Sao Miguel, Azores

Mini Guide With Air Canada Vacations

Everything you’ll get to see and do in the Azores with Air Canada Vacations.

If we had to choose one spot to truly just relax and soak up European vibes minus the crowds, it would have to be the Azores in Portugal. These nine islands are an archipelago off the coast of Portugal that are often described as the Hawaii of Europe–lush, green, vibrant, volcanic with incredible coastlines and a slow pace that makes it ideal for a vacation that doesn’t feel rushed. We recently did the Air Canada Vacations São Miguel Green Island Experience tour–it’s 9 days and 11 nights on the island of São Miguel, the Azores’ largest island. It’s about a 6 hour direct flight from Toronto to Ponta Delgada with Air Canada, so making it your Next Destination is easy!

Stay

Mercure Ponta Delgada

Mercure Ponta Delgada, R. Machado dos Santos 82, 9500-083 Ponta Delgada, Portugal

Air Canada Vacations packages always give you a 4-star stay… depending on the season and availability your hotel may be different, but you know it will always be amazing. For our stay we had the Mercure Ponta Delgada for the entire trip and it was perfect. Modern in style and set just a few steps away from the main square, shopping streets, restaurants, cafes, the water and just 15 minutes from the airport. It also came with some stunning views (and a pool for relaxing!).

SEE Ponta Delgada

One of the bonuses of this Air Canada Vacations package is how much free time you have to explore and wander on your own. And Ponta Delgada is a great city to do just that–it’s small, compact, not nearly as hilly as Lisbon or Porto, making it easy to navigate and leisurely stroll streets and stop to sip wine, caffeinate and people watch.

A food tour

Included as a half day tour in your package is a food tour through Ponta Delgada. You’ll get to sample island cheese, local tea, visit the market for samples of fresh Azorean pineapple and stop by a tavern for octopus and flaming chorizo. Food tours are one of my favourite ways to see a city, and this one took us all over the city centre with plenty of stops to fill you up.

VISIT Sete Cidades

Hands-down the most beautiful and iconic views in the entire Azores is Sete Cidades–two volcanic crater lakes that appear in different colours, one green and one blue. There is a beautiful, traditional story behind the different coloured lakes of forbidden love between a princess and her lover who were kept apart from each other by her father. Each lake is filled with the tears of the lovers, giving them different colours. In actual scientific facts, one lake is deeper than the other, giving it a different hue. But you can’t deny the romanticism of the view once you see it first hand.

On the way for this half day tour you’ll also get to stop by a local pineapple plantation (and see how they grow the smaller, sweeter Azorean pineapples in greenhouses).

VISIT Lagoa do Fogo

The highest view point on the island of São Miguel is where you’ll find Lagoa do Fogo–it’s literally up in the clouds, so you may not always get a clear view of this volcanic lake, but it’s worth the try with the half day tour. Even if it’s cloudy, the tour includes other stops along the way. You’ll swing by a pottery factory where you can see how they create beautiful Portuguese pottery from start to finish. You’ll also get to take a relaxing stroll through a botanical garden, and finally a visit to the island’s distillery where you can sip on gins, rums, and other liquors made locally with ingredients from the islands.

Spend

A day in Furnas

The one full day tour on this Air Canada Vacations trip is to Furnas–and it’s so worth it! You’ll start by visiting a tea plantation–the oldest one in all of Europe is here in the Azores. You can wander the tea fields and then give green, white and black tea a try. After another couple of stops for some views and photo ops, you’ll make it to Furnas. Furnas is an active volcano region on São Miguel. You’ll see incredible views or craters, lakes and fumaroles or geothermal hotspots that create steam and bubbling thermal water. What makes this day trip even more special is you will try Cozido das Furnas–a hearty meat and vegetable stew slow-cooked underground for six to seven hours using natural geothermal volcanic heat from the local hot springs.

After the traditional lunch, relaxation is in order thanks to a stop by Terra Nostra Park. The park is a historic 200-year-old botanical garden oasis where you can walk through the lush grounds, or if you fancy a dip, you can soak in the thermal hot springs. The iron-rich thermal waters are perfect for a light swim at 35–40°C, and it will leave your skin feeling silky smooth and soothed.

BOOK

You can book this Air Canada Vacations Sao Miguel Green Island Experience here, and get all the details on the trip from half day and full day tours, to flights, airport transfers and accommodations all in one spot.

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