Azores

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The street of an Azorean village
The street of an Azorean village

The Azores are a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean and are an autonomous region of Portugal. It is an ultraperiferal area of the European Union.

[edit] Regions

It consists[mainly] of 9 islands:

[edit] Cities

[edit] Other destinations

Lagoa[Azores]

[edit] Understand

[edit] Talk

The official language in Azores is Portuguese. If you understand a reasonable bit of Portuguese, you might get surprised in some areas when listening to the locals; most speak Portuguese with a very strong accent, and that might make it hard to understand them, even for other (Mainland) Portuguese. Most people remotely involved the tourism speak at least enough English to communicate with tourists.

[edit] Get in

There are flights from European cities and also from Toronto(Ontario, Canada), Montreal (Quebec, Canada), Boston(MA, USA), and Providence(RI, USA)[seasonal] on SATA Int/Air Azores. Main hub is Ponta Delgada(PDL)Airport. The cheapest flights to the Azores (SMA) are using the local island based airline, SATA Azores [1]. They have direct flights between many major cities in Europe and North America and are typically much cheaper than the major carriers.

[edit] Get around

On the bigger Islands like Sao Miguel and Terceira you will want a car. There are car rental places on the bigger Islands, but they are rather expensive. If plan an extended stay, some people have their car transported to the island by boat.

These being volcanic islands, in many places the terrain is steep and rugged. The roads wind around very steep hillsides. Cycling around the islands is possible if you are in great shape, and don't mind a lot of hill climbing.

This is a great place for going around island to island and even town to town by boat. Almost every town is on the shore and most have ports. On Sao Miguel, in the largest town Ponta Delgada, there is a large and modern marina.

[edit][add listing] See

Lagoa das Sete Cidades,a beautiful lagoon northwest of Ponta Delgada.

[edit] Itineraries

Sao Miguel,Terceira,Faial.

[edit][add listing] Do

  • Whale Watching . Every town with a Marina offers whale watching. They take you out on small boats and often get you within ten yards of the whale.
  • Velvet Adventure Sailing, [2] Spend time sailing between the islands and exploring what each one has to offer. The boat moors in sheltered marinas or anchors in secluded bays.

--- Angra,an historical city,a UNESCO heritage patrimony city,in Terceira island. [Airport:Terceira(TER)/Lajes/Praia da Vitoria/Angra.

[edit][add listing] Eat

Fresh fish is very good. There is also an large amount of cattle on the island and the local grass fed beef is very good.

[edit][add listing] Drink

Sagres and Super Bock are the best Portuguese beers you can find on the island. Especial Is the Local Azorian beer, and is very good.

[edit] Stay safe

There is very little crime in the Azores. What little there is drug related. There are no reports of crimes against tourists

[edit] Get out

Flights within other islands,plus Madeira/Funcahl[FNC],Lisbon/Lisboa[LIS],Porto/Oporto[OPO].

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