Azores: Hiking & island hopping

Trip starts in Ponta Delgada on São Miguel Island. Transfer to your hotel located in the town centre. Depending on the arrival time, you can spend the afternoon exploring Ponta Delgada. The administrative capital of the archipelago, it is home to many historical monuments, typical small streets and a beautiful marina.

Overnight: Ponta Delgada, 3* hotel

Distance: 11 km | Ascent: 150 m | Descent: 200 m | 3 hrs approx.

Transfer to the airport and flight to Pico Island, named after its giant volcano. From Madalena, you begin a lovely coastal hike between small ports – where you can swim – and vineyards, surrounded by walls of black lava. This unique method of cultivating the vine, has seen this area designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Overnight: Madalena, 4* hotel

Distance: 11 km | Ascent: 210 m | Descent: 195 m | 3 hrs approx.

Transfer to the western flank of Pico, for a beautiful hike between pastures and farmlands, down to Madalena. The departure point is quite astonishing as it is a lava tube – once home to a hermit called Brother Matias – that is today draped in the endemic vegetation of this island. Free afternoon to enjoy Pico, with possibilities for cycling or whale watching.

Overnight: Madalena, 4* hotel

Distance: 9.5 km | Ascent: 400 m | Descent: 700 m | 4 hrs approx.

Begin the day by taking the ferry from Madalena to Velas on São Jorge Island. Wild and rugged, with steep volcanic cliffs and deep ravines, São Jorge is home to some of the best walking routes in the Azores. You will be transferred up to the peaks of the island, from where you will descend along the pilgrims’ path between hydrangeas and junipers to Faja de Santo Cristo, an isolated hamlet overlooking the open ocean lagoon. From this village, accessible only by foot, you will walk along the coast to Faja dos Cubres. Transfer back to Velas at the end of your walk.

Overnight: Casa do Antonio guesthouse, Velas

Distance: 11 km | Ascent: 450 m | Descent: 450 m | 3 hrs approx.

This walk links one volcano to another, on a panoramic trail along the crest of the island of Sao Jorge. The path traverses several peaks on it’s way to the island’s highest point – the Pico da Esperança – at 1,053m above sea-level. The second part of your walk descends across pastures on the northern coast of the island to the fairy-tale village of Faja do Ouvidor, with its pretty whitewashed houses seeming to tumble down the hillside terraces towards the waves. Finally, upon reaching the sea, you will discover wonderful natural pools carved into volcanic cliffs. Transfer back to Velas at the end of your walk.

Overnight: Casa do Antonio guesthouse, Velas

Distance: 12 km – 16km | Ascent: 300 m | Descent: 900 m | 4½ hrs approx.

You will take the ferry to the port of Horta on Faial island, once a famous stop for transatlantic sailors. Transfer to the central crater. After skirting the edge of the caldeira at 1000m altitude, you follow a levada (narrow irrigation canal) along a ridge, before descending through the lava fields and hydrangeas to Praia do Norte. Transfer back to Horta after your walk.

Overnight: Horta, 3* hotel

Distance: 5 km | Ascent: 150 m | Descent: 150 m | 1½ hrs approx.

Transfer to the south coast for a short walk to the Capelinhos lighthouse, scene of a tremendous volcanic sea eruption in 1957 which created an eerily beautiful, ashen landscape. Why not go for a swim at the volcanic beach before your transfer back to Horta, where you will have some leisure time to discover its colonial architecture, as well as the history of American whaling ships and telegraph companies that give the town its cosmopolitan atmosphere. Afternoon flight back to Ponta Delgada and overnight.

Overnight: Ponta Delgada, 3* hotel

The trip comes to an end after your transfer back to Ponta Delgada airport

***Important*** depending on the schedule of the ferry between the islands, the itinerary might be adapted.