Hi there,
Azores is one of the destinations that has become super famous in recent months on social networks. Since all that was advertised was nature, I decided to visit São Miguel. We would spend 5 nights and 4 whole days.
We decided to rent a car since public transport on the island is almost non-existent. In Porto we had requested a company code at Avis with which we paid a cheaper fixed price regardless of the season.
When we got to the airport, we saw that Avis reservations were managed by a company called Ilha Verde and it was the only car rental company that had people queuing up.
We queued for more than an hour and then we waited for more than an hour to get the car.
With the code we have better conditions regarding the security deposit. Instead of leaving 3,000 euros as a deposit, which is what they ask for with any normal reservation without insurance, we only had to give the amount of the reservation plus 120 euros that corresponds to a full tank of gasoline. In other words, we had to leave almost 365 euros as a security deposit. The lady did not quite understand what was explained in our conditions and only charged us 120 euros on the card.
The car was new and very clean. When we returned it, our deposit was refunded immediately.
We organized visits as follows:
SATURDAY 20
- Furnas
- Furnas Lake
- Grena Park
- Vila Franca (Nossa Senhora da Paz)
- Praia Agua d’Alto
- Praia do Fogo
SUNDAY 21
- Lagoa do Fogo
- Miradouro Santa Iría
- Praia do Areal de Santa Bárbara
- Salto do Cabrito
MONDAY 22
- Lagoa das Sete Cidades
- Miradouro da Vista do Rei
- Lagoa de Santiago
- Ponta da Ferraria
- Lagoa do Canário
- Praia dos Mosteiros
TUESDAY 23
- Northeast of the island
- Salto do Prego
- Ribeira dos Caldeirões
- Poço Azul
- Faro de Arnel
- Ponta do Sossego
WEDNESDAY 24
- Ponta Delgada
Every day we started with a hiking route because it was what we were most interested in doing in the Azores. We always left the hotel at 7AM to be able to start the routes before 8AM.
The first day we went to Furnas to do a 10 km route around the lagoon. At first, we did an almost vertical climb on the road, but the rest of the route was flat. I felt like I was in the Virgin River series because that place couldn’t be more beautiful. We were alone almost the entire tour.
Almost at the end, at noon, we arrived at some boilers, which is where Parque da Grena begins. There were quite a few people there, mostly locals.
We also toured the town of Furnas, which is a spectacle: beautiful houses, no buildings and everything perfectly cared for and clean. Also, in May everything was full of flowers.
One of the biggest attractions in São Miguel is Vila Franca to go snorkeling. We ruled it out because we didn’t feel like doing tours and because in May, the water is still cold.
We would have liked to go swimming or kayaking to the island (because it is very close) and then snorkelling. For that we would have needed to bring more equipment and more time. Because that alone would have taken us all day.
If you want to snorkel there, do it in low season, even if you must use a neoprene suit.
We went to the Miradouro de Nossa Senhora da Paz to take photos of the island and then we got to the part that is right in front of it.
The last stops of the day were Praia do Fogo and Praia Agua D’Alto. I liked the first one better because it has the mountain behind it.
The second day we started at the Lagoa de Fogo. When we arrived, the parking lot was empty, and it was all covered in mist. Here we planned to do an unofficial route that we found on wikiloc that went along the lagoon and then we came back through another part. The official route goes and returns through the same place.
The vegetation is completely different from what we have seen in Furnas. I felt like I was in an Avatar movie. The route was not very comfortable because you had to go up, down, jump, put your feet in the mud, etc.
We got to the beach, which is the end of the official route, and we saw that some seagulls became aggressive with some Germans who were further on.
We continued and arrived at another beach that was also from a movie, but it was all full of seagulls. Since it was nesting season, they became aggressive flying around us. At one point, we grabbed sticks to defend ourselves because several times they tried to reach our heads.
Imagine the situation. Each one with a stick covering our heads, Diego with his cell phone trying to find where the route was going and at times recording how the seagulls attacked us.
The supposed path we had to follow was flooded, so we decided to return through the same place.
At noon when we finished the route, it was when people began to arrive.
As the route was short, we decided to go on another hike through the Salto do Cabrito. The waterfall is nothing special, but the place was also beautiful.
Between the two routes we did about 15 km.
Then we went to the Miradouro de Santa Iría and Praia do Areal de Santa Bárbara. Both are also spectacular. On this beach the entire shoreline was full of Portuguese man o’ war jellyfish.
As the Sete Cidades is the most famous of the Azores, we decided to leave it for a weekday. So, on Monday we started the route at Lagoa Azul.
This area is very large and there are several hiking trails. We combined three routes for a total of 26Km. In the end, we did 30 km.
Another spectacular place full of lagoons of different sizes. Here the vegetation also changes with respect to what we have seen the previous two days. Really, the place was incredible, it made you want to be taking pictures every two minutes.
Here from noon, you could already see the most touristic points with a lot of people, especially the viewpoints.
You also must do a good part of the route on asphalt roads.
We finished the 30Km exhausted but happy.
After this I would have gone to the hotel to rest, but I had to comply with the program. Outside of this route, we had Ponta da Ferraria and Praia dos Mosterios.
Praia dos Mosterios was the one with the least waves of all the ones we saw. In addition, in one part there are rock formations that are reminiscent of the Algarve beaches.
I went to Ponta da Ferraria with high expectations because there were supposedly natural pools of hot water. Actually, there is only one natural pool that is warmer than the sea. When we visited it seemed that the water was not very warm because there was only one person bathing and the rest watching.
The next day we went to visit the northeast part of the island. We started with a hike to the Salto do Prego. Here too the landscape was totally different. It was all covered with trees and the temperature was very pleasant.
There were lots of chickens everywhere.
This route was also very beautiful, although it fell short for us.
Ribeira dos Caldeirões park is a place for families to have a barbecue and spend the day. Although it is a beautiful place, I do not recommend it for those who are going to do tourism.
We tried to hike there but there was no signage, and it was unmaintained so there were fallen trees everywhere.
The Ponta do Sossego is another beautiful viewpoint and with a lot of space for those who are going to spend the day. This place was full of cats.
To get to the Arnel Lighthouse you must walk down because the street becomes almost vertical, and they do not recommend reaching the lighthouse with the car. You cannot enter the lighthouse; you only take photos of the views.
Finally, this day we went to Poço Azul. The main route was closed, and we went that way because there were no other signs. We went down a path of almost vertical stairs, fallen trees, until we finally found the right path. Poço Azul was nice, but I didn’t find it special.
On the last day our flight left at 2:00 p.m., so we visited Ponta Delgada that morning. The city can be seen in an hour and there is nothing interesting. In fact, if I compare it with the rest of the island, Ponta Delgada is ugly and dirty.
If we compare it with Madeira, Funchal is more colorful than Ponta Delgada.
We felt that we lost the morning because it would have been better to go for a short hiking route.
In general, I fell in love with the island. Although the experience in the hotel was disastrous, the spectacular landscapes of São Miguel made up for that bad experience.
The island is a joy to behold, although Ponta Delgada is ugly, and I don’t even recommend going there.
Everything we saw was beautiful and we had the feeling that each hiking trail was more beautiful than the last. Each place had totally different vegetation.
They recommended us to check a web page called Spot Azores; there are images from cameras placed in different parts of the island that allow you to see how the weather will be in the place you are going to. We checked it for two days and it didn’t work, so it was of little use to us.
One thing I liked is that São Miguel is the opposite of Madeira. While in Madeira both beaches and hiking trails were covered in cement, in São Miguel everything was done naturally.
I got the impression that the purchasing power on the island must be high because all the towns were beautiful and with good quality houses. The misery and decadence found in Porto was not remotely visible.
Then my physiotherapist told me that there is an area called Rabo de Peixe, which is the poor area of São Miguel. There are the people who live on social aid, drugs and prostitution.
All the streets were in perfect condition and unlike Madeira, there are no tunnels; we only saw one.
Of the entire island, there are only buildings in Ponta Delgada.
Most of the houses are white and the edges of the windows and doors always have the detail of volcanic rock.
Driving there is a bit stressful because, although there is not much traffic on the island, people park their cars wherever they want. It doesn’t matter if it’s a highway and that they block normal traffic, people leave the car in front of their house, even though they could potentially cause a serious accident.
Before noon there is practically no one anywhere, so it is ideal to visit if, like me, you do not like to meet people.
As we liked São Miguel so much, we will visit Terceira in the future.
The increase in tourism is being noticed by the fact that garbage is already being found even on the hiking trails. I have the feeling that I visited at the right time because when the Azores becomes more popular, tourism is going to destroy everything.
Regarding São Miguel as a place to live, I would say no. Public transport is practically non-existent, supermarkets are badly supplied and there is neither Lidl nor ALDI nor Mercadona, which, for me, are the best. If buying online in Porto is already archaic, I don’t want to imagine what it is like in São Miguel.
Also, if public health is already precarious in the south of Portugal, imagine what it will be like on the islands.
For me as a vegan it is also a resounding no because there are no vegan products in the supermarket and because there are only a couple of restaurants in Ponta Delgada.
Travel expenses for 2 people:
Flight: 295.82 euros
Hotel: 299.24 euros (Here we have already subtracted the amount of the refund for one night)
Car rental: 244.56 euros
Gasoline: 34.51 euros
Food: 70.7 euros
Ubers to and from Porto airport: 26.3 euros
TOTAL: 971.13 EUROS
Everything seemed expensive to me, both the hotel and the car rental. We didn’t spend much on food because we didn’t even go to a restaurant. We had fruit and nuts for lunch and prepared breakfast and dinner in the room.
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