São Miguel & Terceira with Car: Bensaude Hotels

Suggestion for the day: Algar do Carvão and Serra do Cume

Away from Angra, Terceira's volcanic interior and its most iconic viewpoint are worth a full day with the car.

• Algar do Carvão: A lava tube and volcanic chimney, descend through tunnels and staircases into a cavern with stalactites overhead and a small mirror-like lake at the bottom.
• Serra do Cume: A viewpoint over Terceira's famous patchwork of small stone-walled fields, one of the most photographed views in the Azores, especially striking at sunset.
• Biscoitos: A coastal village known for natural volcanic rock swimming pools formed by old lava flows, and a small wine museum nearby if there's time on the way back.

All suggestions are optional.

Return your Terceira rental car at Lajes Airport before your short flight to São Miguel, approximately 45 minutes.

Pick up your second rental car on arrival at Ponta Delgada Airport and drive to São Miguel Park Hotel, in the heart of Ponta Delgada.

Suggestion for the day: A First Evening in Ponta Delgada

• Settle in, this hotel sits right in the city center, so most of Ponta Delgada's historic sights, the Jesuit College Church, Carlos Machado Museum, and Ponta Delgada City Gates, are all within a 10-minute walk. Take an early evening stroll before exploring more thoroughly tomorrow.

All suggestions are optional.

Suggestion for the day: Ponta Delgada, the City and the Sea

São Miguel's capital, and two of its most distinctive local experiences, all close enough together for one full day.

• Igreja Matriz de São Sebastião: The city's main church, a striking example of Azorean religious architecture.
• Whale and dolphin watching: An optional boat tour departing from the Ponta Delgada marina, the waters around São Miguel are known for regular sightings of both.
• Pineapple plantation: A greenhouse visit near the city to see how São Miguel's pineapples are grown, unusually, entirely under glass, with a chance to try or buy pineapple products.
• Gruta do Carvão: An underground lava tunnel right in the city.
• Mercado da Graça: A farmers' market for fresh produce, cheese, fish, and flowers.

All suggestions are optional.

Suggestion for the day: Lagoa do Fogo, a Tea Plantation, and Furnas Valley

A longer day covering the island's crater lake, its tea tradition, and its geothermal heart, roughly in that order heading east from Ponta Delgada.

• Lagoa do Fogo: A crater lake at the center of the island, protected since the 1970s. A viewpoint stop is enough if time is tight, or a longer hike if you'd rather earn the view.
• Gorreana Tea Plantation: Europe's oldest working tea farm, open since 1883, on the way toward Furnas. A short self-guided walk through the fields and a tasting.
• Caldeiras das Furnas: Close to 30 bubbling volcanic vents right in the town center.
• Cozido das Furnas: Time your arrival around lunch to see restaurants pulling stockpots out of the ground, where the stew has been slow-cooking since dawn.
• Terra Nostra Garden and Thermal Pool: A large iron-rich thermal pool inside a botanical garden, a good way to end a long day of driving.

Suggestion for the day: Sete Cidades and Ponta da Ferraria

The west side of the island holds several of São Miguel's most distinctive sights.

• Vista do Rei: A panoramic viewpoint over the Green and Blue twin lakes of Sete Cidades, tied to a local legend of forbidden love.
• Boca do Inferno: A 360-degree viewpoint over Lagoa do Canário and the Sete Cidades village and lakes, best on a clear day.
• Mosteiros: A small village nearby known for its sunsets, worth a stop on the way to or from Ponta da Ferraria.
• Ponta da Ferraria: A natural thermal ocean pool in Ginetes, where hot volcanic springs mix directly with the cool Atlantic. Check the tide times before you go, the pools are best enjoyed at low tide, when the warm spring water mixes with the sea rather than being covered by it.

All suggestions are optional.