How to make the most of 9 days in Lisbon and The Azores Islands.
- Morgan A.
- Dec 20, 2024
- 7 min read
Dreaming of a European holiday? Want a healthy balance of city, small town, and nature? Then allow me to introduce - The Azores Islands.
If you are anything like me, you may have never heard of The Azores. An archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, The Azores Islands have been called the Hawaii of Europe and are full of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Are you convinced yet?
Now that you know you have to go to the Azores, where do you start? I believe no trip to Portugal is complete without a visit to the mainland so we started our journey in Lisbon. With its narrow streets and a pastelaria on every corner, Lisbon is a must. After a few days in Lisbon, we made our way to Terceira Island and onto São Miguel Island to finish. No single day was wasted and I truly wouldn't change a thing.
Read on to learn more about how we spent our time in Portugal and our favorite spots from each stop.
My Top Three Things You Have to Do
day tour of Sintra
hot springs on São Miguel
canyoning on São Miguel
My Top FiveThings You Have to Eat
Pastel de Natas at Pastéis de Belém
Travesseiros at Casa Piriquita in Sintra
Alcatra on Terceira Island
A burger from Suplexio on Sáo Miguel Island
Fresh butter and cheese on Sáo Miguel Island
Itinerary
Day 1 - arrive in Lisbon
Quick tip: We connected from Omaha to Chicago to take an overnight flight into Lisbon. Come to find out, Boston has direct flights to Lisbon and to São Miguel and it is a much quicker flight. If you are looking to spend time on São Miguel, I would highly recommend connecting through Boston.
Another quick tip: If you fly TAP Air Portugal, they may give you the option to block the seat next to you. We chose a 3 seat middle row in the back of the plane and paid $80 to block the third seat. Best $80 I've ever spent!
After arriving, we dropped our bags at our hotel and set off on foot to find an espresso and a pastel de nata. Pastel de natas are a signature Portuguese pastry that can be found at any cafe. Think pastry cup filled with sweet custard. In other words, a bite of heaven. I think I had at least one every day and I recommend you do the same.
The rest of our first day was filled with fighting jet lag. We continued walking the historic city center to see the Rua Augusta Arch (seen below) and to just enjoy a little movement after the long flight. The second our room was ready though, we made our way back to our hotel to rest before dinner and had an early night.
Day 2 - day tour of Sintra
Quick tip: We became huge fans of guided tours on this trip. This is truly the best way to get to know more about your surroundings - the history, the culture, the food. We learned so much on our tours from our wonderful guides.
I booked this tour on a whim and it ended up being our favorite day of our entire trip! We had the best guide who truly loves his country. At one point, as he was looking out over the ocean, he said "We have a beautiful country, don't we?" And he is absolutely right. Our day was filled with palaces and pastries and narrow streets in Sintra followed by a delicious family-style lunch in Cascais where we had time to walk the main street and grab gelato.
Day 3 - Belém
Our final day in Lisbon was spent mainly in the area of Belém. We started our day at the very famous Pastéis de Belém for espresso and of course, a pastel de nata. We then explored the Jerónimos Monastery, the Monument to the Discoveries, and the Belém Tower. The Monastery was breathtaking and strolling along the Tagus River made for a perfect day. From the river walk, you can see Lisbon's famous bridge that looks almost identical to San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and is the longest suspension bridge in Europe.
Once finished in Belém, we took an Uber back to Lisbon city center and made our way up to São Jorge Castle, where we enjoyed dinner with a view.
Day 4 - fly to Terceira Island
We spent our final morning in Lisbon at a nearby cafe and made our way to our first island - Terceira.
Day 5 - explore Angra do Heroísmo
Our fifth day was fairly relaxed. We walked around the main town on Terceira Island - Angra do Heroísmo, had a lovely lunch and a bottle of our now favorite wine - green wine. After a little pastry and espresso, we took a stroll around Monte Brasil and along the coast back to our hotel.
Day 6 - day tour of Terceira Island
Another lovely tour! We drove the entirety of the island with our guide and learned so much about the history of the island and the volcanic activity that created it. We saw many natural pools right along the coast where locals go to swim, lots of cows and beautiful green fields, and had an incredible lunch of traditional Alcatra - a beef stew slow cooked in a clay pot. Pretty sure this was our favorite meal of the trip.
Most food you find on the islands will have at least an element of locally-sourced ingredients. Most of the butter, cheese, fish, and meat we had came directly from the island and you can certainly tell - it's beyond fresh and so tasty.
We ended our day with a trip to the Christmas Market in the center of Angra. They had local food vendors and music and lights, it was a vibe. We had our first bifana, a traditional pork sandwhich, and of course homemade pastries. There is something so magical about the old cobblestone streets during the holidays.
Day 7 - travel to São Miguel Island
We started our day with a flight on one of the smallest planes I've been on...ever been on a plane with propellers? Once we arrived on São Miguel, we dropped our bags at our hotel and again set off in search of food and coffee. We spent some time in Jardim Botânico António Borges and walking the streets of Ponta Delgada, the largest city on São Miguel and the capital of the Azores archipelago.
We ended our day with a guided tour to the Furnas region of São Miguel where we learned how the island's residents used to use and continue to use the volcanic activity on the island. We ate a meal of Cozida, a stew cooked all day in a hole in the ground near Furnas - see photo below of said holes. After dinner, we drank mineral water straight from the ground and had time in some beautiful hot springs in Furnas.
Day 8 - day tour of São Miguel Island
This tour took us all around the middle and western portions of the island. We started with a trip to a beautiful black sand beach where the local surfers go. We took a stop at the liquor factory on the island and sampled some of the best liqueur I've ever had. They had passion fruit and pineapple and blackberry and many more. They also had a rice pudding cream liqueur, which was probably my favorite.
We then made our way past Lagoa do Fogo and to a park to see natural springs. This part of the island was truly a rainforest, it was magic.
Lunch was an incredible buffet of all of the local dishes and as our tour guide said, they were the dishes he grew up on. To end lunch, they brought us out more liqueur as a little dessert with our check. I love being immersed in the culinary culture!
We made a stop at the island pineapple plantation after lunch and grabbed a pineapple beer before continuing the drive on to Sete Cidades and the lake that makes it one of the most popular places to visit on the island. The lake was formed in a volcanic crater and seeing the entire rim of the crater with the lake and town at the bottom was something special.
Day 9 - canyoning and the best burger ever
Our final day to explore and it was one of the best! Larry loves to do crazy things so we booked a canyoning tour to start our day. It felt like we were walking through Jurrasic Park. We rappeled down waterfalls and jumped off others. I'd say Larry got his fix and I pushed myself to do something uncomfortable.
After that, we strolled around the Christmas Market in Ponta Delgada, grabbed an espresso and a pastry with a view and pretty much just stalled until the best burger restaurant on the island opened up - Suplexio. We got to the restaurant a bit before it opened for dinner and there was already a line so if that tells you anything...I had probably the best veggie patty I've ever had. It's a must-try and the street it's on is full of little tiny restaurants and bars, you could spend days trying things just on this street.
We're Definitely Going Back
But what would I do differently?
First, as mentioned, I would book a layover through Boston because the flight back from Sáo Miguel was a long one with a layover in Lisbon. We could have skipped that stop altogether if we had known they had direct flights from Boston.
We're also learning how to pack lighter, trying to be single bag people. It's a work in progress! There are some things I packed that I didn't need and some that I did need but can definitely find better options. I'm still looking for the perfect pair of travel tennis shoes so if you have any suggestions, please let me know!
Lastly, next time we go to Portugal, I would love to see Porto first and foremost. But if we do make our way back to Sáo Miguel, I would definitely rent a car and do more independent exploring. There are so many places to hike on Sáo Miguel that we just didn't have the opportunity to see.
If you've been to Portugal, drop a suggestion in the comments on what we absolutely have to see next time!
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