If you're looking for something off the beaten path in Europe, but don't want to miss out on the best the continent has to offer – spectacular cuisine, charming historical villages, rich culture, welcoming people, and stunning natural landscapes—all without breaking the bank, how about visiting the Azores?
Located in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, about 1,400 km from mainland Europe, the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores consists of nine volcanic islands: São Miguel, Pico, Terceira, São Jorge, Faial, Flores, Graciosa, Santa Maria and Corvo.
On this trip, we visited Sao Miguel, Pico and Terceira Islands in just one week.
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All our posts about Portugal, to inspire you and help you plan your trip:
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Which islands to visit in the Azores?
That’s the million-dollar question! 😂
My answer would be "visit all of them!", but if time and budget are limited for you (as they are for me), you’ll need to make some choices.
We had just one week to visit Azores and opted for the following islands:
1st. Sao Miguel Island: it is the largest island and the one with the best infrastructure, it has numerous attractions and the best air connections. I recommend including São Miguel in any Azores itinerary.
2nd. Terceira Island: for centuries, it was the main island of the Azores and its largest town, Angra do Heroismo, is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The island offers some amazing natural landscapes and also has air connections with the mainland.
3rd. island to visit: it was a tough decision to make. Pico, São Jorge and Flores were high on our list. In the end, we choose Pico Island for its picturesque landscapes and convenient inter-island flights, making it a great fit in order to optimize our time in the archipelago.
For us, the availability of flights played a key role in deciding which islands to visit and in what order (I’ll comment more on this later in this post).
Seven days was just right to visit these three islands. If we had an extra day, we might have spent more time on São Miguel or taken a boat to Faial from Pico.
With about ten days on the Azores, and careful planning of inter-island transport, I imagine it would be possible to visit 4 or 5 islands. Many are small enough to see the main points of interest in a day or two.
If you have unlimited time, a month would allow you to explore all the islands at a leisurely pace, and I'm sure there would be no shortage of activities to fill your time.
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Where are Azores and how to get there
The Azores are located in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, about 1,400 km from the European continent and 3,300 km from the east coast of Canada. They are part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge chain.
The main islands of the Azores are São Miguel and Terceira Islands, both of which are served by flights from Europe (mainly Portugal) and the USA.
We arrived in the Azores on a low cost Ryanair flight flight from Lisbon and returned to the mainland from Terceira Island, flying SATA (the Azores airline) to Porto. At the time of my research, these were the only islands with direct flights to mainland Portugal.
Tip: When planning your visit to the Azores, make sure the first and last islands you visit have direct connections to the mainland . This will help optimize your time and, possibly, your budget. Typically, these islands will be São Miguel and Terceira, but be sure to check when planning, as flight routes are always changing.
There are also flights from these islands to Madeira Island, another amazing Portuguese island that’s well worth a visit. I haven’t been there yet, but I’ve always heard great things about it.
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How to get around between the Azores islands
The 9 islands of the Azores are divided into 3 groups:
- eastern: São Miguel and Santa Maria Islands;
- central: Terceira, São Jorge, Faial, Pico and Graciosa Islands;
- western: Flores and Corvo Islands.
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However, don’t be mistaken: the islands are quite far from each other , with only Pico and Faial being relatively close.
There are regular boat lines between the islands of the central group for much of the year, and some routes also connect to São Miguel. You can find schedules and fares on the Atlantico Line website .
The best way to travel between the islands is by plane.
All the islands have airports, and inter-island flights are operated by SATA using turboprop aircraft.
The flights we took between the islands and the mainland were on Airbus and Boeing jets.
Check the SATA website or Google Flights for available inter-island flights. Play around with the dates and the order of the islands you plan to visit until you find a combination that works best for you.
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How to get around on each Azores island
Rent a car! The attractions on the Azores islands are spread out, and having your own car is the best way to make the most of your time.
Driving on the islands is very easy; the roads are well-maintained, single-lane, and well-signposted. Google Maps or Waze will get you wherever you need to go without any issues.
On the Island of São Miguel, we rented the car from Sixt, and on Pico Island and Terceira Island, we rented from Europcar. All rental companies have a counter inside the airports (which, by the way, are very small) and the cars are parked in the airport parking lot, everything is very simple and quick.
For Pico Island, since we were only staying for 24 hours, we considered taking guided tours to avoid the hassle of picking up and returning the car. However, due to the timing of our flights, renting a car turned out to be the better option. It gave us more flexibility and allowed us to explore the island more thoroughly than we would have with a tour.
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Our one-week itinerary in the Azores
During our one-week trip to the Azores, we visited three islands, following this itinerary:
Day 1️⃣ 10:45am flight from Lisbon to Ponta Delgada (Sao Miguel Island)
Day 2️⃣ Sao Miguel Island
Day 3️⃣ São Miguel Island
Day 4️⃣ 7:30 am SATA flight Ponta Delgada – Pico Island
Day 5️⃣ 10:30 am SATA flight from Pico Island to Terceira Island
Day 6️⃣ Terceira Island
Day 7️⃣ Terceira Island
Day 8️⃣ 11:00am flight SATA from Terceira Island to Oporto
In this post I describe in detail our days on São Miguel Island: what to do, what we enjoyed the most, what we missed, and other tips.
In this one you’ll find our experiences on Terceira Island: what we did, what we liked and didn’t like, and what we would do differently.
And finally, there’s a post with everything you need to know about Pico Island – here’s a spoiler: don’t miss visiting the most picturesque wineries you never thought you’d see!
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Where to stay in the Azores
In the posts about each island, I include other accommodation options we researched, but here are the ones we chose:
Where to stay in Ponta Delgada, São Miguel Island
For our first stop in the Azores, we stayed in the capital of Sao Miguel Island and the largest town in the archipelago, Ponta Delgada. We chose the Vila Gale Collection Sao Miguel, perfectly located in Campo de São Francisco Square, right in front of Forte de São Brás. We even got an upgrade to a room with a view of the fort and the sea. It was the most expensive accommodation of the trip, but it was worth it: a spacious and comfortable room, delicious breakfast, and an unbeatable location.
Where to stay on Pico Island
We stayed in Madalena , the largest town on Pico Island, at Porto Velho Boutique Hostel. Pico Island has fewer accommodation options compared to the other islands we visited, so our choice was driven by location: the hostel is right in the town center, just a few meters from restaurants and shops. The room was simple but clean and pleasant, with a side view of the pier. Great value for money.
Where to stay on Terceira Island
Our accommodation was in the charming town of Angra do Heroísmo, a UNESCO World Heritage site, with all the typical infrastructure you’d expect in such a destination. We chose BayView House, a two-bedroom home that can comfortably accommodate up to five people. Once again, the location was perfect, just a few meters from the city marina and the Igreja da Misericórdia.
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Climate and when to visit the Azores
The weather in the Azores is quite unpredictable. As a guide told us during a tour, “if you are not happy with the weather in the Azores, wait half an hour.” It's absolutely true! Be prepared for everything — you might even encounter snow while climbing Pico!
The temperature doesn't vary much throughout the year, typically ranging between 15°C and 25°C. It rains a lot, and the winds can make it feel colder, so a raincoat and waterproof shoes are essential.
We visited in early April and experienced a bit of rain almost every day. Some days it rained more, others less, but each day also had several sunny moments, cloudy periods, and almost always a lot of wind.
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What to pack for the Azores
The Azores is a nature-focused destination. Bring comfortable clothing suitable for all weather conditions.
For a week there, my carry-on suitcase (I only travel with a carry-on) included:
- 1 leggings
- 1 jeans
- 5 t-shirts (3 of them dry-fit – my favorite for this type of trip)
- 1 cardigan
- 1 lightweight down jacket
- 1 raincoat
- 1 scarf
- Socks and underwear
- 2 pajamas
- 1 swimsuit
- 1 slipper
- 1 sports sneakers
- toiletries (in packages of up to 100ml, always)
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If it were summer, I would have included a pair of shorts; everything else would have remained the same.
On Terceira Island, we stayed in an Airbnb with a washing machine, which I used to wash everything, since our trip would continue for another week in Porto and the Douro. But honestly, if the trip was only to the Azores, the washing machine wouldn't have been necessary: it’s very easy to wash dry-fit t-shirts in the sink, and they dry quickly.
Check out here for more tips on traveling with only a carry-on.
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Map with itinerary of the trip to the Azores
On the map below you can see the details of our one week itinerary in the Azores, Portugal. Just click and save to your Google account. When you plan your next trip to the Azores, you already know where to start 😉
In this post, I explain how I use Google MyMaps to plan my trips. It’s a fantastic tool for saving places, calculating routes and distances, and organizing your trip overall. I highly recommend it!
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