There are certain travel destinations where I can recall exactly when and where I was when I decided I wanted to visit. The Azores is one such place: sitting on my parents’ couch in January 2009, my eyes were glued to the television screen as Anthony Bourdain navigated his way through this enigmatic archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic.

For years, visiting the Azores remained a distant dream of mine due to expensive flights with multiple stops. When I caught wind that Delta Airlines was launching a new route from New York City to the Azores in 2018, however, I was ecstatic. The inaugural nonstop flight between New York-JFK and Ponta Delgada — the largest city in the Azores — went out in May 2018, and we were on board to the islands a mere two months later.

From stunning scenery and soaking in hot springs to sampling the famous cozido das Furnas stew, here’s our epic Azores itinerary for how to spend a week in São Miguel, Azores.

Wait… Where Are The Azores Again?

If you just asked that question out loud (or were merely thinking it quietly), you’re not alone — and that’s OK. Nine times out of ten, we’d tell friends and family that we were visiting the Azores and we’d get… *crickets.* When we pressed the brave few who had heard of the Azores to tell us where the islands were located, they said, “Oh, they’re in the ocean… in the middle of… somewhere?!”

Should you ever be asked this question as a contestant on Jeopardy (because #LifeGoals), here’s the answer: the Azores, which are located in the Atlantic Ocean, are roughly 1500 km (930 miles, or a 2-hour flight) from Lisbon, Portugal.

Here’s a handy map for reference, if you’re a visual person, or if you are a super cartophile (person with an interest in maps):

Important Things To Know About The Azores

Here’s some quick Azores 101 before you go about planning your trip:

• The Azores are the westernmost point of Europe. Essential trivia to know so you can impress your friends at parties, obviously.
  
• They’re an autonomous region of Portugal. In fact, the Azores are one of two autonomous regions; the other is Madeira. Though English is widely spoken in the islands (especially with younger folk), try and brush up on your Portuguese before visiting!
• There are nine major Azorean islands. São Miguel (the largest island) and Santa Maria are in the east; Pico, Terceira, São Jorge, Faial, and Graciosa make up the center island group; and Flores and Corvo are in the west.
• Ponta Delgada is the largest city in the Azores. Located on São Miguel island, it’s where you’ll fly into for your relaxing week in São Miguel.

Azores Itinerary: How To Spend A Week in São Miguel, Azores

Before we get into this itinerary, there’s a few important things to note. First, this itinerary assumes you do not have a car available. Could we have rented a car in São Miguel? Certainly. But did we want to deal with the potential stress of driving in a foreign country on this trip? Nope. While there are some countries we’ve visited where I definitely wished we had rented a car (Iceland, *cough cough*), we wound up being perfectly happy with taking tours and organizing taxi rides here and there.

Second, this isn’t an exhaustive list of everything to do in São Miguel in a week. If you’ve visited São Miguel and think we’ve left out something totally, utterly amazing, please don’t hesitate to share it in the comments! We tend to wander, eat, and drink a lot on our trips, so if that sounds like your cup of tea, then read on to discover our São Miguel, Azores itinerary.

Speaking of which, you’ll notice a dearth of food and drink recommendations in this post. Never fear: we’re writing a whole post on where to eat and drink in the Azores, so stay tuned!

Without further ado, here’s how to spend an incredible week on the lovely island of São Miguel in the Azores!

Day 1: Explore Ponta Delgada

Similar to our flight into Iceland, our Delta flight left JFK at 8:51 PM and arrived in Ponta Delgada the next day at 6:45 AM. (For those of you playing along at home, the flight length was six hours; the Azores are four hours ahead of New York City. Outbound flights tend to be red-eye flights.) With our bags stored safely but unable to check in, we decided to wander around Ponta Delgada.

Ponta Delgada’s harbor is a great area for strolling. It was an easy 10-minute walk from our hotel over to the Azor Hotel, where we peaked in for a drink and some views. (Don’t worry, we didn’t walk this direction until well past 12 PM.)

Our wanderings definitely rewarded us: Whalewatching Bar on the 7th floor of the Azor Hotel totally blew us away with their cocktails, so much so that we returned multiple times throughout the week.

When you’re not distracted by ocean views, Ponta Delgada is full of amazing street art too. We were surprised by how often we encountered really colorful street art throughout the city!

Day 2: Lagoa do Fogo, Hot Springs, and Liqueurs

I operate under the “Slowly Ease Into Your Trip” philosophy — or really, maybe it’s just that I’m not a morning person — so on our second day, we decided to book an afternoon half day tour of Lagoa do Fogo with FUNtastic Azores tours by van. This particular tour cost 30 euro per person and lasted 4 hours; there’s also a morning tour option if you’re inclined to wake up early.

Admiring Lagoa do Fogo

We were treated to amazing views of Lagoa do Fogo, a crater lake within a composite volcano in the center of São Miguel island. Lagoa do Fogo, which translates to “Lake/Lagoon of Fire,” is the highest lake on the island. The tour took us to two different vantage points and provided ample time for all of our annoying photography needs.

Soaking in some bonafide hot springs

Following this, you can squeeze in a quick stop over to Caldeira Velha, a popular nature reserve featuring hot springs where you can take a dip. The entrance fee to the reserve was a supplemental charge on top of our tour fee, and cost 8 euro at the time of our visit in 2018.

We didn’t get a ton of time here, but we did note that Caldeira Velha had several pools where you can soak and relax. Be sure to budget a little extra time if you go during peak hours, as they have a limit of how many people can go in the water at one time.

Sampling Azorean Liqueurs!

At the end of the tour, you’ll have the chance to stop by Mulher de Capote to taste some delicious Azorean liqueurs. They’ve been producing liqueurs for over 75 years, and their factory is located in the city of Ribeira Grande. We loved their arroz doce liqueur — its flavors of cinnamon really kicked things up a notch!

The Best Way to Get the Inside Scoop: Talk to People You Meet!

We’ll elaborate on São Miguel restaurants in a separate post, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention our excellent dinner at Tasquinha Vieira on this night. One thing we learned? If your dining neighbor starts talking to you, roll with it! We had a fantastic conversation with the family of three seated next to us — in fact, it was their high praise of tour guide André Philip that convinced us to book a tour with him at the end of our trip!

Day 3: Sete Cidades

If you only do one thing when you’re in São Miguel, make it Sete Cidades. I’m completely serious. It sounds cliché, but it’s true: this place literally took our breath away with how gorgeous it is.

Boca do Inferno Viewpoint

After a solid night’s rest, we were finally human enough to book a morning tour of Sete Cidades in the western part of São Miguel. We opted for a half day van tour with FUNtastic Azores tours, which lasted from 9 AM until 1 PM and cost 30 euro per person.

First up: a stop at Miradouro da Boca do Inferno (or Boca do Inferno viewpoint) to see Sete Cidades. If you’ve seen any picture of the Azores, this is probably it, and for good reason. I mean, the picture speaks for itself:

Word to the wise: depending on what time of day you go, you may encounter a steady flow of tour groups and it’ll be hard to get a shot without a bunch of people in it. If that’s something you really want, consider going on your own for a more flexible schedule. That being said, don’t worry about getting the perfect shot — just enjoy the damn scenery!

Vista Do Rei Viewpoint

Next up, you’ll stop at Miradouro Vista do Rei (“View of the King”), the main viewpoint for Sete Cidades. Here, you’ll be able to see both lakes of Sete Cidades: one green and one blue.

The mythology behind the creation of the two lakes makes for a great story. According to legend, long ago there was a king with a beautiful daughter who tended to roam the countryside. One day, she met a shepherd boy out in the fields, and the two fell deeply in love.

You can probably guess where this is going: King Daddy didn’t approve and said, “No way, Jorge! You can’t be with him! I want you to marry this other rich prince dude!” The two lovers were allowed to meet one last time, during which they cried so damn much that they created these two lakes: one from the blue eyes of the princess, and one from the shepherd boy’s green eyes.

Day 4: Free Day (Or: Relax and Choose Your Own Azorean Adventure)

I like to throw in a “free day” in the middle of a trip — sort of like a “vacation from my vacation.” If I’ve been super active and running around a place without a chance to catch my breath, odds are I’ll get tired, cranky, and resentful. Plus, it’s an opportunity to recalibrate and say, “Did we hit everything we wanted to so far?”

On São Miguel, we realized that we wanted to spend more time at Boca do Inferno and visit the Cha Porto Formoso tea plantation (since it wasn’t included on any of our tours), so that’s exactly what we did.

In the morning, we arranged a taxi to Boca do Inferno to enjoy it at a more leisurely pace. Stay tuned for an upcoming post on how to visit Boca do Inferno on your own!

Cha Porto Formoso

We arranged a second taxi ride to Cha Porto Formoso tea plantation in the afternoon. Fun fact you probably didn’t know: the Azores are home to the only tea plantations in all of Europe! (Seriously — no joke.) There are two tea plantations, both located on São Miguel, and we had the opportunity to incorporate both into our Azores itinerary.

Cha Porto Formoso was without a doubt our favorite, with its range of black teas and killer views. I’d love to come back with a book and luxuriate in these terrace views. 😍

Because we went on our own, we had plenty of time to roam through the tea fields, sip on tea, and explore the area.

We’re writing a full blown post about visiting tea plantations in the Azores, but suffice it to say that you should definitely include Cha Porto Formoso in your Azores itinerary.

Day 5: Furnas

Today we switched it up and decided to explore the east side of the island with Pure Azores. We booked their São Miguel East Van Tour for 59 euro per person, a full day tour that left us exhausted yet satisfied.

This tour started with a visit to Nossa Senhora da Paz, or “Our Lady of Peace,” a beautiful chapel in the mountains. Climb to the top and you’ll be rewarded with panoramic views of the beautiful landscape below.

Close by, you’ll stop to take in views of the islet of Vila Franca do Campo. It’s possible to swim in this old volcano; there’s a seasonal ferry between the mainland and the islet during the summer months, but be sure to arrive early as the number of visitors allowed here is capped.

Volcanic Vents and Sausages Galore, Oh My!

Onwards to Furnas, an essential part of any Azores itinerary! Here, on the north side of Furnas lake, you can stroll along the boardwalk and pass by several steaming volcanic vents, or caldeiras. Inhale pungent whiffs of sulfur as you slowly stop and take lots of photos hightail it through this part of the tour.

Of course, there are several warning signs throughout to make sure you are very aware that this sh*t is hot as hell, so BEWARE and don’t fall in or touch anything, people. It’s not just hot water, it’s VERY hot water. You’ve been warned.

People have been coming here to cook the famous cozido nas caldeiras for a long time — we’re talking for generations! Containers filled with different meats, sausages, and vegetables are lowered into holes in the ground, which are often about one meter deep. The food will cook for roughly seven hours.

Signs with restaurant names on them mark whose food is whose. You’ll see several of these mounds, and you can stop and watch men pull the cooked food out from the ground. Pretty cool!

A Truly Azorean Lunch: Cozido Nas Caldeiras

Finally, it was time for a well-deserved lunch, including the requisite photo break before eating. As one of Mr. Five O’Clock‘s cousins says, “Phone eats first!” (Not sure if that is some newfangled phrase from the brains of our nation’s 18-year-olds, but it aptly describes the state of our ravenous group.)

The actual stew itself, while worth trying, was… er… not as seasoned as we would have expected. Still, the meal was hearty, the meat was tender and juicy, and we even discovered that we didn’t *hate* blood sausage!

Soaking in Hot Springs

Your time in Furnas isn’t truly complete unless you opt for a soak in the hot springs. Our tour took us to Poca da Dona Beija thermal pools and gave us a solid amount of time to relax here. Parque Terra Nostra is another great option in the area if you have more time.

Closing out the Day with a Cup of Tea

Cha Gorreana tea plantation offers informative guided tours (assuming staff are available) and fresh tea for free. Founded in 1883, the Gorreana estate produces roughly 30 tons of tea annually. You’ll learn the differences between green tea and black tea here and be treated to excellent samples of each.

Day 6: Go Hiking

With its verdant landscapes and incredible views, you can’t leave São Miguel without going on a hike. We thoroughly enjoyed our Lagoa do Fogo hike with André Philip (55 euro + 15 euro for lunch per person), even though it seriously kicked my ass.

We’ll write a whole post about the hike, but in the meantime, here’s a quick preview:

André took us through a variety of landscapes, from the rocky lakeshore to lush forests. His knowledge and passion for his homeland knows no bounds — he’d stop and teach us about different plants and trees, for example, and picked up the (rare) bits of trash he found to transport it out of the area.

Also, the man deserves a medal for guiding us: André Philip truly has the patience of a saint. No matter how many times I asked to take breaks — of which there were dozens — he just smiled and patiently waited as we gathered our breaths. He held my hand as I awkwardly fell over while hiking downhill and made safety and comfort a top priority. Despite my (mostly unfounded) fears of falling to my death over the side of the mountain, André kept us calm and collected. Bravo, good sir!

Day 7: Rest & Recover

Since our flight back to New York was at 8:15 AM on Day 7, there wasn’t much to do today except trying to sleep on the plane and making plans for our return to the Azores. Vamos voltar, Açores!

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Essential Info:
Where should you stay in Ponta Delgada? Check out all options here.
Where did I personally stay in Ponta Delgada? I stayed here and recommend it!
Want a guidebook for the Azores? I used this one and found it useful!
What else have I written about Europe? Read my posts on Europe here.
What camera did I use for this post? I used our Olympus EM5 Mark II camera with this lens and (and my cell phone).
Have questions for me? Hit me up on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest!

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