with crazy cats. There were so many cats my allergies started acting up!
Furnas
This wasn’t our favorite part of the island. It’s one of the most touristy places because of the volcanic activity and thermal springs. It was cool to try local food that’s cooked/baked on the volcanic crater, though!
In the summer, the locals cook corn in the hot springs.
Bolo Lêvedo: a cake-bread-muffin hybrid
The Mall
We were exhausted on our last night and decided to check out the mall in Ponte Delgada. We ate some bad Burger King (lol) and played an intense game of air hockey.
