The Azores

[Beth and Bailey]

We are doing a TA in Nov this year.  Will be in Ponta Delgada from 8am to 8pm

 

Any suggestions for 4 of us.   Take the ship tours?   Is there anything close by the port?

Take a tour with lunch included or do a private and go someplace special to eat?  Suggestions?

Thanks so very much.

[mlmdaisy]

This is actually one of those ports where you're dropped off at a beautiful little city, so you can spend hours wandering around.  Anything else you do is weather dependent, and that's a very fickle thing in the Azores.

 

When we were there we were told that tour operators make last minute changes.  For example, if you book Cete Cidada and there's zero visibility they take you somewhere else.  Whale watching is another possibility.

 

I'm one who generally books my excursions independently, but study up on what your ship offers to see what's possible.  It's great that you have a full day.

 

We were really impressed with everything on that island, so enjoy!

[Beth and Bailey]

Thanks for this.  I did get a few responses so I'm happy about that.  I don't know if this is an often traveled area.  

[Coral]

We took a tour of the island. It was super foggy so I can't rave about the tour. Apparently this is not uncommon.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Sorry for the hijack.  Now that we know where we are, I can give you some thoughts from my visit to Ponta Delgada in April 2023.  We spent three days in Ponta Delgada and toured with AzoreanTours on two days.  The first day we did their tour #7 to Sete Cidades, which actually included a lot more and covered the entire north end of the island of Sao Miguel.  The second day we did their tour #5 to Furnas Lake & Hot Springs, which covered most of the south end of the island.  [Since it was very foggy on the first day, our guide also took us up to the north for the major views we had missed out on.]  The third day we just walked around Ponta Delgada on our own.

 

If you only have one day, I would suggest their tour #2 Small Group Shore Excursion # 2 Fire Crater Lake & Sete Cidades Crater Lake.  That gives you the best parts of both north and south.  It's only 6 hours, so you will still have some time afterward to walk around Ponta Delgada, which is plenty.

 

For more detail on what we did (and lots of photos), see my blog of the trip (especially posts #5, 11 & 12):

 

[desibee]

I know people who have taken cruises that included a stop in the Azores at Ponta Delgada three times and each time they were unable to dock due to weather concerns.

 

So whatever you book, make sure it's 100% refundable!