Azores, 10-day tour: one day in Faial

This itinerary is part of a trip to the Azores with a duration of 10 days, 5 of which were spent in Faial and Pico and the rest spent in São Miguel.

Less touristy than the islands of São Miguel, Pico and Faial still maintain that feeling of wild land with many to discover, although it is now much easier to reach these islands of the central group and now are much more developed, offering immense options of local accommodation and activities for visitors. Nevertheless, you can feel its almost wild state.

We started our trip through Faial from the airport. We opted for a SATA direct flight from Lisbon to Horta. Then we asked the taxi driver how much would cost a small tour of the island. We know that it is one of the smaller islands and we quickly visit the main spots by car. We also knew that this is a service that taxi drivers carry out at a fixed and combined price.
We began visiting the Capelinhos Volcano where the last great eruption occurred in 1957. The landscape is almost lunar since the vegetation has not yet occupied the sediments released by the volcano, which made the island grow a bit more. Along the way, we find houses destroyed by the last great earthquake.

Continuing the trip with the Taxi driver, we descend towards the North Beach (Praia do Norte) where we are blessed with stunning beauty. On one side a small beach of black sand and on the other the high mountain.

Almost near Horta city, we visited the beach of the Almoxarife, another beach of sand where we can see the islands of the Pico and São Jorge and the Miradouro of Espalamaca with a superb view of the city of Horta.
Another obligatory stop is Caldeira do Cabeço Gordo, one of the island’s highest points and from where we can observe the enormous volcano boiler of the extinct volcano.

The town of Horta is small but has some points of historical and architectural interest. You can not miss Peter’s Café and the marina, where you can see the paintings made by the sailors who find here a shelter in their crossing between Europe and America.

Our taxi driver left us at the new ferry terminal where we bought the ticket to cross to Pico Island. The ferries between Pico and Faial are regular and allow to transport of cars, which will help if you want to rent a car on an island and visit the other.

This route continues with the island of Pico.

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