Our island — the tips we would give our friends
We have spent every free week on São Miguel for years. These are not guidebook lists but the places we keep returning to ourselves — sorted from your doorstep outwards.
Five minutes from the house lies Mosteiros with its black lava beaches and natural pools — ladders take you into basins shaped by the ocean, and on calm days you swim there among fish.
The Mosteiros sunset is famous across the island: the rock needles of the Ilhéus dos Mosteiros stand black against a glowing sky. Our tip: book a table at one of the seaside fish restaurants and let the evening fade out there.
The volcano you see from the garden: its caldera holds the famous twin lakes, Lagoa Verde and Lagoa Azul. The Boca do Inferno viewpoint is the classic — go early in the morning and you almost have it to yourself.
The crater-rim hike is beautiful, and you can kayak on the lake. By car you are up there in 15 minutes.
The island's highest lake, surrounded by a nature reserve — no house, no road on its shores, just green and water. The walk down to the lakeside beach takes a good half hour and is worth every step.
At Ferraria a hot spring meets the open sea — at low tide you bathe in warm ocean water (ladders and ropes help with the waves). Very close to the house.
Caldeira Velha at the foot of Fogo is a warm bath in the jungle: several pools under tree ferns, best in the morning, book online in advance. Termas das Caldeiras near Ribeira Grande is quieter — and in Furnas the earth boils: fumaroles, thermal baths in Terra Nostra park and the famous cozido, slow-cooked in volcanic soil.
The fertile volcanic soil is what makes the island so green: hydrangea hedges, tea plantations (Gorreana — Europe's oldest tea factory, free to visit) and parks like Ribeira dos Caldeirões with its waterfalls.
In Ponta Delgada, the Jardim Botânico António Borges is worth a visit — giant trees, bamboo and hardly any tourists.
Praia de Santa Bárbara near Ribeira Grande is the island's most beautiful beach — surfers, a beach bar (“Tuca Tula”), long black sand. Praia dos Moinhos and the bay of Vila Franca are more family-friendly; boats cross from Vila Franca to the snorkelling crater of Ilhéu de Vila Franca.
Ponta Delgada has the market hall, mosaic pavements and good restaurants; Ribeira Grande is smaller and very charming. And for a full day: the eastern tour along the north-east miradouros, returning through Furnas — the most beautiful drive on the island.
Wherever the day takes you — on São Miguel nothing is more than an hour away. In the evening the garden, the BBQ and the sunset are waiting.
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