Azores, 10-day tour: tour in São Miguel Island

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 island.

Azores, 10-day tour: one day in Faial

Azores, 10-day tour: four days on Pico Island

The São Miguel hosts a multitude of landscapes, lagoons, waterfalls and beauty that never end. I had visited this island in the past and I was in love. At that time was less known and there was less tourism unlike what happens nowadays. You will find a lot of traffic in the most well-known sites, car parks with counted time and queues to take selfies. The silence in some places was lost, but I still think that the island has not lost its charm with this tourist boom.

1º – Ponta Delgada

We take the day of our arrival to know the city of Ponta Delgada. The capital of the Archipelago and also the island has several places of interest that are worth a visit. If you like to visit cultural places, start by visiting the Portas da Cidade. This monument in English is “Gates of the City” is a monument that is in the centre of the city, near streets full of restaurants and small shops. Next to it, you find the marina zone that is called Portas do Mar with restaurants and bars. Near this area, there are several churches that you need to visit (São Sebastião Church, St. Cristo’s Church, São José Church, among others), the São Brás Fort where you can find the Military Museum of the Azores and several gardens such as Jardim Antero de Quental.

If you enjoy more the sea you can find the beaches near the city, with black sand, and the natural pools and also you can rent Whale watching.

Seven Cities Lagoon and Western Part of the Island

On the second day, we took the opportunity to visit the Lagoons area nearby: the Lagoa das Sete Cidades or Seven cities Lagoon.

We leave Ponta Delgada and follow the road that passes through the Covoada zone and take the opportunity to visit Carvão Lagoon, Canário Lagoon and Empadas Lagoon. Then we follow to Vista do Rei viewpoint where we can enjoy a view of the Sete Cidades Lagoon. On some days we can appreciate its two watercolors. Next, we descend to the little town of the Seven Cities (Sete Cidades), inside the crater of the extinct volcano and look for a place to have lunch and renew our forces. In the afternoon, we went to the Monasteries area to visit the beautiful beach. Our final destination was the Ferraria area, where we could bathe in the ocean water heated by the old volcano.

Yes, it is true! In the Ferraria beach, we can swim in the ocean, in a small cove where the water is very hot, warmed by the heat of the volcanic water. The place, at least in the summer, has beach support and ropes that allow us to be enjoying this water without great effort.

Where sleep

2º day – Fogo lagoon and Caldeira Velha

On the third day we were prepared to walk and obviously to take a bath in hot water. Yes, this mix can be done on this island. We leave Ponta Delgada city in the direction of Lagoa and then Lagoa do Fogo. On the day that we visited it, we were lucky that the clouds were not covering the landscape of the various viewpoints. We stopped at the parking of Miradouro da Lagoa do Fogo (Fogo Lagoon viewpoint) and he went down to the trail to visit this paradise. Being inside the walls, near this big lake with lush vegetation made us, for a moment, forget the huge climb that we still had to do. The Fogo is an old volcano with a huge lagoon and some beautiful vegetation inside.

We returned to the car and went down to Ribeira Grande City, where we stopped for lunch. Then we return to the same road and stop at Caldeira Velha where, in addition to an interpretation centre, we can bathe in the various hot swimming pools created to enjoy the warm water that falls from a waterfall. Place of enormous beauty and despite the movement, of some calm.

3º Day – Furnas

The fourth day was reserved for the Furnas area, famous for its stews and boilers. We start our day visiting the Lagoa das Furnas and visit the Fumaroles where the famous stew is done in holes in the ground. On the other side of the lagoon, we visited the Mata José do Canto, a big natural area.

Then we headed to the village of the Furnas where we spent the rest of the day visiting the Caldeiras and the Pool of Dona Beija (Poça da Dona Beija). Dona Beija’s Pool is a set of small pools with very hot water, in a small valley where you can spend part of the day and also the night.

On the way back to our hotel we pass through the Congro Lagoon. This lagoon is further away from the other more visited but is of rare beauty. We need to descend inside the old volcano and at the end of the descent we find the lagoon, calm, serene and splendid.

4º day – Nordeste

Although the island is not very big, it is necessary to reserve one day to visit the area of the Northeast (Nordeste). To do so, we left again in the morning Ponta Delgada city and headed towards Ribeira Grande to catch the road that runs through the island, but in an area where it is faster than on the south side.

On the way, we made a mandatory stop at the Gorreana Tea Fabric (Fábrica de Chã da Gorreana). In this tea fabric, we can visit the tea plantation and also the tea fabrication.

We return to the road and in the area of Achada we visit the Natural Park of Ribeira dos Caldeirões. This park follows the Caldeirões River and here we can visit two waterfalls. We also have a small park, WC, and coffee shop.

We return to the road and in the Northeast we visit the beaches, we have lunch and we continue until one beautiful viewpoint. The Miradouro da Vista dos Barcos is where the Lighthouse of the Arnel can be observed. We also went to the viewpoint of Ponta do Sossego. After that, we return to Ponta Delgada city.

5º day – Vila Franca do Campo small island

The small island of Vila Franca do Campo is located in front of Vila Franca do Campo village, and due to its volcanic formation has a round cove protected from the sea. It is a magnificent place to spend some time sunbathing, swimming, diving and relaxing. Because it is a protected area there are a maximum number of people that can be on the island daily and you should book your boat ticket on the web in advance. Then get ready for the queues and enjoy your day.

São Miguel Map

[zt_title type=”single-border”]Popular hotels in São Miguel[/zt_title]

Popular hotels in São Miguel Island

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