Beautiful land, geothermal pools, new Portuguese foods, and a direct flight from New York. Took us too long to start plannung this perfect trip.
DINK Details
For details on hike: Hiking the Best of São Miguel Island
Would Return: 100% Our Month: April | Food: - Eat morcilla, Limpets, Octopus, and Queijadas |
Transportation: - Plenty of Car rentals¹ - Taxis were available | Prep: - English is common - Bathing suits that can get dirty - Some food requires a prior res² |
1. A lot cheaper to drive manual
2. A lot of restaurants needed a day in advance to make Conzido das Furnas
Perfect hiking optimized
Why São Miguel
Azores was a long time coming for us. We love Iceland and this is a warmer, Portuguese version. With a week's time and trying to keep the spirit of a relaxed vacation, we picked the largest island with a direct flight with SATA from NY (and Boston)
After months of tiktok and insta content around Azores, we knew the food, hot springs, and hikes were a must. Our friend Joe, has family from São Miguel so he was more than happy to share some local favorites.
Loaded with that data, plus with our love of Portugal, there is no way this this week would be nothing short of extraordinary.
How to São Miguel
This guide to São Miguel of the Azores will focus on the more relaxed activities of the Island. A main draw to the Island was the large amounts of beautiful hiking trails. So for more active plans, check out Azores in a Week: Hiking the Best of São Miguel Island
Rental Car - Micauto
This was our car rental company and it was A+. We reserved a pickup in Ponta Delgada and a drop-off at the airport location. Pickup was fast and so was drop-off with no issues. I even left a lot of things in the glove compartment (like a doofus) at the end of the trip and they kind enough to mail it all back to me! I will only rent from them going forward.
We didn't need any special type of car to get around. The only time the road was rough was on the way to PRC07 but we just skipped that hike. Also, you can save a chunk of money by driving manual.
SATA
We went with this airline because its a direct flight from NY JFK (and Boston) to São Miguel. The direct flights made good time and and were a lot better than layovers. The crew was friendly.
Only drawbacks to this airline is that they don't serve no soda or liquor (they do offer wine, coffee, tea, & juice). Also, strangely, they served our meals half way through the flight so we had to choose between getting up to eat or sleeping.
Bites
Amazing food everywhere! So many of the restaurants were passionate about Azorean dishes. We were told to get the sea snails (limpets) and "cozido das furnas" but we found so much more.
Pro-tip: Eat at the local restaurants, not the hotels and resorts. We believe they just take the leftover food and reheat it for 4x the price. Eat locale!
Bread, Queijo Fresco, and Pimenta Moida (Gastrónomo)
Everyday! This was an addictive addition to every meal. Azorean breads with Queijo Fresco (soft cheese) and Pimenta Moida which is a red pepper jam. Each place had at least 4 types of breads to choose from. The Azores supplies around 50% of all cheese to Portugal.
Gastrónomo in Ponta Delgada was our favorite restaurant on São Miguel. They gave us a warm welcome, explained the dishes, and the food was amazing!
Morcilla and Pineapple (Gastrónomo)
Morcilla, aka black pudding, aka blood sausage is common staple of good food across the world. The Azores might have perfected it by serving it with grilled pineapple. The flavors and textures harmonize with each other, creating perfection. We also had this particular dish at Gastrónomo.
Cozido das Furnas (Restaurante Vale Das Furnas)
This picture is not meant to be attractive, it is a raw photo symbolizing a pile of meat so large it can only be cooked in the goethemal grounds of Furnas. I could not list all the meats involved but take my word for it, it was every one. This was a direct order from our friend Joe, "if you have time for one meal, get this".
Restaurante Vale Das Furnas was a simple restaurant with a great view of the town and a perfect spot for this dish. Of course, we had bread, cheese, and pepper.
Note: This dish needs a reservation at least one day in advance. Let them know specifically you want Cozido das Furnas. The meal pictured was considered "one portion". Depending on who you are and how many people you are with, one portion is delicious but more than enough.
Limpets / Sea Snails (Oestrela)
The most common dish at any restaurant. Bathed in garlic and butter (served "the french way"), these are very easy to snack on while sipping a wine on the balcony.
This was Oestrela in Maia and yes we had it at the same place twice. With a beautiful view of the ocean, balcony to enjoy food and drink and friendly staff, it was the perfect spot to relax. The restaurant also had very tourist friendly hours considering it was still shoulder season.
Octopus (O Américo de Barbosa)
Plentiful across the island, the Azorean octopus is cooked perfectly with a nice sauce and potatoes.
We would like to imagine there is an octopus feud, Pat's and Gino's level in Mosteiros between O Américo de Barbosa and Restaurante O Chico. Two restaurants serving the best octopus on the island located a short walk from each other. We choose O Américo de Barbosa which served large portions of octopus with a nice glass of wine and a choice of potatoes or fries. Neas claims this is her favorite octopus yet.
Note: Some restaurants like the ones in Maia require a reservation for octopus a day in advance.
Queijada (Queijada da Vila Franca)
Also called Queijadas do Morgado, they produce a large number of the famous Azorean traditional desserts originally created by nuns in the 16th century. If you love them, there are plenty to pick up from the airport on the way back.
Honorable Mention
The Fish - It's amazing everywhere. Servers will talk with you about what fresh catch is available and love to explain all the details
Bifanas - One of the few Azorian and Mainland shared meals. A fat pork sandwich with egg, friend potato sticks, and veg.
Bolo Levedo - A sweet bread from Fernas. Common at breakfast.
Sips
Cocktails (Louvre Michaelense)
Portugal will always have the best cocktails. Beautiful, tasty and full of imagination.
Louvre Michaelense had a great cocktail menu. Sad we did have more time in the city to try out more.
Pastel De Nata Shot (Bar Do Pi)
This was accurate. Tasted just like the desert. Had it at Bar Do Pi.
Mistura Amarelo
São Miguel is the Island of liqueurs. After noticing every bar had Drambuie (I love Rusty Nails), the bartender said people love sweet liqueurs and making drinkings with them. Slowly we started to notice everyone was ordering Rusty Nail type drinks.
We then learnt about the "Mistura Amarelo", a drink with Macieira brandy and Mulcher de Capote passion fruit liqueur. They were pretty good, so I started ordering them and getting some nods of approval. Another drink is "Mistura Blanca" with annis and yellow vinca
Hot Springs
A must do in the Azores. These are pools heated by the geothermal activity of the land and because of this are usually in beautiful areas. The water does have a lot of minerals and can change the color of a bathing suite so dress cheap for this fine event.
Poça da Dona Beija - Furnas
Deets:
Notes:
There is a time limit of 1h 30 min.
Towels and shower cost extra.
A work of art. Pools along a hot river coming from the forest. This is the favored hotspring on the island.
Tickets must be booked in advance. They won't let you in until you purchase and get the email with a QR code. We booked times 30 minutes after opening to avoid any rush and it was almost empty.
Caldeira Velha Natural Monument
Deets
Notes:
There is a time limit of 1h 30 min.
There are time slots you have to buy ahead of time.
The lines are loooong.
They sell out fast.
Towels and shower cost extra.
Very crowded (mid day)
A more natural spa, pools are place throughout the forest and along the heated river. It was a bit crowded for us so we just paid to walk around. Only picture without a crowd of people was taken above.
The parking is a bit hard to follow. Drive down this road to the end, it looks like this ends up being the closests
Termas da Ferraria
Deets
Tickets: Email reservas@termasferraria.com
Ticket: around $25 for inside
$8 for only the outside
Notes:
The website is a bit of a scam. It's not a luxury spa
There is only one pool inside
The outside pool looks a bit dirty but people liked it.
There is a free natural pool that looks beautiful but cold.
The inside was disappointing for the price. The place may be more for massages but it wasn't the spa the website makes it out to be. There was a lot of free fruit though. A lot of the visitors went to the outside bath so maybe that's the right move. It did look a little dirty but eh what do I know.
Along the path to the south is the natural pools. These are free since its just swimming in the ocean. We saw a couple doing that. This leads to.....
Natural Pools
These are sections of the coast consisting of ocean water but have natural barriers from the waves. This creates a calm refreshing pool which is a popular activities on the island. Locations of these baths can be found on the map.
We went into the pool at Piscinas Naturais de Santo António (above). The drive down to the coast was scary since the road could only fit one car and went both ways.
Towns and Hotels
Ponta Delgada
The capital of the Azores. With a many restaurants, cafes and bars there is plenty to explore when it comes to Azorean cuisine and drinks. This is also a popular destination for cruise ships which are great for people watching.
Pineapple farms as popular and plentiful. There a many around the area and the let you wander around looking at pineapples for free. One of the closest to the center of town was Plantação de Ananás dos Açores which had food, drink and a cocktail (which wasn't that great....). The town also has a public market which is currently under construction but still operational (as of April 2024).
At night, people walk along the coast, eating at the many restaurants and just enjoy the bay areas.
Hotel Marina Atlântico
Our hotel, Hotel Marina Atlântico was a great place to stay. We had a room overlooking the bay and the view was awesome. The room itself was nice and the complimentary breakfast was well stocked with warm food and local fare.
Fernas
Known for its geothermal activity, the main activities are bathing in the warm waters or cooking food in the ground. While here, we had Cozido das Furnas, and bathed in Poça da Dona Beija which are a must.
The Lagoa das Furnas is the lake outside of town and popular destination for a hike and many other activities that would require a full day to cover all. This is a town we should have stayed two nights in.
As far as hotels go, there was nothing too special. A nice surprise was Espinha Cocktail Bar which had beautiful cocktails and the nicest bartender to ever craft a drink.
Maia
A small charming town in the north that Neas fell in love with. There is a trail that goes around town and another that leads along the coast. Neas discovered a love of Limpets at Oestrela and we enjoyed the fish at Fim de Século for a classy dinner.
Another must do is the Gorreana Tea Factory right outside of town. There are many teas and liqueurs to try with the PRC28 hike through the tea fields if you are feeling it.
Hotel - Solar de Lalém
A classy estate with old rooms, large gardens and a pool. We stayed here for two days and it was gorgeous! We also had a personal chapel to ourselves on the patio?
Sete Cidades
This unbelievable town that sits in the middle of an enormous crater lake. With many trails around the crater and activities to sign up for, you will want to spend a few days here. The must do sites are Miradouro da Boca do Inferno and the Monte Palace abandoned hotel.
There are a few restaurants but most are only open lunch hours for day tourists. Be careful of places serving dinner because I got food poisoned. Otherwise we went food shopping (recommend Minimercado valle do paraiso) and cooked at one of the most beautiful Airbnb ever...
Casa dos Barcos
So astonishing, this image is going here twice. This is one of the most unique Airbnb in the entire world. A boathouse in a crater lake that has been restructured into a two floor vacation stay.
Not only could we open up the whole bottom floor to the lake but the property came with its own private cluster of hiking trails.
Of course we had to explore the trails at night too!
But you get humbled fast when you realize there is a network of caves on the property. We ran home immediately, ignored all the new sounds outside and checked it out in the morning.
Quick Must Do
Parque Natural da Ribeira dos Caldeirões
Quick, easy, and beauty. This well maintained park with waterfalls, gardens, and watermills is a must when visiting. It's easy to get to with lots of parking and minimal walking.
Miradouro da Boca do Inferno
Details in the hiking guide, this is the iconic view of the Azores.
Monte Palace abandoned hotel
An abandoned hotel at the start of PRC03, visitors can walk around the perimeter (not inside) and enjoy views of the craters lakes of Sete Cidades. This is close Miradouro da Boca do Inferno so knock both of these out at once.