Azores walking holiday, Portugal
Highlights
Santa Luzia Vineyards | Faja dos Cubres | Trupes do Capelo | Capelinhos Volcano | Scrimshaw Museum | Lagoa do Fogo | Sete Cidades | Vista do Rei | Lake Furnas | Terra Nostra Botanical Gardens | Optional activities include: climbing Mt Pico, swimming with dolphins or half day whale watching |Description of Azores walking holiday, Portugal
Although the Azores are part of Europe, Portugal to be precise, they still conjure up some incredibly exotic scenes that would perhaps be far more fitting for somewhere a bit further south.Of course, the archipelago's volcanic origins have a lot to do with the luscious foliage, UNESCO listed vineyards and blooming hydrangeas that you'll discover on a walking holiday with solidified lava, black sand and steep calderas providing yet more evidence of a land that time forgot.
This 8 day walking holiday provides the perfect opportunity to revel in the very best of the Azores, just 1,500kms off the east coast of Portugal, where a short flight to Pico Island signals the start of a very exotic small group adventure with average daily walking distances of 10kms.
Hello. If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. Rosy & team.
01273 823 700 rosy@responsibletravel.com
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Small group holiday
Small group travel is not large group travel scaled down. It is modelled on independent travel – but with the advantage of a group leader to take care of the itinerary, accommodation and tickets, and dealing with the language. It’s easy to tick off the big sights independently – but finding those one-off experiences, local festivals, travelling markets and secret viewpoints is almost impossible for someone without the insider knowledge gained from years in the field. If you’re heading off on a gap year your, perhaps – but for those with a two-week holiday, a small group tour will save valuable planning time.The leaders are not guides – they’re not there to shepherd you around. Instead, they’ll let you know which local restaurant serves great value food – without running the risk of travellers’ tummy. They’ll allow you to avoid hour-long queues at train stations and attractions.
We like to think of small group travel as the Goldilocks option. It is independent travel without the fuss, worry and bunk beds – and organised travel without the coaches. And it’s cheaper than a tailor made tour. It’s sits somewhere in the middle – and we think it’s just about right.
Have big, life-enriching experiences that would be impossible to organise without lots of time and insider knowledge.
Simplicity
Make the most of your holiday time by letting someone else do the hard work and boring logistics!
Peace of mind
Small group tours take care of the security aspects – and provide a safety net should anything unexpected happen.
If you don’t have three months to spend exploring, small groups trips let you cover more ground in less time. Your days are not spent queuing for tickets or finding hotels – so you can squeeze more into your holiday.
Solo travellers who’d like company
Likeminded travel companions plus peace of mind for those travelling alone. Single supplements are usually available – providing privacy if you want it.
Less confident travellers
Stray from the tourist trail without worrying about getting lost, and meet local people without dealing with the language barrier.
Couples and friends have private rooms, and you can choose to eat alone or not. Single supplements give solo travellers their own room.
“There won’t be any free time”
Free mornings or afternoons let you explore on your own, or just relax.
“The accommodation will be basic”
Trips are as high or low end as you like. Though off the beaten track destinations won’t have luxury hotels, this is all part of the adventure.
“I won’t like the other travellers!”
Tour operators try to create groups with a similar demographic – age, families, activity levels... Chances are, you’ll even make new friends.
“Will we be following an umbrella?”
No.
Story: The first British woman to climb Manaslu, Valerie climbed Everest for her 50th birthday. She’s spent fourteen Christmas Days trekking to Everest Base Camp, and is involved insetting up Responsible Tourism initiatives in the Himalayas.
Story: Roshan has led over 130 trips – he adores showing travellers around Sri Lanka. He won the company Leader Award in 2010, but his career highlight was working on their Tsunami Project – which earned him a responsible tourism award.
Responsible tourism
Responsible tourism: Azores walking holiday, Portugal
UK office
It all starts at home so we have first worked at reducing our carbon footprint in our UK offices. Through energy conservation measures and recycling policies in place, we are proud to be actively reducing the waste produced and our impact on the environment. We support various projects all over the world to try and give something back to the places we visit.
Leaders & local suppliers
Both companies used for our whale and dolphin watching tours respect the animals during times of feeding or resting by maintaining a distance and avoiding any interference. We use a small family-run company in Ponta Delgada who use small boats and in Horta the company plants a tree every time they go to sea to help reduce the carbon impact. Our hotels source as much local food as possible and conserve energy where possible. Leaders are employed locally and are very conscious of environmental concerns so they ensure clients follow them in the best practices to reduce our footprint.
Group size
We operate small group tours that have a low impact on the communities we visit and we always ensure our operations do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people. This allows us to stay in unique and characterful accommodation that would not have benefitted from tourism due to their limited size.
Activity
Few holidays have as little detrimental impact on the environment and local residents as a walking trip. It is a quiet, low impact activity requiring comparatively little resources to support. Erosion on and adjacent to popular paths is a growing problem and our trip leaders encourage clients not to stray from paths to minimise this.
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