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Travel

Fly to the Azores

If you don’t have your own boat you need to fly to the Azores. Flying to the Azores islands from most countries means an airport hub at Lisbon on the mainland of Portugal. It takes about 2 hours to fly from Lisbon to the Azores. From Lisbon there are several daily direct flights to the Islands of São Miguel (Ponta Delgada), Terceira (Lajes) and Faial (Horta), and weekly flights to Pico Island. Check out the website of TAP Portugal for more information. Homepage TAP Portugal PT

 

Flying to the Azores islands from most countries means an airport hub at Lisbon on the mainland of Portugal. It takes about 2 hours to fly from Lisbon to the Azores. From Lisbon there are several daily direct flights to the Islands of São Miguel (Ponta Delgada), Terceira (Lajes) and Faial (Horta), and weekly flights to Pico Island.

But, there are direct flights available from:

The USA (Boston, Oakland and Providence)

Canada (Toronto)

Germany (Frankfurt and Munich)

England (London)

Netherlands (Amsterdam)

Madeira (Funchal)

plane

Flying from Europe

In addition to the indirect flight through Lisbon, you can fly directly to Sao Miguel island from the following cities:
Frankfurt and Munique, Germany

Frankfurt Image Banner 234 x 60

London, England
Amsterdam, Nederlands

Most flights from other European destinations connect through Lisbon.

Flying from USA

In the Summer there are direct flights from Boston, Providence and Toronto. We recommend you make your reservations early (possible from 6 months in advance). Flights from the USA to Sao Miguel depart from Boston on Tuesdays and Fridays all year around. In the summer time there is an additional departure on Wednesday and an additional return on Thursday. Also in the summer time, there is an additional flight from Oakland, CA with departure and return on Monday. An additional flight to Providence with departure and return on Saturday and an additional flight to Terceira with departure on Sunday and return on Tuesday.

Flying from Canada

The only commercial way of transportation to the Azores from Canada is by airplane. There are two airlines servicing the Islands. Skyservice and SATA Express. You may also fly Air Canada to Lisbon and connect to the Azores.

Travel between the islands

To travel between the islands there are several possibilities. You can use the inter-islands flights and ferries. The ferries are cheaper, but they operate more rarely. On the islands itself you can use taxi transfers, buses or rent a car. Also you might decide to walk or to bike. In this section of the web portal you will find information about the different alternatives.

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Flights

Inter-island flights are assured by SATA-Air Azores. A flight from Sao Miguel to Terceira only takes 40 minutes.For detailed information about schedules and rates check the websites of the airlines:

http://www.flytap.com/

http://www.sata.pt/

http://www.azores-express.com

ferry boat

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Ferry

An excellent and cheap alternative for inter-island travelling instead of flying would be to take the ferries. There is a regular ferry service between São Miguel and most other islands, as well as between the islands of Faial, Pico, and São Jorge, and between Terceira and Graciosa. Connections to Flores and Corvo in the west's group are rare.

On the main lines between the islands groups they is not always an alternative. The ships are obviously more rarely and longer on the way than the airplanes.  In 2006 the ferry operator Transmacor took over all the ferry transports. The former operator Acorline is not operational anymore. 

TRANSMACOR
Rua new facts, 29
9900-023 Horta
Tel: 00351 292 200380
Tel Horta: 00351 292 200381
Tel Madalena: 00351 292 623340
Tel Sao Roque DO pico: 00351 292 642954
Tel Velas: 00351 295 432225
Tel Calheta: 00351 295 416490
Fax: 00351 292 200385
email: transmacor@mail.telepac.pt
InterNet: www.transmacor.pt

car

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Rent a car

Rented cars are not really cheap (about €35 a day for a b category), but it’s a comfortable way of moving around the islands. The roads are quite good and there is not a lot of traffic. Only the highways on Sao Miguel and Terceira always have (some) traffic. There are two ways to rent a car: by kilometer (mile) or per day/week. Please pay attention to the insurance against all risks (CDW or super-CDW) and register damages before you rent the car.

taxi

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Taxi

A taxi is a relatively cheap alternative if you spend a few days at one spot or only travel short distances. Many taxi drivers speak English and some of them are excellent travel guides!!
There are taxis on nearly all islands. You can always find taxis in the larger villages. The best way to keep you from surprises is to set a fixed price before you depart. On shorter trips there are fixed prices, but for longer distances or daily trips you can negotiate on the price. At night taxis are somewhat more expensive.

bus

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Buses

All islands except Corvo have a bus network. The schedules on most islands however are not designed for the tourists: most buses do not drive frequently (only two or three times per day) and on the weekends they might not even drive at all.

Only on the islands Sao Miguel, Terceira and Pico it is interesting to go by bus. Sao Miguel has good regular bus services with extremely low prices. There are timetables in the local tourist offices. To catch a bus you should give a clear sign to the busdriver. You can buy your ticket from the busdriver.

walking

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Walking

The Azores are a true eldorado for walkers and can be explored easily by foot. On all islands there are wonderful (marked) walking tracks, where you feel yourself being part of the landscape. Before you go to more remote regions you should inform about the condition of the tracks. More information in our walking section.

bike

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With the bicycle

Although the Azores are not really suitable for riding a bike, you can have beautiful trips. The Azores are rather hilly, so it is preferable to use a Mountain Bike or an All Terrain Bike. There are no marked routes and hardly any bicycle shops; you have to drive on auto roads and small streets. So if you like adventure, go for it!!

© Azoresweb 2006