3 days ago
Why Now Is The Time To Sail The Azores, In 12 Stunning Photos
Hiking in São Miguel Island, Azores
Millions of years ago, a dramatic series of volcanic events gave rise to nine islands in the middle of the North Atlantic called the Azores. Today, this amazing archipelago situated about 1,000 miles west of Portugal offers travelers adventure and escape from life on the mainland.
Given that it's not particularly close to anywhere else, the experience of being here is like nowhere else. Give yourself a week to explore the outlying islands beyond São Miguel, because each has its own unique attributes. You'll discover dramatic coastal landscapes, epic hiking trails, bubbling volcanic hot springs, deep dark caldera caves, and slow cooked, homegrown food. Theirs is a culinary culture that celebrates the centuries-old skill of local dairy farmers, fisherman, tea planters and viticulturists who have figured out how to coax wine from basalt rocks — as if they just didn't get the memo on global industrialization. Which is fantastic. Because everything about it smells, tastes and feels distinctly Azorean.
With direct flights now available via Azores Airlines from Boston and New York to Ponta Delgada (PDL) on São Miguel Island, reaching this mid-Atlantic paradise is easier than ever. Early summer is also particularly good for spotting blue whales and sperm whales, which are emblematic of the Azores.
The Azores are a destination ideally seen from the bow of a ship, like the salty whalers of yore. The nine isles are organized into three geographic clusters—east, central, and west. You can take year-round ferries to get around each cluster, but that takes a lot of planning, flexibility and patience because the Azores are known for having four seasons in a day. Weather can change quickly, and all ferry services are subject to the weather. A more comfortable, upscale option is to consider one of Sea Cloud's yachts or a National Geographic-Lindblad cruise, which offers 8-day expeditions to the Azores including visits to Pico, Faial, São Jorge, Graciosa, Terceira, and Santa Maria.
Most of these are original photos captured by passengers of National Geographic-Lindblad's Endurance, which sailed in April. We climbed down into caldera caves, patronized the best gin bar in the Azores, and survived an epic hike in São Jorge during a howling rain storm. Only one of us actually required an ATV rescue mission (provided by a friendly local farmer), while the rest of us soaking mewls scrambled down from the peak of Pico da Esperança mountain in search of lunch.
1) Terceira Island: Hiking Baias de Agualva
Hiking Baias de Agualva, Terceira Island, Azores
If someone tells you to 'take a hike!' by all means do it here. Known as Lilac Island, Terceira is lush and green with breathtaking viewpoints from practically all sides (it's the roundest of the Azores). Most of the coast is ringed by cliffs, bringing you straight to the precipice of the vast deep blue. The best part? It's not crowded compared to other Atlantic hiking destinations. So, it feels like having the ocean all to yourself.
2) Terceira's Angra do Heroísmo
The Cathedral of Angra do Heroísmo, an example of Portuguese 16th-century architecture on Terceira Island, Azores.
The Monte Brasil peninsula of Terceira provides excellent trails with panoramic views over Angra do Heroísmo, the Azores' oldest and most colorful town. A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1983, it is home to historic imperial Portuguese and Spanish architecture in varying shades of pinks, yellows, blues and purples. Take a stroll and look out for island-wide impérios, the dainty but incredibly ornate chapels of the Holy Spirit, of which there are 70.
3) Santa Maria: Island of Many Firsts
Santa Maria Island. Photo by Paul Steinke (April, 2025).
This striking photo by fellow Endurance sailor and avid photographer Paul Steinke really captures the spirit of Santa Maria for me. The laundry line, the sun-bleached house with a clay-tiled roof, the still horizon, and a fleeting moment with a tame horse who seems to say: Life is supposed to be this wild and free. Let's ride. I've never seen a horse in these circumstances before, but Santa Maria is an island of many firsts. It was the first Azorean island formed geologically, the first encountered by Portuguese explorers (1427), and the first settled by mainlanders (c. 1439).
4) Santa Maria's Pier
A view from the pier in Cais Vila Porto, Santa Maria Island, Azores
Arriving in Santa Maria alongside the commercial pier in Cais Vila Porto. Plan to spend a day here, as it is the only island in the archipelago that boasts blond beaches, as opposed to the rough volcanic sand found on its peers.
5) Pico's Vineyards
Welcome to Pico, a dormant volcano whose claims to fame are whaling history and wine.
Welcome to Pico, a dormant volcano whose claims to fame are whaling history and wine. Here you can take a leisurely hike through moonscape terrain left by lava flows that have been painstakingly converted to vineyards. Reach out and touch the rough lava stone corrals built up around the precious vines which produce three dominant varieties of white wine: Verdelho, Arinto dos Açores and Terrantez do Pico, which nearly went extinct but what survives adds complexity, elegance and floral notes to the other Pico whites. It's like ingenuity in a glass.
6) Faial: The Blue Island
Waterfront view of the city of Horta, Faial Island, Azores, Portugal
Faial, so named 'the blue island' due to the sheer quantity of bright hydrangeas that cover the island in July and August (another reason to make this a summer trip). As this is the mid-Atlantic's yachting capital, and an anchorage for caravels, clippers and seaplanes, the spirit of nautical bonhomie is pervasive. Stroll the marina and explore the jetty murals, where sailors have a tradition of painting the name or likeness of their vessel on the marina walls.
7) Horta: Peter Café Sport
On Horta Island, this is Peter Café Sport, a legendary whaler's haunt with a scrimshaw museum upstairs.
As evening approaches, go drink gin and tonic at Peter Café Sport, a legendary whaler's haunt with a stunning scrimshaw museum upstairs. It's a ramshackle pub that doubles as a time capsule. Firstly, there are widow's walks —lookout points facing the harbor in search of long lost whalers — still built into the surrounding architecture despite the fact that whaling has been outlawed in the Azores since 1984. It's also a place that inspires drunken re-tellings of In the Heart of the Sea (or so I've heard). The story recounts a New England whaling ship's sinking by a savage sperm whale in 1820, the real-life event that inspired Herman Melville's Moby Dick. The movie stars Chris Hemsworth. Enough said?
8) The Whales
A sperm whale off the coast of Faial, Azores.
Pico, São Miguel and Faial are considered the best islands for whale watching. Did you know sperm whales float vertically to the surface to breathe? There are few marvels in this world so beautiful to witness. The other perk of a Nat Geo expedition is that they typically invite whale experts on board, like Douglas Nowacek, a PhD from MIT and professor at Duke University's Marine Lab, to tell you everything scientists know about the mating habits, sound production and migration patterns of marine mammals.
9) Graciosa: The Caldera Cave
Visitors inside Furna do Enxofre, a caldera cave found in Graciosa Island, Azores.
Aptly named, this 'graceful' remote island is a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve thanks to its Furna do Enxofre, a caldera cave that is considered the most significant geosite in the Azores. Look up and you'll see a stunning natural ceiling of stalactites that create a home for birds and bats; look down and let the damp stone staircase guide you 300 feet underground to this ethereal lake.
10) The Sulfur Grotto
The lake inside Furna do Enxofre, Graciosa Island, Azores
This lake occupies the deepest part of the cave, which lies below sea level. It's a secret world where the smell of sulphur is omnipresent, and you can actually see it bubbling up from beneath the surface.
11) São Miguel: Geothermic Hotsprings
The town of Furnas on São Miguel Island
The small town of Furnas on the eastern part of São Miguel looks otherworldly. Picture a landscape of steaming hot springs and fumaroles, gurgling mud pools and geothermal fields encircled by bright green mountains and lush botanical gardens. Through the fog, you kind of wonder how it's not erupting right now. While you ponder this, head over to the island's popular tea plantation Gorreana and ask to taste purple tea (what happens when hot green tea mixes with the unoxidized iron found in volcanic waters).
12) São Jorge: Cheese Island
On São Jorge island, there are more cows than people.
You can't come to São Jorge and not pay homage to the cows, because there are more cows than people (population: ~8,000). So, this is also known as cheese island. Queijo São Jorge cheese is deliciously salty because we're in the middle of the North Atlantic. 'We say seven cows per person,' jokes our Portuguese hiking guide Everisto. But it's no joke: Hiking Pico da Esperança mountain means hiking right alongside heifers-in-the-mist, through cow dung of Jurassic proportions. Even in relentless rain, it's all worth it if you can make it down to the Fajã de Santo Cristo, a spectacular, secluded sanctuary for bodyboarding and surfing. The best time to do it? All summer long.
