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.  

 

 

[cruzfool]

We just returned from our TA on Voyager and we were so lucky that the weather for our Azores stop was perfect.  We booked the scenic drive to crater lakes tour booked thru RCCL and it was a typical large bus tour with too many people and not enough time.  We did it for security reasons as we'd never been there before and didn't know what to expect.  We go again next year & will book a tour thru a local company.  ps there were many tour/taxi guys waiting right at the port so even if you book nothing, you should find someone to take you around without the company of 6 large tour busses.  Also whale watching & fishing charter boats available right at the port.  we had time in the am to walk the town, visit the farmers market, and get a feel for the island.  just lovely.

[mleng]

My family have just come back from Sao Miguel (the island, where Ponta Delgada is the capital city).  This is our 2nd trip there.  One day is really not enough.  We went there and stayed in an Airbnb for 8 days for each trip.  I am on this board researching another cruise trip, but when I saw this topic, I felt obligated to offer my suggestions.

 

If you want the convenience of a guide tour, previous posts have provided you with some options.  If you are a bit more adventurous, I have 2 suggestions for you.  (see attached photos) 

 

#1 is Furnas with the famous Terra Nostra Garden. It has a huge geothermal pool (size of a football field) with rust-colored water and 100 degrees temperature.  (Bring a dark color swimsuit because it will be stained.)  Admission is 16 Euros per person, which includes unlimited time in the pool and access to a beautiful garden (several acres, equivalent of most city's main botanical garden).  Beware that the place closes at 4:30 PM.  To get your money's worth, you need to get there by 1:30 or 2 PM at the latest.

 

#2 is Ponta da Ferraria -- a cove in the ocean that's fed by underground geothermal spring.  In the back of the cove, the water temp can be as high as 105 or 110 degrees, and the ocean water outside the cove is about 70 degrees.  It's super interesting to feel the hot water coming from your back and cold water coming from your front. The best time to visit is during low tide, but based on my personal experience, if you are 2 hours before or after low tide, the experience is still well worth it.  It's free to enter, and there are free changing room and bathroom nearby.  The area around the cove is also great for hiking -- black volcanic rocks and cliffs.  You can check the tide time at this website https://www.captaintide.com/tide/Ponta da Ferraria/ 

 

I would consider both options as "nowhere else can you do this" type.  I would choose them over hiking if you only have 1 day in Sao Miguel.  Don't get me wrong, Sete Cidades has breathtaking views, but there are many places on earth with beautiful views.  You are also at a whim of the weather if you want to go up the mountain, whereras these 2 places are perfect on cloudy and even rainy days.

 

For either option, you can just take a taxi from the cruise port.  The taxi prices are mostly fixed to well known destinations.  I would estimate about 40~50 Euros one way.