The Azores (São Miguel, Faial and Pico Islands)
Cost £1857 - Monday June 26th to Tuesday July 4th 2023
Details and Itinerary

The tour will be based for the first three nights at Ponta Delgado on São Miguel, the largest of the Azores islands. We then transfer to Horta on the island of Faial, our base for the remaining five nights, which will also give the opportunity to visit the nearby islands of Pico and San Jorge. All excursions will be escorted. The guide on San Miguel will be Birgit Siegel who has a very good knowledge of the local geology. The guide on Faial and Pico is also very familiar with the local volcanoes and the history of recent eruptions. The visit is open to all adults. The party will be escorted throughout the tour by Alan Clewlow. This 9 day / 8 night visit will also give the chance to spend some free time, which could be used to take part in one of the optional excursions available. On the return, there may be the possibility of a stopover in Lisbon, for those who choose not to make the whole journey back to the UK in one day.

Contact UsFor bookings and extra information please call us on
01527 832 578 or volcanicexperiences@aol.com

The Azores Volcano Tours
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Planned itinerary

Day 1 - Monday 26th June
Leave London (Heathrow) on early morning TAP (the Portuguese national airline) flight via Lisbon to São Miguel, the largest of the Azores islands. Transfer by coach to the 4-star São Miguel Park hotel in the main island town of Ponta Delgado, arriving late afternoon. Introductory talk before dinner to discuss the week’s activities.

Day 2
The day will be spent in the western part of São Miguel island. We travel first to the lava tunnel at Gruta do Carvão and the nearby crater lake at Lagoa do Carvão. Continuing north-west, we reach the huge Caldeira do Vulcão das Sete Cidades, where we will undertake a walk around part of the crater rim, eventually descending into the caldera with its twin lakes. Later we visit Ponta do Escacalvado and the cone, fossil cliff and lava delta at Ponta Ferraria.

Day 3
This day covers the central and eastern parts of São Miguel island. First we stop at a viewpoint looking down on the Lagoa do Fogo, the crater lake of the Agua de Pau volcano. We then proceed to the Caldeira Velha, with the chance to bathe in warm water fed by a natural hot waterfall. Later, we spend time at the Caldeira do Volcão Furnas, with its fumaroles and mud geysers, taking time to walk around the large crater lake. The route back will include a stop at Vila Franco do Campo to view the offshore island formed by a partly eroded volcanic cone.

Day 4
Free morning, then coach transfer to Ponta Delgado airport for the afternoon inter-island flight with SATA airlines to Faial island. Transfer by coach to the Hotel Horta at Horta, the main island town. The port is a main stopping-off point for yachts crossing the Atlantic, and has superb views of the volcano Pico, just a short distance away across the narrow sea-channel.

Day 5
The day will be spent exploring Faial island, known locally as the “Blue Island”, on account of the wild blue hydrangeas which are found in profusion in many of the hedgerows. We drive first to the Caldeira Volcano, which dominates the centre of the island, taking a circular walk around the crater rim, giving views across the whole island. Later, our coach will take a circuit around the island, spending time at Capelinhos in the south west, where the major 1958 eruption caused a considerable extension to the island’s area. We spend time at the visitor centre there, learning about this eruption.

Day 6
We take the ferry from Horta to Madalena, on Pico island, then have a coach excursion to various sites on a circuit around the island, including Ponta do Misterio, Piedade, and Lajes do Pico, where there will be time for a lunch-stop. In the afternoon at the Lajido de Santa Luzia, there will be time for a walk on the extensive black basalt lava flows there, with many characteristic features of pahoehoe (ropy lava). We eventually take the return ferry back to Horta in late afternoon.

Day 7
Another day spent on Pico island, using the local ferry from Horta. On arrival, we have minibuses to take us to Cabeço das Cabras, the highest point reached by road on the side of the Pico volcano and site of a small visitor centre. After this we visit the lava tube at Grutas das Torres. The afternoon will be spent on a walk from Porta do Calhau to Madalena, over and past a basalt lava flow. This is the site of Lajida Criação Velha, declared a world heritage site by UNESCO, on account of its Cañadas ~ a unique landscape with an extensive network of lava-stone walls created for wine cultivation.

Day 8
This will be a free day. Your chance to relax and spend time on a local beach, to book any one of a number of optional excursions on offer, such as a whale-watching trip, or possibly a whole-day excursion to the other nearby island of San Jorge.

Day 9 - Friday 4th July
This will be a free day. Your chance to relax and spend time on a local beach, to book any one of a number of optional excursions on offer, such as a whale-watching trip, or possibly a whole-day excursion to the other nearby island of San Jorge.


Cost
The cost of the visit, based on half-board accommodation, is £1857 This includes return flights by TAP Airlines from London Heathrow to the Azores (via Lisbon) and the Azores airline inter-island flight from Ponta Delgado (São Miguel) to Horta (Faial). Also included are coach transfers, ferries and local excursions on the itinerary listed. Included in the cost is 3 nights’ accommodation in the 4-star São Miguel Park Hotel in Ponta Delgado, and 5 nights at 4-star Hotel Horta in Horta. Accommodation in both hotels is based on half-board (with breakfasts and dinners provided throughout, but also including drinks with dinner while at Horta).

Accommodation is based on two people sharing a room. It should be possible to arrange some single rooms for those who require it, but this will involve a single supplement of £378, and is dependent upon availability.

All those taking part in the tour are expected to arrange their own holiday insurance, which can be obtained from any travel agent or insurance broker.


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