Experiences in the Azores

Sete Cidades and Lagoa do Fogo, full day

São Miguel

From the hotels in Ponta Delgada you head to Sete Cidades, where a green lake and a blue lake fill the crater of an ancient volcano. After lunch in a local restaurant you move to the north coast of Ribeira Grande: Santa Bárbara beach, loved by surfers, and the cliffs of Ponta do Cintrão.

In the afternoon you climb to Caldeira Velha, a valley of giant ferns with pools of thermal water, and then to Pico da Barrosa. From up there you look down on Lagoa do Fogo, the mountain lake enclosed by the walls of the volcano.

Sunset boat trip and swim from Rabo de Peixe

São Miguel

You set off from the fishing harbour of Rabo de Peixe, on the north coast. The boat follows the cliffs as the sun sinks into the ocean; on board you get a windbreaker, a regional snack and music in the background.

Halfway through, the boat stops for a swim in open water, in the warm light of sunset. Just bring your swimsuit. From age 6.

Ponta Delgada food tour, eight tastings

São Miguel

The route is a menu built stop by stop: island fruit, bread, cheeses, fish, meat and a homemade dessert, with Azorean tea and two drinks. Each stop is a shop, a market stall or a restaurant chosen by the guide.

Between tastings you cross the old town and discover the stories behind the products: tea, greenhouse pineapples, the cheeses of the different islands. Vegetarian options are available.

Angra do Heroísmo, a UNESCO city

Terceira

You climb to Alto da Memória, the viewpoint above the town's red roofs and the bay. Then you walk down through the Botanical Garden and along Rua Direita, the main street lined with the colourful mansions of the merchants.

The route continues to Pátio da Alfândega, where goods were once landed, and to the cathedral, the Sé. Museum admissions are included; hotel transfers are not.

Mistérios Negros trek, with Gruta do Natal

Terceira

The Mistérios Negros are lava hills born from an eruption in 1761, now covered in cedars and moss. The trail starts at Lagoa do Negro, passes below the crater of Pico Gaspar and stops for a picnic at Lagoa das Patas.

In the afternoon you enter Gruta do Natal, a tunnel carved by lava flowing underground. The way back passes the Guilherme Moniz caldera, the largest on the island. Hiking boots and a reasonable level of fitness are needed.

Swimming with dolphins on Terceira

Terceira

When the boat finds a calm group of dolphins, the skipper lets two people at a time into the water. You swim at the surface with mask and snorkel, no tanks, and the dolphins remain free to come closer or swim away.

You need to be a good swimmer and comfortable in open sea; the decision to enter the water always rests with the skipper, out of respect for the animals. In July and August it is best to book well ahead.

Pico island tour, from wine to whales

Pico

You start from Madalena among the vineyards of Pico, where vines grow in small enclosures of black stone, sheltered from wind and salt. You visit wineries and distilleries, then climb to the central plateau, among lakes and meadows at the foot of the volcano.

After lunch in a local restaurant you head down to the south coast and the world of the whalers: the boathouses, the lookouts from which whales were spotted and the Whalers' Museum in Lajes do Pico.

The wine of Pico, in a UNESCO vineyard landscape

Pico

The vineyard landscape of Pico is a UNESCO World Heritage Site: thousands of small black stone enclosures, the *currais*, built by hand to protect the vines. You walk among the vineyards of Criação Velha, then taste the island's wines at the wine cooperative.

The day continues along the coast of Cachorro and Lajido, among lava rocks and old winegrowers' houses, with a liqueur tasting at Adega a Buraca. Lunch is in a local restaurant.

Horta on foot: the marina and Peter Café Sport

Faial

For centuries Horta has been the port of call for ships crossing the Atlantic. On the marina's breakwater every crew leaves a painting for good luck: thousands of colourful murals tell the stories of those who passed through.

The route takes in Peter Café Sport, a sailors' haunt for over a century, the Fort of Santa Cruz, churches, gardens, the market and the Horta museum. Museum admissions are included; hotel transfers are not.

Faial island tour: the Caldeira, the hydrangeas, Capelinhos

Faial

From Horta you climb to the Caldeira, the two-kilometre-wide crater at the heart of the island, along roads lined with hydrangeas. Then the Ribeira das Cabras viewpoint, a home-style lunch at Campo dos Sabores and the descent to the fajã of Praia do Norte.

In the afternoon you reach Capelinhos, where the 1957-58 eruption added a desert of ash around the old lighthouse. The underground Interpretation Centre tells the story of the volcano. You return via Varadouro and Monte da Guia, above Horta and the bay of Porto Pim.

Whales and dolphins from Horta

Faial

You set off from the Azores Experiences base in Horta marina. The zodiac heads out into the channel and along the coasts of Faial and Pico, where lookouts on land point out where the animals are.

In these waters you can meet sperm whales, several species of dolphin and, in spring, the great whales on migration. With fewer than 4 participants the trip may be rescheduled.

São Jorge island tour, with a dairy and PDO cheese

São Jorge

You visit one of the island's dairies, with a tasting of São Jorge cheese, aged and peppery. Then the church of Santa Bárbara and the weaving workshop of Ribeira do Nabo, where blankets are still made on the loom.

Through the day you move from clifftop viewpoints down to the *fajãs* by the sea. In one of them is the Nunes family coffee plantation, one of the very few in Europe. Lunch in a local restaurant.

Kayaking to Fajã dos Vimes and a coffee plantation

São Jorge

You set off at 9:30 am from Calheta pier in two-seater kayaks. You paddle along the south coast, beneath towering green cliffs.

On arrival at Fajã dos Vimes you visit the coffee plantation, with a tasting, and the workshop where traditional blankets are woven. Suitable even for first-timers, from age 8. Hotel transfers can be added on request.

Flores: waterfalls and volcanic lakes, full day

Flores

You leave Santa Cruz or one of the island's other villages for the interior, among volcanic lakes and viewpoints over the valleys. You reach Rocha dos Bordões, a wall of basalt columns dozens of metres high.

The day includes Ribeira do Ferreiro, a green amphitheatre where dozens of waterfalls pour into a small lake, one of the most unspoilt places in the Azores. There are also views over Santa Cruz and the Cedros do Mato forest. Lunch is not included.

Graciosa: private island tour by taxi

Graciosa

You start from Santa Cruz, with its squares and ponds, and climb Monte da Ajuda, then on to the Ponta da Barca lighthouse and its whale-shaped islet. In the centre of the island you descend into the caldera to Furna do Enxofre, a huge volcanic cave with a lake at the bottom.

The tour continues to the Carapacho hot springs, São Mateus with its red-capped windmills, Guadalupe and the Ponta da Restinga lighthouse, along with the caldera caves, the Graciosa Museum and the factory of *queijadas*, the island's little cheese pastries. Lunch and admissions not included.