r/azores

I've done a lot of hiking in different places and while most hikes I've done were tough, a few were dangerous (walking on cliff edge, scrambling up steep rock, etc). I'm traveling to Sao Miguel with someone who is not great with heights and I think she would hate to go on a hike that she felt her life was at risk. She is physically fit and can climb up a mountain probably better than me and if the place is safe would enjoy a good vista, but I don't want to put her in a position she felt in danger

Any general advice? Any hikes to avoid while I'm on the island. We will be driving.

We received the below email which seems to indicate a strike may be (?) occurring on our date of travel (June 3 arrival) - is this something that occurs routinely? Is it probable this would be called off or is it advisable to change our travel date to June 2 or 4?

**Dear Passenger,**Due to the general strike notice issued by the trade union confederation CGTP for June 3, 2026, constraints may occur in SATA Air Açores and Azores Airlines operations.To minimize any inconvenience resulting from this situation, we recommend that you:- If feasible, change your trip, without penalties or fare differences, to any date between June 1 and June 7, 2026 (inclusive) on flights operated by SATA Air Açores and Azores Airlines. For more information, please contact your ticketing agent;

Hello everyone,

I am in a tough spot and I was wondering if someone can help me or give me some advice.

Me and my girlfriend are coming to Sao Miguel for a few days.

5 days ago I drank two beers and I was just a bit over the limit in a police check hence they took my driving license for a month and now no matter how much I plea they won't give it to me sooner.

As a result I won't have a driving license when visiting in two weeks.

Is there any way I can drive something without a driving license there?

I am willing to pay someone to rent a car for me and I can even provide any proof necessary to prove that I am just a guy with a screaming girlfriend in need of help.

Thanks in advance

Going in September and staying for three nights - where should we eat lunch dinner? Open to traveling as well as broader recommendations in the east side. Thanks :)

Curious on thoughts on Tony's as well

Dear community, I eat mostly vegan and would like to know if I can easily find tofu and/or tempeh in the supermarkets of Ponta Delgada?

And do you have restaurants for vegetarian or vegan food you can recommend all across the island?

Many thanks! 🙏🏼

EDIT: thank you all so much for your quick replies! Flying off on Friday!

Visiting Sao Miguel the first week of June - my teens REALLY want to swim. I keep getting conflicting reports on water temps. Any guidance appreciated! And is a shorty wetsuit a good or bad idea?

I NEED to pin down the scent used at the Terra Nostra garden hotel. It’s incredible and I want to purchase it for myself to wear, but the front desk didn’t know the name and just mentioned they have a vendor that handles it. Thought I’d shoot my shot here to see if anyone knew the name of the scent and if it’s available as a cologne/perfume. TIA!

Does this happen frequently to people who travel to azores or am I just unlucky... if this happened to you what did the airline do?

Hey all, I’ve hit a wall and unsure of how to go further. My dad is first born in America. We are from Horta, Faial. My maiden name is Machado, I am looking for information with that last name. For some more information: My grandfather is Joao Hilberto Machado born October 22 1934 and his parents ( my great grandparents ) are Joao Baptista Machado born June 24 1904 and Rosa Palmira Da Silva born February 7 1909. I have pieced together a little more on the Da Silva side but I’m looking to go up only the Machado side. Sadly this is all the information I have. My grandfather had some siblings as well but unsure of birth dates or real names as I always called them ( for example ) Tia NiNi or Tio Caro. Tio Caro did pass away a few years back in Faial. My Tia NiNi is alive but has Parkinson’s so I’m unable to understand her. This is my last hope😭

Hello I've just arrived to Sao Miguel, does anybody know any car rental company that does not require deposit (as I've seen they charge you ridiculous amounts), I've also heard that if you pay full insurance on the car you dont need to pay the deposit, is this true? What companies do you recommend?

Abbiamo programmato un viaggio tra la fine di giugno e metà luglio tra Sao Miguel, Flores e Faial. Ci sposteremo con voli interni della SATA. Ho letto che molto di frequente i voli SATA vengono annullati per cattivo tempo (ritardi e cancellazioni). Qualcuno sa se questi problemi si verificano spesso anche nel periodo estivo?

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Hello,

We are coming to Azores this summer and we would like to rent a car on São Jorge but give it back on Faial,

Does someone know an agency who can do that ?

Thank you !

Someone pointed me to check the Azores for an alternative place to live. We are a couple and have a pension of about €2000 per month available.

Will a decent living be possible on that pension?

I choose Saõ Miguel because it has a decent city (Ponte Delgado) and the biggest airport on the Azores.

I have seen several pics from the Azores and it looks like a mini Switzerland where I currently live.

And now here comes some questions:

Are there some language courses available to learn Portuguese on the island?

How well is the public transportation on the whole island?

What is a decent website on checking for houses or apartments?

How well are the medical services? I am handicapped but need only medical checks every 2 to 3 months. I'm not movement restricted.

Do some people play Dungeons & Dragons there? 😁

Thank you for your help.

Why has there been so many fireworks going off this weekend? It doesn't seem to be a holiday weekend as far as my Google search tells me.

Is it related to the parade that happened in Ribeira Grande yesterday? Also curious about what that was celebrating, the outfits were amazing!!

Genuinely curious, love getting to know Azorean culture better!

Thank you

I've been to the Azores twice and spent a total of 6 weeks there across 6 islands. I always rented a car and probably spent at least 3000km on the roads. Over this time I've had a lot of close call encounters with local cars driving frankly completely recklessly and a lot of times very unskilled. Some situations:

• Locals overtaking me while I was driving at (or slightly above) the speed limit, despite opposing traffic and clearly not enough distance between us. I've had a lot of these risky encounters. Twice, both me and the other traffic had to hard brake and fully stop to avoid a disaster.
• Again, despite driving at or above speed limit, often at higher speed roads (80-100Km/h) locals tailgating me, driving maybe 2-3 meters behind me. If I only slightly had to brake, this would have caused a bad accident
• Just randomly stopping on the street or, when something was parked on their side of the road, switching lanes despite opposing traffic
• Indicating at roundabouts? Seemed completely random. Some indicated left/right/not at all. Couldn't find a pattern.
• Driving twice the speed limit, e.g. when driving through villages
• Completely ignoring the middle line, driving on my side of the road for no reason
• Slipping left to right on straight road, seemingly not being able to drive consistently in the middle of their lane (like drunk drivers)
• Severly cutting curves despite oppising traffic (me)
• I wittnessed a mini bus full of tourists overtaking me on a curvy road with way over 100Km/h. Don't wanna know how the tourists inside felt during this unnecessary manouver. It was a super close call right before a curve and opposing traffic.

I fully understand that driving behind rented cars (i.e. tourists) that go way slower than the speed limit is annoying (I hated it too lol). Especially when it's a one-lane road. But again, I'm definitely not a slow driver, and I can only wonder how much worse these encounters must be for new/unskilled drivers. Anyway, the first thing everyone gets taught when learning how to drive: You don't take risks, especially when overtaking. If you're not sure, you just don't do it. I often felt unsafe and ended up just letting locals behind me pass, whenever I had a chance to preemtively avoid failed overtaking manouvers.

I'm wondering if I'm the only one who experienced this? Is it just a subjective thing or is there actually a driving problem in the Azores and it's a known issue? As in, maybe a higher accident rate than on EU/Portugal average? I almost never saw police controls on the roads either.

Really don't mean to rant on the locals. I witnessed a lot of stupidity from the tourists, too, especially randomly stopping to take photos or driving unreasonably slow, causing huge queues behind them. But not the same recklessness as from the local drivers. Wondering if anyone has some insights.

Hi everyone!

At the beginning of September I’ll be moving to Ponta Delgada (Azores) for an Erasmus exchange, and I’ll stay there for at least 6 months. I’ve never been there before, so I’d really appreciate some advice from people who live there or have already experienced it

First of all: what kind of weather should I expect from September through winter/spring? What clothes should I bring with me? Does it rain a lot? Will I need heavy jackets, or is layering enough?

I’d also love to know:

• what university life is like in Ponta Delgada and how the Erasmus/student environment is
• activities and things to do in free time
• places around the island that are absolutely worth visiting
• how transportation works and whether having a car is useful
• cost of living, supermarkets, gyms, etc.

Also, do you have any advice on what to do during the first few days to settle in more easily? For example:

• important paperwork or things to arrange immediately
• best ways to meet people
• useful student groups/communities
• common mistakes to avoid when arriving

Any kind of advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot!

In October 2025 I visited Sao Miguel and rented a car. For one day I went to Ponta Delgada and believe I paid the correct parking, though I may have made a mistake.

Today I received an email from DataRede, S.A claiming there was a parking infraction and I owe €6.60. On the document they sent there is no indication of the date or car that was involved in the infraction. I am happy to pay the €6.60 if it was me, but the document also doesn't tell me how I can do that.

Any help or support in understanding this would be amazing. Thank you.

https://preview.redd.it/81c4bguj1a1h1.jpg?width=2483&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7f31799176f411f43ae076ab6105b74fa753c8b1