Europe >> Iberia >> Portugal >> Azores

The Azores are a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean and are an autonomous region of Portugal.

It is an ultraperiferal area of the European Union.

Regions

It consists (mainly) of 9 islands:

Cities

  • Angra do Heroísmo historic capital/diocese
  • Horta legislative capital
  • Ponta Delgada -Regional administrative Capital
  • Ribeira Grande
  • Praia da Vitória

Culture and History

These volcanic islands are situated at about the halfway between Europe and North America.

Talk

The official language in Azores is Portuguese. Even if you understand a reasonable bit of Portuguese - you might get surprised in some areas when listening to the locals, as most speak Portuguese with a very strong accent. In fact, even the people from Portugal (Mainland) might find it hard to understand them. However the good news is that most of the people who are remotely involved with tourism speak at least enough English to be able communicate with tourists.

Travel to Azores - Visa Requirements

Flights and airtickets to Azores

Main hub is Ponta Delgada(PDL)Airport.

Major carriers serving include

  • Azores Express [1] (US tel.: 800-762-9995, Portugal: 351 296 209 748) connects New England with the Azores, mainly on the Boston-Funchal route. The carrier is part of the SATA Group, which connects the Azores with mainland Europe
  • SATA Azores [2] Is both an Airline and a tour operator locally based on the Azores. Connects Azores with major European hubs like London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris, it also has a usefull connection to Gran Canaria and serveral other European destinations.
  • TAP [3] Portugals flag carrier, also flies on the major connections between Lisboa and Funchal

Tours and Getting around Azores

On the bigger Islands like Sao Miguel and Terceira you will want a car. There are car rental places on the bigger Islands, but they are rather expensive. If plan an extended stay, some people have their car transported to the island by boat.

These being volcanic islands, in many places the terrain is steep and rugged. The roads wind around very steep hillsides. Cycling around the islands is possible if you are in great shape, and don't mind a lot of hill climbing.

This is a great place for going around island to island and even town to town by boat. Almost every town is on the shore and most have ports. On Sao Miguel, in the largest town Ponta Delgada, there is a large and modern marina.

  • Azorean Taxitours & 500 Pictures of S.Miguel, Azores [4]

Azores tourist attractions and sightseeing

Lagoa das Sete Cidades,a beautiful lagoon northwest of Ponta Delgada. At Faial Island see Horta Harbor where all sail boat stop, Faial Caldera and Capalinhos vulcano Pico Vulcano São Jorge green mountains and cows that produces the famous S. Jorge chease

Itineraries

Sao Miguel, fly to Faial from Ponta Delgada, take the boat to Pico Island, take a boat for Whale watching at Faial or Pico, climb the Pico mountain for very good shape athletes, take the channel boat to S. Jorge and then fly to Terceira Island. In each Island the best is to rent a car (cheaper) or to hire a taxi to see around all the Islands and enjoy the views.

Azores city tours

  • Whale Watching . Every town with a Marina offers whale watching. They take you out on small boats and often get you within ten yards of the whale.
  • Velvet Adventure Sailing, [5] Spend time sailing between the islands and exploring what each one has to offer. The boat moors in sheltered marinas or anchors in secluded bays.
  • Angra, a historical city, an UNESCO heritage patrimony city, in Terceira island. (Airport: Terceira(TER)/ Lajes / Praia da Vitoria/ Angra).

Azores Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

Fresh fish is very good. There is also a large amount of cattle on the island and the local grass fed beef is very good.

Azores nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

Sagres and Super Bock are the best Portuguese beers you can find on the island. Especial Is the Local Azorian beer, and is very good.

Stay safe

There is very little crime in the Azores. What little crime exists is mostly drug related. There are no reports of crimes against tourists. However, there have been reports of gross misconduct against private yacht owners by the government when their vessels are being searched and destroyed in their attempt to find illegal drugs. When no drugs are found and no charges or arrests being made, the property owners are left with a vessel that is frequently damaged so extremely that they are unsafe to go to sea.

Foreign flagged vessels should keep clear of the Azures and private yacht owners should think twice before visiting the Azores until the Azores government takes measure to prevent this gross abuse.

Get out

Flights within other islands, plus Madeira/Funchal (FNC), Lisbon/Lisboa (LIS), Porto/Oporto (OPO).

Destinations in Azores:

This page was last edited by Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. Based on work by Peter Fitzgerald, Mark Sheffield, Stefan Ertmann, Susana Alves and R. Quinn, Wikitravel user(s) Vidimian and Taring, Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel and others. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license

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