Azores walking guide
Walking offers an ever-changing landscape of emerald meadows, jewel-coloured lakes, wildflower blooms and volcanic peaks.
The Azores Map & highlights
Just a four-hour flight from the UK, every island is linked to its nearest neighbours by car ferries and passenger launches. Within each cluster, particularly the central group, island hopping by ferry is easy and quick. However, some services only operate from May to September and crossings may be cancelled in bad weather. SATA offers inter-island flights throughout the archipelago; Ponta Delgada, Horta, Terceira and Flores are the hubs. Flying is far faster than the ferry for longer journeys, especially any trip where travelling by ferry would require several stops or changes. Cars, bicycles, mopeds and taxis are available to hire on most islands. Island buses are cheap but slow and focus on getting Azoreans into town rather than tourists to places of interest.
Angra do Heroísmo
Once a pivotal stopover for ocean-going ships, the pretty port city of Angra is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Dozens of shipwrecks lie out in the bay, the oldest dating back to 1543. While you can’t expect to find any long-lost doubloons among the sunken remains – the treasure was all recovered long ago – it’s still a fascinating place to scuba dive.
Corvo
Only 430 people live in Corvo’s single village, Vila do Corvo, so it feels as though everyone really does know everyone else. Their distinctive dialect is directly descended from medieval Portuguese. A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve with protected waters, Corvo is a remote, peaceful place to go birdwatching, hiking, or snorkelling.
Faial
Faial is a yachting, boating, whale watching and dolphin watching hub with a buzzing marina in its main town, Horta. Sailors consider it bad luck to leave without painting their insignia onto the breakwater, a huge, evolving mural that’s like a seadog’s visitors’ book. Inland there are surreal volcanic landscapes to explore by 4x4 and tidal pools for a refreshing wild swim.
Flores
Flores is well off the beaten track, but intrepid canyoning fans seek out its waterfalls and crater lakes. The entire island is a UNESCO biosphere reserve where azaleas and hydrangeas grow wild and seabirds wheel overhead: around 40 percent of Europe’s roseate terns nest here. Monchique, an islet offshore from the village of Fajã Grande, is the westernmost point in Europe.
Graciosa
Instead of jagged peaks, Graciosa has low, green hills scattered with villages where farmers still sometimes get around by donkey or pony and trap. It’s an easy-going walking destination, with a 7km trail connecting the west and east coasts via gentle pastoral scenery. There’s also an impressive cavern to visit, Furna do Enxofre. Graciosa is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
Mount Pico
More than twice the height of any other Azorean summit, Pico (2,351m), a stratovolcano whose flanks last erupted in the 18th and 16th centuries, is the highest mountain on Portuguese territory. The hike to the top is demanding but exhilarating, with glorious views. It’s crowned by a 500m-wide pit crater, snowy in winter, with a summit warmed by steam vents.
Pico
At 250,000 years old, Pico is a youngster. It’s dominated by a single volcano whose frozen lava reaches right down to the sea. A third of Pico, including the mountain, is a nature reserve. But it’s not all about that whopping volcano – Pico also has caves, heritage-listed vineyards and lanes lined with ancient heathers, ferns and hydrangeas. Whales cruise offshore; this was once the hub of the whaling industry, today replaced by whale watching.
Ponta Delgada
With cruise ships docking and yachts nipping in and out, Ponta Delgada is a busy maritime city with a historic centre that’s refreshingly walkable. The heart of the city was laid out in the 19th century and has a distinctively Portuguese feel, with red roofs, cobblestone mosaics and attractive, whitewashed buildings edged with dark lava stone.
Santa Maria
Emerging from the Atlantic around 10 million years ago, Santa Maria has the oldest volcanic rocks in the group. Slightly further south and east than the other islands, it’s also the warmest, sunniest spot, with a few golden beaches – a rarity in this volcanic archipelago. The most picturesque coastal stretches are Praia Formosa and São Lourenço’s sweeping bay.
São Jorge
Scenically diverse, São Jorge shakes up mountains, ravines, cliffs, lakes and fajãs (coastal plains formed by lava flows or landslides) into a cocktail that appeals to fans of hiking, mountain biking, canyoning, canoeing and caving. It’s also home to peaceful pastures – dairy farming is a time-honoured tradition on São Jorge and the locals make delicious, strong unpasteurised cheese.
São Miguel
The largest island in the Azores has enough to keep you busy for an entire trip. Beyond the appealing city of Ponta Delgada, there’s plenty to do and see inland, from exploring plantations of tea and pineapple to mountain biking past bubbling hot springs. Offshore, there are whale watching, dolphin watching, and glass-bottomed boat trips to enjoy.
Terceira
Terceira has the second largest population after São Miguel, but make your way inland and you’ll find solitude in quiet meadows and ancient forests that hide caves, lava tubes, volcanic chimneys and fumaroles. The deep channel between Terceira and São Jorge lies on the migration routes of blue whales, making these waters exciting to explore in spring, summer and autumn.
Whale watching in the Azores
Classic whale watching trip in the Azores archipelago
From
£995 to £1135
8 days
ex flights
Azores volcano hiking holiday
Discover the active volcanoes of Sao Miguel island
From
€1119 to €1490
9 days
ex flights
Hiking holiday in the Azores with thermal hotsprings
Low season hiking around the Green Island
From
£935 to £1180
8 days
ex flights
Azores family adventure holiday, whales and dolphins
Learn about dolphins, whales & fiery volcanic islands
From
£1195 to £1395
8 days
ex flights
Blue Whale Discovery Holiday, Azores
Come see Blue Whales in the Azores
From
£995 to £1195
8 days
ex flights
Azores tour, island explorer
Dolphins, whales and explore fiery volcanic islands
From
£995 to £1295
8 days
ex flights
Contact Us
Call us for a chat about our holidays. We are happy to discuss your holiday and help in any way we can. No bots, queues or awful hold music.
01273 823 700
Call us tomorrow after 9am
Calling from outside the UK
Travel times in the Azores
The following times give you a rough idea of the journey times between the main highlights in the Azores.
Ponta Delgada to Terceira: 40min by air
Ponta Delgada to Flores: 1hr 20min by air
Ponta Delgada to Horta: 55min by air
Ponta Delgada to Santa Maria: 30min by air
Horta to Flores: 45min by air
Horta to Corvo: 45min by air
Ponta Delgada to Vila do Porto: 2hr 15min by ferry
Ponta Delgada to Praia da Vitória: 3hr 30min by ferry
Horta to Madalena: 30min by ferry
Horta to to Velas: 90min by ferry
Santa Cruz das Flores to Vila do Corvo: 40min by ferry
Pico to Faial: 30min by ferry
More Azores articles
The best time to visit the Azores is April to September for fair weather and calmer seas.
Our Azores travel guide gives you the lowdown on the highlights of Azores holidays, from the rated to the overrated.
Can you island hop in the Azores? Certainly – and we reveal how, highlighting the best routes.
Whale watching in the Azores is essentially a seaborne safari. Find out more in our guide.
Dolphin watching holidays in the Azores are not an experience to be quickly forgotten.
The Azores is one of the best places in the world for watching blue whales.
There's an array of things to do if you’re travelling in the Azores with kids.
Azorean cuisine is influenced by Atlantic isolation, Catholic faith and volcanic activity.
Our best holidays in the Azores share a common theme: they get you out and about in nature.
Faial is a landscape hewn by volcanic activity, blanketed with hydrangeas in summer.
Pico is wild, pristine and has a sterling reputation for its UNESCO-listed vineyards.
Read our guide to the best things to see and do on Terceira in the Azores.
Whale watching, hiking and cycling are among the best things to do in the Azores.
We reveal the sheer variety of whale species you can see in the Azores in our guide.
Find out about whale conservation in the Azores and how you can get involved.
We explore how to travel to the Azores from the UK, the USA, Canada and mainland Portugal with details on specific routes.
British Airways launched two new direct flights from the UK to the Azores in 2022.
Activity holidays in the Azores are informed by the dramatic, volcanic island landscapes.
The Azores are developing a reputation as an exciting destination for cycling.
With volcanic terrain and sky-high waterfalls, the Azores is one of the best places in the world for canyoning.
Azores travel tips from the islanders and expert tour partners who we know and trust to give the best advice.
Responsible tourism in the Azores always starts with the natural world.
More relevant guides
