10 Best Things to do in the Azores
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Recommended activities
Here I will list out some of our favorite activities and tips for each one. As I mentioned, it is safest to place the activities you are most excited about early in your itinerary and to adopt a flexible “swapping” approach as needed based on the weather. Check out my post on what to pack to make the most out of these activities.
Lagoa do Fogo
Sunset from Miradouro da Lagoa do Fogo
There are two main viewpoints from which you can see the beautiful lake: Miradouro do Pico da Barrosa and Miradouro da Lagoa do Fogo. These viewpoints are not accessible via rental car between the hours of 9 am and 7 pm during the high season. This is a new policy! Instead, visitors must park at the entrance to Caldeira Velha and take a shuttle. The reviews for this new system are awful and indicate that the system is not running smoothly yet. We didn’t want to waste time this way so I drove up after 7 pm! Fortunately, there is plenty of sunlight after 7 in the summer.
You can hike down to the lake level in about 45 minutes each way from the Miradouro da Lagoa do Fogo. You can also walk around the whole lake instead of just going up and down but that would take most of a day. You can also take a dip in the lake!
You can also hike to the lake which will end on the side of the lake opposite the viewpoints above. This hike will take about 4 hours and you can find the trailhead by heading to these coordinates: 37°43’40.0″N 25°28’17.5″W. You can expect a rather steep and unforgiving hill at the start of the hike but once you get over this hill it is fairly flat! We brought sandwiches to eat by the lakeside at the turn around point and you can also swim in the lake if you want to. I recommend ensuring you bring appropriate footwear as there is a region of the hike that is quite muddy. Completing this hike isn’t the same as seeing the lake from above so I recommend doing both. The viewpoints are not particularly close to the trailhead from this hike so you might do these on different days.
If you aren’t feeling like hiking, you can also book a tour like this one to see both Lagoa do Fogo and Sete Cidades (with lunch and drinks included!)
Caldeira Velha
I highly recommend visiting this natural hot spring. Of the spring we visited, this was my favorite. You can enjoy a 38 degree Celsius warm pool and a 25 degree Celsius cooler pool by a waterfall. You must book tickets in advance with a timed entry and I recommend booking at least two days in advance at this link.
The water at the hot spring is a rust orange because of the natural iron in the water. I heeded advice to wear a dark bathing suit so as to avoid staining a bathing suit with a light color. I am not 100% how badly stained a bathing suit might be from the water. I found that most of the orange residue got onto my skin from contact with rocks, not the water. But if your favorite bathing suit is white, this might not be the place to risk wearing it! There are changing rooms and lockers available at the hot springs.
The parking situation can be rough at peak times but be sure to drive all the way up to the parking lot rather than grabbing a spot further away – you might be surprised! We found parking easily in the lot since people are constantly coming and going due to the timed entry.
This is a great activity to pair with the Lagoa do Fogo viewpoints depending on how you want to deal with the new shuttle situation. If you book a ticket late in the day you might be able to drive up after 7 pm to see the viewpoints.
Small shorter activities that can be paired with the above!
Visit a Pineapple farm! This is the only place in Europe where pineapples grow. You can stop by Ananases A Arruda which is close to Ponta Delgada. The visit is free and you can see how the pineapples are grown in the greenhouses and get a pineapple themed snack at the cafe.
Mulher de Capote Licores is another quick visit. Mulher de Capote produces delicious liquors with local flavors (pineapple, passionfruit, blackberry, sweet rice). You can also buy their products at the airport in the duty free area. However, it is nice to be able to sample these before buying and you can do this at the Mulher de Capote shop. This is very close to Caldeira Velha.
Sete Cidades
View from the hike around Sete Cidades
Sete Cidades is both the name of a town, a region, and also the name of a beautiful set of two lakes, one green and one blue. I would recommend making a stop at this lake for sure. There are a few ways to do this. One way is to drive up to Miradouro da Vista do Rei and to make a quick stop to see the lovely view of the two lakes. We did this on a drive back from the western end of the island. Another option is to take a longer hike which will allow you to keep the lake in view for an extended period of time (as well as the ocean!). The hike starts at these coordinates: 37.831800, -25.752692 which you can plug into your google maps or GPS. The hike takes about 4 hours end to end and is linear. Therefore you can approach this in a few ways, one way is to go there and back the whole way (this would be a really long hike, about 8 hours). Another option is to complete the hike (4 hours) and take a taxi back from the town of Sete Cidades. We had heard that there was a taxi stand across from the church in the town but also that there might be only 1 taxi and a long wait. We opted to finish most of the hike and turn around at the point where we were facing opposite from the Miradouro da Vista do Rei which happened to be at Miradouro das Cuméeiras. This meant our hike was around 5 hours total. We stopped on the way to eat lunch in front of the amazing view. The hike isn’t too hard, but there are some points that have sustained uphill climbs.
If you aren’t feeling like hiking, you can also book a tour like this one to see both Lagoa do Fogo and Sete Cidades (with lunch and drinks included!)
Ponta da Ferraria
This is a rock ocean pool which is conveniently placed so that both the ocean waves and a hot spring feed into it. This is a great option if the sky is overcast and it's not a great day for a hike with views although you wouldn’t want to go here if the weather is really bad or there is lightning. You will need to time your visit with the tides because if the tide is too high, the water will be cold but if the tide is too low, it might be too hot. You can use this tide forecast to time your arrival. We tried to arrive 30 minutes after low tide but ended up arriving about 1 hour after and it was still warm at the start of our visit. By 1 hour and 30 minutes after low tide the water was less warm and the waves were bigger. I would recommend aiming for 30 minutes after low tide if you can for arrival! When you arrive there will be a parking lot at the bottom of a steep hill. You will pass by a spa building that has a swimming pool and continue on to the ocean pool. There are some changing rooms on your way over. Note that the volcanic rocks are not smooth close to the pool. In the pool, l there are some ropes to hang onto as the waves come in.
Mosteiros
This village on the west of the island is a great place to stop by if you are in the area (for example, if you went to the hot ocean pool in Ferraria!). We went to Mosteiros after the ocean spring to enjoy a packed lunch with a view at a small rocky beach at Ponta do castelo. The water was incredibly blue and there are large rock formations off the coast to see while you eat. If you happen to be there in the evening, the sunsets are supposed to be amazing and you can sip a cocktail at the Sunset Poca da Pedra bar (also known as Sunset Steve’s Bar).
Rocky beach to enjoy lunch by at Ponta do castelo in Mosteiros
Furnas lake
This is another lake formed in the crater of a volcano. We took a leisurely walk around the lake. This wasn’t a walk with spectacular views like the Sete Cidades hike, but it was a nice way to get some movement. We got to see the Fumarolas (hot vents) where they cook the cozido which is just on the side of the lake. There were several tour groups there who were having the process explained to them. I felt that just walking by and observing was sufficient. However, the benefit of doing a tour like this one is that you can also enjoy a cozido lunch without worrying about coordinating the special meal and they will also take you to the hot springs as well. The lake can be walked to from the town but there are no sidewalks on the road so I only recommend this if you are comfortable walking on the side of the road. We also saw some bikers and if I were to do this again, I think this would be a great opportunity for a bike ride.
Poça da Dona Beija
These hot springs are right in the center of Furnas town. You can’t book in advance, but the tickets are timed once you enter. There are lockers and changing rooms on the premises and the hot springs are nice and toasty! The water will be rust orange and the rusty substance accumulates the most on the rocks. So if you plan to sit on these, you might want to opt for a darker bathing suit or are just extra cautious about your favorite swimsuit, you might want to opt for a darker suit on this day.
Terra Nostra Park in Furnas
This botanical garden is worth a stroll around the grounds. There is a big hot spring in the center that you can take a dip in. The hottest water is coming out of the fountains on the edge of the pool. If I went here again, I might book a tour to learn more about the plants in the park since without a guide, I didn’t know much about the different species on display. The park also has jacuzzis but they were under construction when we went.
Other activities:
We booked a horse back riding tour at Quinta da Terca. We did the 2 hour tour and had a great time learning about the region and plants from our guide Bruno.
The island is also a great place for water activities like whale-watching or just a day out and about on a boat tour! This is a great option for a whale and dolphin watching half-day tour.
A great way to sample the local food is to take a local food tour. This tour even takes you to A Tasca which is probably the most popular local restaurant in Ponta Delgada and can be quite difficult to get a table at!
Other tips
Currency exchange -
I recommend bringing cash to exchange or bringing Euros. We encountered a few places (including parking machines!) where only cash was accepted. There is a place to exchange currency at the airport and also at Novacambios in Ponta Delgada (Av. Infante Dom Henrique n111). Note both of these will be closed on Sundays.
Water -
Water is not free at most European restaurants! If paying for multiple bottles of water at a table will irritate you, I recommend making sure to rehydrate before going to dinner. We did this and were fine splitting one bottle of water at restaurants between two people each night.
