Azores (São Miguel)
If Earth had a postcard, this place would be it.
The Azores Island left me in awe of the beauty of nature with the island's lush and rugged landscape. We ventured to Sao Miguel, the largest of the Azores islands, in mid June of this year. To be honest, I only learned of Portugal’s Azores Islands a few months before our trip.
Coined the “Hawaii of Europe”, the Azores are a small island chain about two hours by flight from mainland Portugal. We chose to go to Sao Miguel because it is the largest of the islands and we wanted a place we could explore all there is to offer in 5 short days. You could easily spend 1 week or a few weeks island hopping to see all the unique landscapes of this hidden gem in the Atlantic Ocean.
I’ve truly never seen anything like the Azores and highly recommend it for those who love to hike, explore, and get lost in nature.
TOP 5 THINGS TO DO IN SAO MIGUEL
Stay at the Octant Furnas Hotel - We loved our stay at the Octant Furnas Hotel. Tucked away in the Furnas valley, this boutique hotel offers lush mountainside views in a contemporary setting. The best part of the hotel is the spa and thermal pools exclusively for guests. After a full day of exploring, it was a welcome respite to relax and unwind in the pools.
Hike the Trilho do Sanguinho trail to see the Salto Do Prego waterfall- If staying at the Octant Furnas, this hike is about a 35 minute drive away from the hotel. The drive will take you a bit longer because you’ll want to stop every few minutes to take in the jaw dropping beauty. The Salto Do Prego waterfall is the largest waterfall on the island and well worth the visit. You’ll also see a trail to Aldeia do Sanguinho. Follow this route as well to see one of the oldest villages in the island that is no longer in use besides some lodging. All in all you’ll be hiking around 3-4 miles if you do both the waterfall trail and the village trail.
Go to the Lagoa Sete Cidades aka the Blue and Green Lakes - Verde lake and Azul Lake will be the number 1 thing you see on every list for São Miguel.
Catch a sunset at the beach village of Mosteiros - Take in the natural pools and the locals who dare to jump in them while watching the sunset form over black volcanic rocks.
Whale and Dolphin watching - We did not do this and it is my number 1 regret of things we did not do on the island. Over 28 species of whales and dolphins pass through the Azores throughout the year so there is a very high chance you will catch sight of multiple species while visiting. Do this for me, and tell me how amazing it was.
TIPS + TRICKS FOR THE AZORES
It’s only 4 hours away from New York! There are direct flights to São Miguel from JFK making this a no-brainer destination for a trip.
Bring clothing for 4 types of seasons. They say you can experience four types of season in a day in the Azores, and boy did we find this to be true. Expect rain, sunshine, freezing cold, and warmth all in a day and bring clothes in preparation for that. Also, good shoes with good soles are a must for hiking and getting around.
Book an automatic car early. You must book a car to get around in the Azores. Most cars on the island are manual so I highly recommend booking an automatic car early on before you go. Automatic cars are a rarity on the island.
You can reach everything on the island in one hour or so. You can be on the furthest East on the island and drive to the furthest point West in about an hour and a half. That’s to say everything is super accessible and you can cover a lot of ground on the island in a few short days.
The food is not the best. Sorry, I said it. We found the food to be very bland and not tasty. I feel bad for saying that, but just have your expectations for food very low and know you are traveling to take in the awe-inspiring nature. Not the food.
If you are not a nature lover, this is not your trip.
There are more cows than people in the Azores. More often than not we ran into “traffic jams” with cows all along the island.