Exploring São Miguel Island (Azores)- Itinerary

Planning a vacation to Ponta Delgada - Azores? If you are looking to disconnect, hike, and explore the many waterfalls, lush greenery, rolling hills, and sparkling blue waters that make up this island's natural scenery then you are in the right place!

In this blog, I will provide you with my itinerary and recommendations, which will make your journey through Ponta Delgada/Sao Miguel Island as easy as possible.

Check out my Tiktok Video!

Tips:

• Most of the activities are free; however, at maximum you may pay $10-20 for entry. This trip will be relatively cheap, if not considering the flight cost! 

• The food is not expensive. Per meal costs about $10-20 euros. 

• Rent a car!!! The cars are relatively small and in certain areas the roads can be narrow; however, it is very easy/manageable to drive. This will save you money compared to paying for a taxi. Unless you can drive a manual car, please make sure to select an automatic transmission. Most of the cars there are manual; therefore, when renting online they show you manual cars first.  

• Use Google Maps to navigate around

• Download SpotAzores, which is a live weather app. The weather in the Azores is very fickle; therefore, this app will show you exactly what the weather is looking like in all of the areas of the island in real time.

Where to stay?

The hotel and Airbnb I stayed at were phenomenal. The hotel was stationed right along a black sand beach, which every morning was accompanied by beautiful sunsets/sunrises. The amenities were perfect and the rooms were clean and aesthetically pleasing. The staff were very welcoming and attentive to all needs! They allowed me to check in early and upgraded my room to a suite at no cost due to it being "low season." 

Whereas, the Airbnb is an apartment towering over the city with a 360-degree almost all-glass windowed structure. It is magical and private. It is connected to a beautiful boutique hotel, where you are allowed to use the amenities such as a pool, sauna, restaurants, and other facilities. The view was truly unbeatable and I would recommend the experience for everyone! 

In both places, I felt safe, accommodated, and welcomed. The food at the hotel was a bit pricey. I would recommend eating at the local shops/restaurants because not only was the food exponentially better, but it was cheaper! 

• Link to Airbnb

• Link to Hotel

FOOD RECOMMENDATIONS

• Breakfast: Sunset Beach - Restaurant Bar, TukaTula Beach Bar and Dondue 

• Lunch: Queijaria Furnense (The garlic/cheese bread is GOOD!!)

• Dinner: Baia Dos Anjos or Sunset - Poco Da Pedra Bar (Go here for a beautiful sunset and the best chicken sandwich or burger you will ever have!! This spot was the best food I had all trip). 

5 DAY ITINERARY

THINGS TO DO/ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS 

• Parque Natural da Ribeira dos Caldeirões

• Parque Terra Nostra

• Miradouro da grota do inferno / Boca de inferno

• Ponta da Ferraria - thermal bath

• Miradouro Ponta da Madrugada

• Miradouro da Ponta do Sossego

• Farol do Arnel - light house

• Gorreana Tea Factory

• Fumarolas Lagoa das furnas

• Cascata da Ribeira Quente

• Poca Da Dona Beija (Thermal Bath) ** at night or can be day

• Lagoa do fogo trail

• Quatro Fabrico  da Luz

• Miradouro da grota do inferno  / Boca de inferno

• Gorreana Tea Factory 

• Fumarolas Lagoa das furnas 

• Piscina Natural da Boca de Ribeira

• Nordeste trail sao miguel

• Logoa das sets cidades

• Whale watching bar

• The gin library