Ponte Delgado, Sete Cidades, and Furnas
We spent 8 days on Sao Miguel and could have spent a month. There are so many things to do and see from beaches and thermal pools to hiking and sightseeing. This post is about how we spent 8 days on Sao Miguel exploring Ponte Delgado, Sete Cidades and Furnas. If you want a quick overview of all the islands we visited, check out this post!
If you are planning a trip to Sao Miguel, just know that you will enjoy each and every day on this island and it will leave you craving a return! Our 8 days were split into two parts. We spent our first 4 days here, left to see other islands and then returned for our final 4 days. We stayed in Ponte Delgado the first 4 days without a rental car and then when we returned, we had a car and stayed in the Furnas area to travel around.
Due to a travel delay, we missed our first day. But we still kept the hotel reservation which ended up being nice because when we did arrive at 10:00am, our room was ready and our breakfast buffet was still open so we got to enjoy a nice meal, set our stuff in our room, change and take a minute before hitting the town. We stayed at Hotel Ponte Delgado and included breakfast in our stay. We also took advantage of a few of the add-ons they offer such as wine and a fruit and cheese board set up in the room. The location of the hotel is a little on the outskirts of town, but still very walkable, quiet and enjoyable!
Without further delay, lets take a dive into how we spent our 8 days on Sao Miguel!
Day 1: Explore Ponte Delgado and Dinner at Quintos Dos Sobres
After breakfast, we headed out to explore the city and book a tour for the next day! The tour that I originally wanted to book for Sete Cidades was full so I just decided we would take our chances and book something when we arrived. Which we did and it was great! I don’t remember the actual tour name that we went with but it was just a booth that we found while walking around and we were able to book for the next day which was perfect. We found a swimming area nearby and enjoyed a beer and a snack before heading back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.
Dinner was a glorious splurge that I would recommend for everyone to check out. We had reservations at Quintos Dos Sabores, a local organic farm to table restaurant. They accommodate all dietary restrictions and offer wine pairings which we added on (No surprise there). There is no rush at this restaurant, no table turnover. They encourage you to take breaks, enjoy a walk and just relax. It was a wonderful and beautiful experience and a great way to spend our first evening.
Day 2: Full Day Tour to Lagoa Do Fogo and Sete Cidades and Evening Beach Hop
The next day we got up early to meet our tour guide and group. It was a small tour, just 4 of us and the guide, which was perfect. Plus we had an Instagram Influencer who helped take our photos and pose. The tour was a full day from 8-4 and stopped at:
- Lagoa Do Fogo (Fire Lagoon)
- Best to see with small tour as private vehicles are limited
- Caldeira Velha
- Beautiful Park with thermal pools. The thermal pools require additional tickets as they only allow a certain amount of people every 1.5 hours
- Local Lunch Buffet
- I don’t actually know where this was but it was great!
- Santa Bárbara Beach
- Known as the surf capitol and has beautiful ocean views with a stunning backdrop
- Sete Cidades View Points
- Miradouro da Vista Do Rei – did not disappoint
- Stopped at a few other pullouts to see some less famous lakes and get some different angles of the twin lakes
- Sete Cidades Town
- Walked through the Neo-Gothic Cathedral
- Stopped in a super cute restaurant for a quick beer
- Overlook of Mosteiros
- Quick Pineapple Plantation Tour
- This was my least favorite, I would have liked to do some pineapple tasting but they just showed us around different greenhouses with pineapples in different stages. The baby pineapples were cute though!
Beach Hopping
Although the tour ended, our day did not! It was beautiful out so once we got back to our hotel, we changed into our swimsuits and got a taxi to a beach. It was a short 10-minute taxi ride to the farthest beach. We figured we would start there and then beach hop back to our side town. Our first stop was at Praia do Populo, which is a gorgeous black sand beach. We had a refreshing beer and Lupini beans at Sunset Bar & Grill before heading to Praia das Milicias which was just a short 10 minute walk. We enjoyed the view and walking the beach before stumbling upon Praia de São Roque. The staircase down to the beach, paired with the sunset and a beautiful cathedral in the backdrop was breathtaking. A perfect ending to a wonderful day!
Day 3: Sete Cidades, Ponta Da Ferraria
Our third day we slept in and then hired a local guide off of the Get Your Guide app. We wanted to go back to Sete Cidades and stop at Ponta da Ferraria where there is a thermal tide pool. It was really great to take two different tours to Sete Cidades on two different days since both offered different weather and different view points.
We stopped at:
- Mirador Pico del Carbón
- Views of the ocean on both the north and south side of the island.
- Lagoa Do Canario
- Picturesque lake surrounded by unique pine trees
- Miradouro da Boca do Inferno
- Short hike (less than a mile), slightly uphill
- Breathtaking views
- Miradouro da Vista do Rei (again)
- Full Sun and Beautiful
- Miradouro do Cerrado das Freiras
- Stunning Angle of the twin lake
- Town of Sete Cidades
- We walked down by the lake for a different perspective. You can’t swim in the lake but you can rent kayaks
- Town of Mosteiros
- Pretty black sand beach surrounded by black volcanic rocks
- Ponta Da Ferraria Tide Pool
- Such a unique spot where hot water, heated by volcanic vapors, meet the Atlantic ocean.
- The best time to visit is a little before low tide. This will give you the best water temperature and a calmer swim experience.
Day 4: (Part 1) Jardim Botânico António Borges and Lunch
Jardim Botânico António Borges Botanical Garden is right in the heart of Ponte Delgado and a perfect way to spend the morning. There is a cute little restaurant in the garden that we heard was really good and reasonably priced. The garden is free to get into and such a unique experience. After enjoying the gardens, we opted for lunch with a view at Cais da Sardinha before heading to the airport.
As I mentioned earlier, we started on Sao Miguel and ended here! We flew to Pico, took a ferry to Faial, another flight to Flores, and ferry to Corvo and back to Flores and then finally back to Sao Miguel. Which brings us back here, to Part 2!
Day 4: (Part 2) Rental Car and drive to Furnas
Once landed back in Sao Miguel, we picked up a rental from the airport (super easy) and stayed at the Terra Nostra Garden Hotel which gave us access to the Terra Nosta Gardens. We spent the afternoon at the hotel, walking the grounds and enjoying some cocktails at the bar terrace and stayed in for dinner. We also took advantage of the indoor pool area and the outdoor thermal pools.
A few notes about staying at Terra Nostra Garden Hotel:
- Free entrance to the gardens anytime
- Guests can use the thermal pools before 10am and after 6pm.
- I recommend including the breakfast with your stay. It’s fabulous.
Day 5: Walk around Furnas, Spa Afternoon
Furnas is a beautiful area filled with gardens and plenty of green space. Grab a coffee and enjoy a walk around the town. It’s adorable and peaceful. When planning this trip, I knew I would need some down time because as much as I love adventure and exploring, I also LOVE to rest! So, that’s what we did! We spent the afternoon at the Terra Nostra Spa. We got a 75 minute massage and then a detox experience that involved being scrubbed with mud… I loved it! In between services they provided us a little snack of tea and cookies. For dinner, we did a 6 course meal and wine pairing at the restaurant on site. I don’t have the words to verbalize how incredible the food was. If you have a chance to book this, do it!
Day 6: Canyoning, Tea Factory, Traditional Furnas Dinner
Parque Natural da Ribeira dos Caldeiros
We started the morning early for a half-day canyoning adventure at Parque Natural da Ribeira dos Caldeiros. This was so much fun! Our group ended up being only 4 people in total since 4 others backed out at the last minute. With a smaller group size, of course you get to do a few more things and get some special attention. The tour guides provided all the equipment and instructions we needed. We repelled down waterfalls, slid down slopes and jumped in pools. It was everything I wanted it to be! There is a nice spot for lunch right in the park afterwards, which was perfect because we were starving!
Cha Gorreana Tea Factory
After that adventure we stopped at the Cha Gorreana Tea Factory which was really nice. I was exhausted so I didn’t enjoy it as much as I should have. We did have a guide walk us through the factory explaining the process of tea making and then of course, tried the tea before buying a few varieties in the shop! There is a cute little café here that overlooks the tea fields and Atlantic Ocean. There are also walking trails around the plantation where you can explore a little on your own.
Calderias and Dinner
Afterwards we drove back to our hotel and walked about a mile to the calderias for dinner. Of course, it was a beautiful walk through the city of Furnas and we found an adorable outdoor bar to enjoy a gin and tonic. Be sure to take some time to walk around the calderias. It’s like a mini Yellowstone with steam vents, geysers, bubbling mud and tons of other geothermal activity. We had a traditional thermal dinner close by at Caldeiras e Vulcões which was really good, better than I thought it would be! Who would think about using the underground heat to cook your food! After dinner we enjoyed a quiet walk back to the hotel and a relaxing time in the thermal pools.
Day 7: Azores Brewing Company, Nordeste, Salto do Prego
This was another PACKED day! We started with one last soak in the thermal pools before checking out of Terra Nostra Garden Hotel. We then headed to the Azores Brewing Company. This was a bit of a back track but I have no regrets about making this stop! The beer was great! Plus, we stopped at Santa Bárbara Beach again which was lovely. The brewery was in an industrial area but was a super cute building with GREAT beer!
Nordeste
We then headed up to Nordeste to see that part of the island. We stopped for a coffee in Nordeste before hitting the road again to Miradouro da Ponta do Sossego. Stunning view point with gardens, ocean view and rugged cliffs. I loved it here. But, at last the day was moving swiftly along and we still had a hike and waterfall to get to! So, onward we went to the little town of Faial da Terra where we found the trailhead to Cascata do Salto do Prego.
Salto do Prego Hike
There aren’t too many swimmable waterfalls on Sao Miguel, but this is one and I sure loved it! The hike was a little harder than I thought it would be (no surprise to my husband). It is a rated as a moderate hike but just over a mile one way, so not too long. You could add on another portion to get to Cagarrão Waterfall and the hike would then be closer to 5.5 miles. It was a beautiful hike with streams, trees and chickens that ended with a gorgeous waterfall. We followed the trail with the All Trails app and it worked well. Once we got back to our car, we headed to our Airbnb near Caloura. We had to drive through Furnas again but got to take in the views once last time.
We also made a stop in Vila Franco Do Campo where we finally figured out how to get tickets to the Islet which we eventually decided not to do because we would have to wake up super early, stand in line and it just wasn’t worth the effort. The ticket booth opens at 8:00am and the person working recommended getting there at 7:00 and waiting since a limited number are permitted per day and they do sell out.
Day 8: Beach and Islet Tour
We slept in, did laundry at the Airbnb and enjoyed our final beach day before heading to Vila Franco Do Campo. As I mentioned if we wanted to actually get into the islet, we would have had to wake up early to stand in line and I just didn’t think it was worth the effort. YOU should do it, it just wasn’t in the plans for us. We did book another tour off of Get Your Guide and had a boat take us around the islet and let us jump in for a snorkel. Except… the PORTUGESE MAN O WAR surrounded us. We quickly called the boat back and climbed aboard. That was not water I wanted to be in! It was terrifying, but also fine. We didn’t get stung. We finished the night with a sunset dinner at Bar Caloura.
Day 9: Fly Home
Sao Miguel to Newark to Milwaukee. That’s it! That’s the trip. I guess it was 8 full days on the island of Sao Miguel and I loved every single aspect of it.
