First Time in Sao Miguel

[Daniel Silvia]

Hi all,

Apologies if this is too far off topic. Feel free to follow up with me privately. 

My g-grandfather was born in Faja de Baixo.  My wife and I have a whole week to ourselves in August and there are nonstop flights from Boston to Sao Miguel. I would love to go but know nothing about where to stay, how to get around, etc.  

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Dan Silvia

[Cheri Mello]

Hi Dan S,

You'll probably want to stay in Ponta Delgada. They have hotels, residentials (you will share a bathroom with another couple), AirBnBs, and hostels. You can find the hotels and the residentials on your favorite travel site (Expedia, Kayak, Travelocity, etc) and the AirBnBs on their web site.

You can rent a car or use a taxi to get around. Some taxi drivers double as tour guides. A number of people on this list can recommend their taxi driver as a guide and I'm sure they'll post here.

They take Visa and MasterCard there, but bring cash so you can convert to euros (either at the airport or at a bank after you arrive). Some smaller businesses don't take credit cards and you'll need to pay in euros.

Cars and cows have the right- a-way. Not pedestrians. Many streets are narrow and some places don't have sidewalks. Most streets and sidewalks are cobblestone, so you will want to wear athletic shoes.

If you eat seafood, the fish (complete with its head) will be on your plate. They don't cut it off there.Same with shrimp. You'll get the full critter on your plate. So don't be surprised. It's how they serve the food.

I'm sure others have ideas for you too.

Cheri Mello
Listowner, Azores-Gen
Researching: São Miguel island: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira Quente, Ribeira das Tainhas, Achada

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[Steve Peters]

Hi Daniel,

I've been to the islands several times now so can maybe offer some helpful tips...

In August expect it to be hot and humid, but take layers as it can still rain and get chilly.

Cheri is right that staying in Ponta Delgada is your best bet. The second most common option is probably the pricier spa/resort town of Furnas, up in the mountains. Consider that AirBnB and their ilk are wreaking havoc on the housing market there (and in the rest of Portugal). Foreigners and investment corporations are gobbling up residential property for short-term vacation rentals, thus reducing the supply of long-term housing and driving up prices so locals can't afford to live there anymore. So I suggest avoiding that if possible, or if you do use it, try to make sure it's an actual local owner hosting you. I've had some really good experiences with the latter.

You will not need a car in Ponta Delgada, in fact it's a hassle to have one (parking, tiny one-way streets, traffic). Getting around on foot is easy and more enjoyable and you'll see more. There are buses too, and I know there is (or used to be) a really cheap one from the airport that drops you downtown. For seeing the rest of the island, you can certainly hire a taxi guide as Cheri said, and they will usually charge by the half day or full day. You might want to do that once to get a feel for the place, but I highly recommend renting a car to get around the island. A guide will only take you to the most obvious places, and I found it's easier to relax and enjoy the places you visit without a guide wanting to hurry along to the next stop on their checklist. Rather than rent a car for the entire time you are there, consider giving yourself a few car-free days in Ponta Delgada to get acclimated, and then rent a car by the day when you want to get out and see the sights. You should probably try to book a rental car sooner rather than later, as things get busy in the summer (prices will be high in August). But I've also had good luck with people recommending folks to me outside of the big rental companies, such as mechanics, who rent cars as a sideline. Hotels and good AirBnB hosts can help with this.

In terms of driving, they use the same side of the road as in the US. Main things to remember are to never drive in the left lane on the highway unless you are passing (they get very cranky about this), and (I think) you can't turn right on a red light. And be prepared for intersections with roundabouts rather than stop lights. The highways are good, and it's hard to get lost - there is basically one main highway that goes around the perimeter of the island (with an older, smaller ring road running between that and the ocean that goes through the towns - slower, but you'll get more of the local vibe), and a couple of major roads that go across. And even if you get lost, you won't be anywhere too remote and you might stumble upon some sweet place. 

Good luck!

Steve

[SUSAN MURPHY]

Hi Daniel, 

I’ve been also quite a few times to the Azores including Sao Miguel. I’m the type of person who likes to get all my ducks in a row and do my best to insure I will get to see the highlights. Serendipity is wonderful and it also seems to find me. 

I’m older and have now taken my three married children and grandchildren individually and I always get a guide on Sao Miguel because I’ve had good luck with Gary Travassos. After having to cancel for Covid in 2020, I finally achieved my goal of taking the last group last summer! 

Sao Miguel is big and I agree it’s best to stay in Ponta Delgada and it would be my recommendation to book two days with someone like Gary to go in the two different directions of the island . He also can pick you up and take you back to the airport and while you can easily also take a taxi, it just takes some of the stress away to hire someone ahead like Gary. 

I’d say take a day to explore Ponta Delgada and adjust and then book two days of touring. You could plan to take a car somewhere (also book car ahead) once you get the lay of the land. 

Here is Gary’s info and there are lots of ideas on his site…. He was well worth it to us! 

With all that said, we did something different last summer…. Gary has a B&B in Furnas and we did that as we had a group of 7 and it worked well for us. It was not ideal in that it sort of overlooked the town up a hill but didn’t matter to us as we had those days of touring with Gary and he picked us up. After dinner in town we easily could get a taxi back. What I loved about this was that we had our arrival day to explore Terra Nostra Park and my grandkids went swimming in the pool there. The park is beautiful! After those three nights we flew to another island but on way home relocated to a hotel in Ponta Delgada and had fun walking the city before we flew home after two weeks in the Azores! 

Whatever you decide…. Just GO!! You will never regret it and they will call you back! 

Best of luck! 

Susan Vargas Murphy 

On Apr 1, 2023, at 11:19 AM, Steve Peters <spp...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Daniel,

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