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!

[WEGL81]

On 4/4/2024 at 1:14 AM, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

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.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for this recommendation. I have been trying to find an excursion that goes to these locations, but our Celebrity Equinox TA is currently not showing any excursions at all on our stop in Ponta Delgada. I found multiple tours from Viator, etc., but they all leave too early or too late for our ship (10:00 AM - 7:00 PM in port).

[Welly9]

On 5/20/2024 at 10:58 AM, WEGL81 said:

 

Thanks for this recommendation. I have been trying to find an excursion that goes to these locations, but our Celebrity Equinox TA is currently not showing any excursions at all on our stop in Ponta Delgada. I found multiple tours from Viator, etc., but they all leave too early or too late for our ship (10:00 AM - 7:00 PM in port).

We did Green Zone, 4 of us, in a Jeep, Mid April 2024, full day was fantastic, see everything, stop for lunch etc...

[TACoor]

Just returned from a wedding in Ponta Delgada - As others have said, it's a lovely walkable town. There's a pier near the cruise dock with multiple excellent restaurants, including an amazingly fresh local fish place, ramen, Indian, and others. Small sidewalk cafes where you can sit and drink coffee, wine, or beer. Small shops to browse in, old churches, gardens .... I'm sure there are some great excursions. My favorite spot was a series of waterfalls at Nordeste. Just amazing!

 

[SoloAlaska]

One of my favorite parts of ponta delgada is the cows. Omg the cows everywhere are hilarious and look so happy. I took a nice long walk along the water then took a tour. This year I’m looking at maybe renting a car and go for a long drive or go for a hike. 

[BAYA]

On 4/1/2024 at 8:24 AM, mlmdaisy said:

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.

That was my experience in 2019. Our private tour guide monitored the weather and when she picked us up she told us we weren't going to be able to see the lakes and asked if we would agree to change the route and visit the hot springs instead. We did and it was a great tour even though it was gray and rainy for the first half of the day. By the time we stopped at a seaside restaurant for lunch it cleared up and the sun was shining by the end of the tour. This is the company we used in 2019, Green Visions Tours.

[Mimiya11]

Azores was a delightful surprise.   Due to weather, our ship got in pretty late but our tour guide was waiting for us and drove us all over.   We saw lots of cruise big buses with lots of people, so I highly suggest finding a private tour.   Ours was for a person with mobility issues, otherwise would highly recommend him  

 

While the port area looked very tempting, we got back too late to wander.   However, you will miss the sheer beauty of the Azores if you limit yourself to the port area.