Best of Sao Miguel Azores

Refreshed after a good night’s sleep, we were ready to explore this beautiful and peaceful island located off the coast of Portugal. Knowing we were somewhere in the southeast area of the island was all we had to go on. Our airbnb was snuggled in lush vegetation making it difficult for us to know up from down. We left our cozy, fabulous airbnb hoping we would be able to find it again that evening. We took mental notes of landmarks and the many twists and turns with great faith as we piled into the small rental car and headed out.

The lake of two colors, the warm waterfall and the hot pots in the ocean were just a few of the amazing things we experienced on Sao Miguel. Our week was off to a fantastic start. 

One of our highlights was finding Ponta da Ferriaria. It is a warm swimming hole in the ocean where several chains are anchored. People enter the water at lower tide to enjoy the naturally warm water. The chains are there so no one gets washed out to sea. Yes…washed out to sea. People line up along the chain holding tight and are rocked back and forth by the incoming and receding waves. It took me a minute to be okay letting my youngest in. I only gave in when my husband promised to keep him close.

As our day began to wind down and stomachs started to growl we, we meaning the 4 boys I was traveling with, were ready for dinner. Following our trusty tripadvisor recommendations, we set out to find dinner. One should never assume the internet to be reliable. The first several restaurants we tried were closed or we couldn’t find them.

Do you know how growing boys get when they are hungry? We call it hangry and I’m telling you, it’s as real as cocoa on a winters day. This is the fun part of traveling as a family that we often don’t hear of. You know, the “stopping touching your brother” and “I’m starving” times. When you question, amid the caos, if you really should have dragged your family halfway across the world, shoved them all in a tiny car without any food and set off on an adventure. Doubts start to set in.

Then something magical happens. You meet that one person. In this case it was the owner of a local restaurant. He did not speak English, we did not speak Portuguese. He could see that we needed to eat. We didn’t know what they offered and he didn’t know how to tell us. Finally, he smiled and pointing to the fish chart on his wall said, “I bring you”.

The next thing we knew he was bringing some of, if not the best fish we have ever eaten. Dish after dish of wonderful freshly caught local fish. Then came the moment, the one where we started being a family again. It came as he set a final plate of fish in front of us. I am not as observant as my other family members. All I noticed was the smile creeping back onto my boys lips along with a mischievous look. Before I knew it, the boys were best friends and up to something.

Hey mom, they said. Why don’t you try some fish? They pushed the fish plate as close as possible. As I looked down, they got the reaction they had hope for. I covered my eyes and my mouth and gave an audible gag sound. There in front of me was a fish so fresh the hook was still sticking out of it’s eye socket and the eye itself was splayed across the plate. Laughter erupted, tummy’s were full and once again I knew why we choose again and again to travel.

These are a few of our favorite things…

The view of Sete Cidades from Vista do Rei. We drove as we had a rental car, but the hike from Sete Cidades to the lookout is 7km and absolutely breathtaking.

We always try to find a hike to do when we travel as it allows us to get out and wonder at the beautiful places we visit. We highly recommend the Salto do Ponto hike. It is a lovely hike with a waterfall and an abandoned village along the way. It is an easy 2.8 mile out and back although we decided to explore and found a loop route. A local family gave us a map of the area at the waterfall and that is how we found the loop. 

One day we dedicated to learning to surf and playing at the beach. All day. It was the best beach to learn to surf. The water was shallow for a long way out so if you got knocked off you could hop right back up and try again. The boys loved it so much they are begging us to plan a surf only trip. 

Furnas thermal pools and hot springs are a definite must. While you are here be sure to try the Cozido das Furnas. It is a traditional meal that is cooked in the ground. It was not my favorite dish, but we got 2 to share and then some additional food and that was a good choice! We witnessed our first street fight here 🙂 It was very exciting for all of us. 

Lagoa do Fogo is another beautiful view point. I just can’t get enough of the gorgeous views here. This is easily reached with a car. You can park at the lookout then hike down if you choose. When we first got here it was completely socked in. That is one of the issues we found was common on Sao Miguel. One lady has gone to a specific lookout 4 days in a row until she caught a clear day. We lucked out. 

The trail I most looked forward to finding was this one. Lagoa do Canario. It is amazing. We could not find it for a very long time. We did not give up and when we did find it, the clouds were setting in, but not before we got to enjoy the best view of our trip.

Caldeira Velha is a fun stop to make. It is a naturally warm waterfall. We found it to be naturally cool 🙂 not naturally warm. It was probably the time of year? Anyways, it was still so fun. They have a couple of wooden changing rooms so you can just take your swimsuit with you. After the waterfall there are some really warm hot pots we sat in and that was wonderful. There is just something about hot pots. 

We ended the trip in the city at Martin Moriz square where you can catch a horse drawn carriage ride. It is such a beautiful square so interesting with the black and white. Unbeknownst to us, we had inadvertently booked our trip over the busiest weekend and we couldn’t even tell. There are not many tourists here at the end of May. We had beautiful weather and it was not yet jammed packed with tourists. Take a chance on the Azores. We know we will be back.