Destination: Azores Islands, Portugal. Hints and pictures from a Lorana beautiful summer holiday

In summer 2010 we experienced 20 wonderful days on Azores islands. Below you find pictures, hints and our top places to help you getting the best out of this paradise.

Pictures: go here for our picture collection (22 subsets) on Azores, here for our panoramic pictures or just read below and click on the links of our pictures subsets you are interested in.

— In short —

Holiday length: 20 days
Period of the year: first part of August – low rain, hot temperatures, traditional fiestas.
Preferred Accommodation: camping, cottage
Preferred Transports: SATA flights between islands, Ilha Verde cars on islands, hitch-hiking
Visited Islands: Pico, Faial, San Miguel plus a short visit to Terceira
Logbook: 8 days on Pico (camping) and 2 days on Faial (pension), 9 days on San Miguel (rooms, camping, and cottage)

— Hints and tips —

- Go for hitch-hiking as much as you can, together with walking it is the best way to get in touch with locals

- People of Azores are extremely kind and helpful: accepting their spontaneous invitations is the best way to enjoy your holidays.

- Rent the cars you need in advance or you will get none (cars are not transferable between islands)

- Adapt your programs to the daily weather: sun always shines on ocean shores, less frequently inland.

- Do not climb the Montanha do Pico when clouds cover the peak: they will not move away all day long. Instead, climb for breathtaking views when no clouds or low clouds on sight.

- Praia de Victoria is a nice place to wait for the connecting flight between Terceira and San Miguel.

- In case of wet weather, go for some geological expedition on Pico!

- Thermal baths in Furnas are in are also inside the Terra Nostra Botanical Garden (a jewel to visit) : do not forget your swim suit.

- In Furnas, don’t miss the free thermal pools of Dona Beija on the road to the Lagoa das Furnas

- Easily go to Vulcao do Capelinhos by bus and come back hitch-hiking: bring there some eggs and cook them underground!

- Inside Caldeira do Faial there is no mobile telephone network..

- If you go to Furnas on the 15th of August, it is not rare you get invited by families to try the tasty “cozido das Furnas”.

- We found the company “Futurismo” very pleasant to go for dolphin and whale watching experiences. We heard good also about “Peter Whale Watching”

- Looking for sea tales? Have a dinner at Peter’s Cafe’ Sport, Horta, Faial.

- La Montanha do Pico and Sete Cidades Lake are 2 of the 7 Natural wonders of Portugal. Do not miss them!

- Go for warm waterfalls in Caldeira Vehla (San Miguel) and bring empty bottles to the lost sparkling water spring of Lombadas (San Miguel): it tastes so good!

- Ponta Delgada (San Miguel) is jammed with traffic and noise, except for its exquisite botanical garden and cemetery.

- Azores are the only European land where tea is cultivated. Do pay a worthy visit to the charming Cha’ Gorreana factory close to Maia, San Miguel.

- When the tide goes down, it can be very difficult to climb back to the shore on sharp rocks. Do not forget your sandals, if possible.

- If you do not find a camping place close to an area you want to explore, go for rooms asking in local restaurants.

- Go early morning (first boat at 10am) to Ilheu do Vila Franca do Campo: there are only 400 allowed visitors per day.

- Small bananas and tiny pineapples from Azores are great!

— Top places —

- Best camping places for position and services: Lajes do Pico (Pico) and Furnas (San Miguel)

- Best cottage: Quinta Altamira, Caloura, San Miguel.

- Best swimming / snorkeling places: Cachorro (Pico), Lajes do Pico and Mosteiros beach and natural swimming pools (San Miguel)

- Best hiking trails: Caldeira (Faial) and Montanha do Pico

- Best food: fresh fish from Thomas in Lajes do Pico, cozido das Furnas from Nicola and Lina on San Miguel. If you do not meet them, go for: Lagoa Restaurant, Lajes do Pico; Restaurant National, Ponta Delgada.

- Folklore festival we really enjoyed: Sao Caetao (Pico) and Vila de Agua de Pau (San Miguel)

Finally, we found the Bradt guide on Azores very helpful, although sometimes too much worried about the “dangers” on Azores.

That’s all for this year. DO NOT HESITATE WRITING US COMMENTS OR ASKING FOR MORE INFORMATION.