Azores, Portugal
This week-long road trip around the beautiful island of Sao Miguel in June was the first international trip we took as a family. Exploring the lush, flower lined roads, roaming the cobbled streets of Ponta Delgada and soaking in the bubbling hot springs still evoke fond family memories.
Notes from Christina.
Number of Nights - 7
Time of Year - end of June 2019
Type of Trip -
Road Trip / Family Travel
Itinerary
4 nights in Rabo de Peixe to explore the West side of the island
3 nights in Furnas to explore the East side of the island
Hot Tips.
- Hydrangea Heaven - We visited at the end of June and the island was in full bloom - hydrangeas lined the streets of the roads like a fairytale. People sometimes call the Azores the Hawaii of Europe, and that was definitely the vibe the last week of June/first week of July. It was fantastic!
- Road Trippin’ - the best way to experience the Azores is by car. The roads were easy to navigate and well kept, but be prepared to sometimes pass a small town where cows or farm animals get the right of way. Every small village we stopped in around the island was clean, beautiful and felt safe.
- Two Sided - We split our time exploring the East side of the island, where Ponta Delgada and Sete Cidades are, before moving over to Furnas, where you will find the geothermal features and more hot springs. Both are worth experiencing, so we highly recommend splitting up the trip if you can.
- Terra Nostra Garden Hotel - We did not stay here, but when we were in Furnas we spent most of a day wandering the impressive Terra Nostra Garden with its huge soaking hot springs and impressive botanical displays. Guests of this hotel get easy access into the garden with their hotel robes for soaking in the springs, even during off-public hours. In retrospect we wished we had stayed here. It books quickly, so make this one of your first bookings if you can for exploring this area.
Day 1: Arrival in Ponta Delgada
- We picked up our car at the airport and drove to our hotel, Quinta De Santana, which was more like a self catering apartment complex with a common cafe for breakfast and a community pool, beautiful garden, and a nice small park for children. Our children were young at the time, and we really wanted a kitchen and full apartment so this worked out fine, but was low frills. We did have an impressive view over their beautiful garden and the kids loved to see all of the cats roaming around.
If we went back, we would probably stay at an ocean-front resort in the same area, somewhere like Pedras do Mar Resort & Spa.
Day 2 - Sete Cidades Day & Grota do Inferno or Boca do Inferno Viewpoint
-Today we spent the day road tripping to see the iconic crater on the western end of Sao Miguel. It's probably the most-photographed spot in the island and if you've searched the internet for the Azores, you will have seen an image of the famous twin lakes. The drive was beautiful, with many photo stops. We drove down to have lunch in the town at the base of the crater at a very casual spot. Bonus was that we saw a local milkman pulling his horse and cart with his milk and although he didn’t speak a word of English he let the kids pet the horse and took photos with us. We did a little impromptu hike off the side of the road somewhere overlooking the ocean.
-After exploring the town in valley below we searched for the Grota do Inferno or Boca do Inferno Viewpoint hike on our way out. We had a bit of trouble finding it, as it was not easily marked and had to turn around and ask people for help a few times, but we finally got there! The Grota do Inferno Viewpoint (or Boca do Inferno) is one of the essential viewpoints that offers an impressive panoramic view of the Lagoa das Sete Cidades, and one you have most likely seen in Instagram photos. The trail is approximately 1.2 km long (2.4 km round trip) and starts from the parking lot of the Lagoa do Canario, leading to the Grota do Inferno Viewpoint, passing by the Lagoa do Canario at the beginning. Our kids were 3 and 5 at the time, and it was perfectly fine, just helping them with the incline steps a bit. The trail was crowded, as one would expect, but the views and photos were worth it, and we were rewarded with an ice cream cart in the parking lot at the end!
Day 3 - Ponta Delgada Exploration & Whale Watch
- Today we had a 3 hour whale watched booked from Ponta Delgada, so we headed to the city early to walk around and explore. We strolled its waterfront, cobblestone streets, sat in a café and got cappuccinos and dipped ice cream, visited the produce market for fresh fruit, and then headed back to the water for the whale watch.
- The Azores are one of the world's premier whale and dolphin watching destinations, so we figured it would be a fun activity to do with the kids. It was nice that it wasn’t too long of a tour, and the kids had fun pointing out the flying fish, jellyfish and sperm whales. We used the tour company Futurismo.
Day 4 - Caldeira Velha
- We spent another day exploring by car, making a point to find and stop at Caldeira Velha, which was a nature reserve featuring hot springs soaking pools in an incredibly lush setting with nice changing rooms and facilities. You will find Caldeira Velha on a winding, switch-backing part of the road with the parking lot across the street, and you have to pay a small admission fee, but it is worth the trip. We really loved it!
Day 5 - Gorreana Tea Plantation and Head to Furnas
- This morning we had to check out of our accommodation and head to the other side of the island to Furnas. Along the way we stopped at the Gorreana Tea Plantation, the oldest in Europe! The fields of tea overlooking the ocean was a beautiful place to wander, and then we stopped into the cafe for some gelato, hot teas, and to buy some tea to take home.
- Once in Furnas we checked into the World’s Nest Pods Village Furnas, which we booked through AirBNB, which was a great place for a family near a babbling brook. What we loved the most was the lovely breakfast that was provided up at the main building each morning with the most delicious fresh squeezed orange juice we had ever tasted. We still talk about it !
Day 6 - Cycling around Lake Furnas & Terra Nostra Botanical Garden
- Today we had a bike rental company collect us from our pod and bring us to Lake Furnas with bikes with child trailers so we could cycle around the lake shore. The rides takes you by an area of hot earth where locals bury a casserole called cozido to cook in the buried earth, a local specialty. From here we cycled down to Furnas where there were several places to see boiling mud and water.
- We ended the ride at the famous Terra Nostra Botanical Garden where we spent hours roaming the beautiful gardens and soaked in the huge main thermal pool (for a small fee). This is where we learned of the Terra Nostra Garden Hotel, which would have been very convenient to explore this huge garden in the off hours.
Day 7 - Return to Ponta Delgada for Flight Home
- We left the Furnas area wishing that we had had a little more time, and road tripped back to Ponta Delgada airport.
