Why the Azores Should Be Your Next Portugal Trip (Not Lisbon, Not Porto — the Azores)
If Portugal has been sitting on your travel list, let me stop you before you book Lisbon and say one word: Azores.
These nine volcanic islands in the middle of the Atlantic are Portuguese through and through — the language, the culture, the history are all there — but the experience is nothing like the mainland. No packed piazzas, no checking off museum after museum. Just green hills, blue crater lakes, and the kind of quiet that makes you exhale without realizing you'd been holding your breath.
Here's why I think it deserves a spot on your list.
The scenery doesn't look like anywhere else in Portugal.
Crater lakes tucked into old volcanoes, rolling green hills that look almost too vivid to be real, dramatic volcanic coastlines. You will pull over for photos more times than you can count— and just when you think you've found the best vantage point, the next one will top it.
You get to explore and soak — same day
This is the combination that sold me. Hike a scenic trail in the morning, then spend the afternoon easing into a natural thermal pool. São Miguel is the island that does this best, and it's the kind of pacing I wish more trips had: enough adventure to feel like you did something, enough stillness to actually rest.
Whale watching here is the real deal.
More than 20 species of whales and dolphins pass through Azorean waters. Sightings aren't guaranteed — it depends on the day — but the odds and the setting make it worth building into your trip.
The food and wine tell their own story.
Fresh seafood pulled straight from the Atlantic, local cheeses, tea actually grown on São Miguel (yes, Europe's only tea plantations are here), and vineyards planted inside black volcanic stone walls on Pico. It's not what most people picture when they think "Portugal," and that's exactly the point.
It's Portugal, minus the pressure to see everything.
If your idea of a good trip is beautiful scenery, good food, and room to breathe — not an hour-by-hour sightseeing itinerary — the Azores hands you that on a plate. This is for the women who want comfort, not chaos, even when "comfort" means volcanic hiking boots and a thermal pool.
So — is the Azores on your radar now? Email me or click the button below to sign up for my Azores guide. You'll be happy you did!
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