Self guided walking holiday in the Azores

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION

This self-guided walking tour in the Azores takes guests across Pico, São Jorge and Faial, with walks between 6.5-20.3km through volcanic landscapes, coastal paths, forests and crater trails. It is, by its very nature, slow and sustainable, allowing guests to explore these islands mostly on foot.

Rather than using internal flights between the islands, this itinerary includes ferry crossings from Pico to São Jorge and from São Jorge to Faial. Luggage transfers and local transfers are also included according to the programme, while guests complete the walking routes themselves on foot.


ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE

This walking tour takes guests through some of the Azores’ most distinctive volcanic landscapes, including Pico’s UNESCO World Heritage vineyards, the fajãs of São Jorge, Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo Nature Reserve, Capelinhos Volcano and Faial’s Caldeira crater. The route also includes coastal paths, forest trails, lagoons and natural volcanic pools.
We remind guests to practise Leave No Trace throughout their trip, especially when walking through volcanic landscapes, coastal areas, forests and nature reserves.
With regards to drinking water, we ask guests to bring refillable water bottles as well as a reusable shopping bag to avoid single-use plastic during their trip. We also ask guests to take any packaging away with them and be mindful of not dropping litter.
We have an in-house responsible tourism expert, who shares tips and advice with our guests in trip notes, blogs and newsletters. For example, on how to reduce their impact on the environment and wildlife, support responsible travel practices and respect the places and communities they pass through.

People

LOCAL ECONOMY

Accommodation on this tour includes a mix of locally-owned hotels, B&Bs and traditional guesthouses. They have been carefully selected based on a variety of criteria including their location, warm hospitality, good local food and connection to the area.
The itinerary takes guests through places such as Lajes do Pico, Madalena, São Roque, Fajã do Ouvidor, Fajã dos Cubres and Faial, helping tourism spend reach local businesses, hosts and families across the three islands. Breakfast is included every day, and guests are encouraged to buy lunches and snacks in local shops, or pre-order packed lunches from their accommodation where needed.


EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY AND DIVERSITY

All of our partners in Portugal are locally employed and play an important role in contributing to the local economy. At home, we have a strict policy to pay all our own employees and team members a living wage and fair wage, with holiday entitlement. In the hiring process, we prioritise experience, qualifications and passion, emphasising that race, gender, sexual orientation, or nationality are not factors of consideration. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace based on skills and expertise. We also endeavour to support any guests with visible and non-visible disabilities or any special requirements, when possible.