Azores

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Introduction

São Jorge

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The Azores are a chain of islands in the Atlantic Ocean and form an autonomous region of Portugal. Because of their outlying location, these islands are still not on many traveller's routes. The islands have a lot to offer though, and are both interesting regarding nature and culture. Small historical villages and cities and green and lush hills and mountains form a perfect place to spend a week or so to get away from the main tourist path.

Brief History

Before the discovery of the Azores islands in 1427 by Goncalo Velho, there were no people living here. Twelve years later, in 1439, the colonization of the Islands started and mainly people from Portugal, Spain, North Africa and Flanders settled themselves here.

Geography

The Azores Islands are located in the Atlantic Ocean, about 1500 kilometers west of Lisbon and almost 4000 kilometers east of North America's coastline The Azores have a total area of 2350 square kilometers. São Miguel is the biggest island with almost 750 square kilometers while the smallest island Corvo is only about 17 square kilometers. Alltogether there are nine islands forming the archipelago and the Azores are of volcanic origin, sitting atop of the Atlantic ridge. The volcanic origin of the Azores islands is best witnessed by beautiful views towards the many volcanic cones and craters. Pico is a volcano of 2351 meters high on the island of Pico and is the highest point in the Azores.

Regions/Islands

The Azores consist of 9 main inhabited islands. These are:
Western group:

• Corvo
• Flores

Central Group:

• Faial
• Graciosa
• Pico
• São Jorge
• Terceira

Eastern group:

• São Miguel
• Santa Maria

Cities

• Ponta Delgada - the official capital of the autonomous region Azores
• Angra do Heroísmo
• Horta
• Ribeira Grande
• Praia da Vitória

Sights and Activities

Whale watching

The Azores Islands are probably one of the best places anywhere in the world to have a closer encouter with the largest animals on our planet. Many species of whales, including the big and impressive humpback, live in the waters around the islands and many towns with harbours offer boat tours lasting anywhere from one or two hours to longer half or full day trips.

Other sights and activities

• Lagoa das Sete Cidades
• Swimming with dolphins
• Angra do Heroismo - historical city, on the Unesco World Heritage List.

Events and Festivals

Weather

The Azores have a very pleasant and moderate climate with hot weather or frosts (apart from the highest areas) almost unheard of. There can be differences between the nine islands and some parts of indiviual islands are known to have micro-climates with less rain, more sun and slightly higher temperatures. In general though average summer temperatures (June-September) are around 24 to 26 degrees Celcius during the day and 16 to 18 degrees at night. In winter, daytime temperatures still average 16 to 18 degrees and rarely drop below 10 degrees at night in most places.
Rainfall is spread out evenly throughout the year, although the summer period of May to September is drier with average monthly rainfall of about 40 to 50mm. During the wintermonths of November to March, 100 mm or more is normal for most islands.

Getting There

By Plane

João Paulo II Airport (PDL) on the island of Sao Miguel is the busiest airport of the Azores. SATA International has flights to and from Amsterdam, Boston, Dublin, Faro, Frankfurt, Funchal, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Manchester, Montreal, Providence, Porto and Toronto.
Several other airlines, like SAS and Finnair fly to other mainly Scandinavian cities, like Helsinki, Copenhagen and Oslo.

SATA Air Açores also flies from Horta and Santa Maria to Lisbon and TAP Air and SATA International to Lisbon as well. The latter also flies seasonal to Boston and Oakland.

By Train

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

Getting Around

By Plane

SATA Air Açores is the main carrier for flights between all nine islands: Corvo Island, Flores Island, Graciosa Island, Horta, Pico Island, Santa Maria, São Jorge Island, São Miguel and Terceira.
SATA International also flies between São Miguel, Horta, Santa Maria and Terceira.

By Train

There are no trains on the Azores.

By Car

Renting a car is the best way to get around most of the islands, especially the largest ones. It is surpisingly economical with daily rates for the smallest car starting at around €25. Most international agencies like Hertz and Avis have offices on airports. Only Sao Miguel and Terceira have some more traffic but still not much compared to mainland Portugal.

By Bus

All islands except Corvo have a bus system. Still, it is not of much use for travellers as there isn't really a timetable as such on many of the islands. Usually buses only travel a few times a day and in the weekend buses might be totally absent. Sao Miguel, Terceira and Pico have relatively better bus systems with reliable and relatively frequent buses around the island.

By Boat

Transmacor offers regular ferry services between most islands, including Terceira, Faia and Pico. Some of the ferries only travel between May and September though and a few only travel in July and August, for example the once per week ferry to Flores. Between Faial and Pico there are many daily trips by catamaran (15 minutes) or regular ferry (30 minutes), which is perfect for a daytrip to Pico and do some whalewatching tours.
Anlanticoline offers some ferries as well, including the one to Flores.

Red Tape

Money

See also: Money Matters

The Azores, as an autonomous region of Portugal, have adopted the Euro (ISO code: EUR, symbol: €) as its official currency. One Euro is divided into 100 cents, which is sometimes referred to as eurocents, especially when distinguishing them with the US cents.

Euro banknotes come in denominations of €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200, €500. The highest three denominations are rarely used in everyday transactions. All Euro banknotes have a common design for each denomination on both sides throughout the Eurozone.

The Euro coins are 1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, €1 and €2. Some countries in the Eurozone have law which requires cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest 5 cents. All Euro coins have a common design on the denomination (value) side, while the opposite side may have a different image from one country to another. Although the image side may be different, all Euro coins remain legal tender throughout the Eurozone.

Work

Study

Language

Portugese is the official language of the Azores, although some dialects dating back to the early settlers (Flemish, Spanish) are still spoken, albeit sporadically.

Eat

Sleep

Drink

Health

Safety

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

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