The Azores is one of my favourite spots in Europe.

I can’t believe such an incredible group of islands can be so rarely talked about by travellers. The Azores has everything you could need from a destination, from affordable prices to spectacular scenery, delicious food options to deserted beaches, from dozens of hikes to even more viewpoints.

The Azores are located right in the centre of the Atlantic Ocean, almost mid-way between the west coast of Europe and the east of the United States. There are nine islands altogether — all of them inhabited — and because they’re so compact, it makes perfect sense to work one or two of them into a layover between Europe and North America.

I spent four days on Sao Miguel — the main island — and it was enough to convince me to return in the future. It was one of the best trips I’ve ever taken!

It’s So Easy to Get Around

The island of Sao Miguel is made for road tripping.

Thanks to a trifecta of paved roads, sweeping curves, and little traffic, you’re practically guaranteed an incredible day out on your wheels. Criss-crossing the island on a scooter had me and Dave firmly back in our happy places, and we couldn’t stop commenting on the quality of the riding.

Whether you prefer your adventures to take place with cars or scooters, Sao Miguel is compact enough for you to get from the main city of Ponta Delgada to the east or west coast in a single day without spending the entire time on the tarmac.

We opted to spend one day exploring the west coast, one checking out the south east, and one heading out to the north east. By the end of our adventure, I felt as though we’d seen a significant chunk of what the island has to offer visitors.

The only downside? If you’re unable to drive yourself around, the public transport options aren’t great, and you’ll struggle to see the island if you’re relying on buses. There are two very highly-rated tours on GetYourGuide — one that takes you to the east side of the island and one that shows you the west — that I’d recommend going for if you don’t have an alternative. I book all of my tours on GetYourGuide and these two have some exceptionally great reviews. 

It’s Even Easy to Get To

Whenever I write about some of the lesser-known destinations of the world, one of the biggest issues that prevents my readers from replicating my trips is the fact that many of these places are simply too expensive and impractical to get to.

When it comes to the Azores, I’m happy to announce this isn’t the case.

SATA Airlines flies daily between Portugal and the east coast of the U.S. and allows you to stopover on the islands at no extra charge. Our flight from Boston to Lisbon cost $275, which also turned out to be the cheapest way for us to get to Europe from North America. Adding in a five-day layover made no different to the cost of the flights.

If you’re already based in Europe, SATA Airlines, TAP Portugal, Tui, and Ryanair have a ton of great deals and you can often fly there for as little as $100 return. I recommend using Skyscanner to compare prices.

Once you’re in Sao Miguel, getting to the other islands in the Azores is easy with SATA, who fly the routes displayed above. They run regular trips between every island in the archipelago, and they rarely cost more than around $50-$70. If you’re going to skip over Sao Miguel, SATA gives passengers a free flight to a different island instead!

You could also take the ferry between islands to save money.

The Food is Divine

If there’s one thing my time in the South Pacific has taught me, it’s that eating on an island in the middle of the ocean is rarely going to be a great or affordable experience. Food is usually imported from the nearest major landmass, which leads to extortionate prices in restaurants, cafes, and supermarkets, making fresh food hard to find unless you’re friends with fishermen or keen to walk around the early morning markets.

In both Tonga and the Cook Islands, I spent several days living on canned food and crisps because that was all that was on offer to people who weren’t growing their own food or staying close to a restaurant.

I was so excited to discover this is far from the case in the Azores.

In fact, all over Lisbon, you’ll find supermarkets and restaurants proudly announcing their food is sourced from the Azores, and they advertise this for one simple reason: the food from these islands is gorgeous! It’s also surprisingly affordable.

The Azores has a fantastic climate and fertile land, which means the islands are all self-suficient and don’t need to import food from mainland Portugal in order to survive.

The most famous dish of the Azores — and one of my favourite meals — is cozido das furnas, a stew that’s cooked inside a volcano! Some of my other food highlights included sampling the tangy Azorean cheese, drinking as much high-quality Azorean wine as my body could handle, swooning over the juiciest pineapples of my life, and snacking on unusual seafood whenever I had the opportunity to.

We paid around €4 for breakfast, €12 euros for lunch, and €15 for dinner, which was amazing value for some of the best meals I’ve had all year.

It’s Surprisingly Inexpensive

Not only is the food cheap, but so is everything else.

Accommodation ranges from €17 a night for a dorm room at Azores Dream Hostel (rated 8.6 on Booking), €75 a night for a private room with a double bed at Comercial Azores Guest House (rated 9.1 on Booking), €45 a night for a double room with a beautiful view at Atlantic Home Azores (rated 9.5 on Booking) and €60 a night for a double room at Azorean Urban Lodge (rated 9.6 on Booking), which I highly recommend splurging for. I go into more details why at the end of this post!

Transportation-wise, we paid €17 a day for a scooter rental, with car hire coming to around €21 a day.

All in all, I averaged €63.50/$79 a day while not trying particularly hard to travel on a budget.

It Has Year-Round Perfect Weather

Talk about an ideal climate!

The temperature in the Azores ranges between 15°C and 30°C — that’s 60°F and 86°F — and rarely goes higher or lower at any time of year. That means that if you want to escape the cruise ship crowds of the summer, visiting in the shoulder or low season won’t mean having to freeze your ass off.

In mid-October, when we visited, temperatures were a perfect 23 degrees each and every day, and blue skies were a constant presence. I rarely needed more than shorts and a vest top.