My husband and I set out to pick a honeymoon destination following our fall wedding that would meet the following criteria:

Avoid Hurricane alley
travel/time zone change wouldn't take up our whole honeymoon
there was more to do beyond just laying on the beach.

With direct flights from Boston to Sao Miguel, the Azores ended up being our perfect destination... although Hurricane Lorenzo gave everyone a bit of a surprise the week before our wedding.

We visited three islands (Sao Miguel, Faial, & Pico) over ~10 days. We could get by with English in most places and our tour guides during the day helped if we were in a smaller/local town where it was less prominent. Generally credit cards (except AmEx) were accepted and of course, Euros. We enjoyed incredible meals during our stay! Between the islands being set in the middle of the Atlantic and the cow to person ratio, the Azores had all of our favorites. We enjoyed incredible steaks, cheeses, tuna, breads, and wine. Although we didn’t quite adjust to the late dinners the people of the Azores tended towards, we did enjoy an afternoon espresso!

Sao Miguel:

Ponta Delgada acted as our home-base for most of our time on Sao Miguel. An entire trip could be planned around Sao Miguel alone with each coast and town offering a unique perspective of the island.We lucked out with sunny weather during the days we visited Lagoa do Fogo and Sete Cidades. Each of these stops provided opportunities to hike with incredible views.

While in Sete Cidades we took the opportunity to rent a canoe for an hour to set off on the green/blue lake we had seen from above. Each of the towns held incredible history and architecture to explore during our walks.

Fun fact - the government employs gardeners from each town which as part of their work they maintain the roadsides. A bit different to see hydrangea lined roadways for miles!.

Furnas is very active... in the volcanic sense. Right in the center of town are bubbling calderas (think Yosemite without the spewing water/steam) which have different local legends associated with each. At the Terra Noestra park there is not only a carefully curated botanical garden grown for over a hundred years, but we were able to experience the hot springs - in both a smaller 'hot tub' size and a community pool. We took a day to plan our own spa day at the Furnas Boutqiue hotel, which in the middle of our honeymoon was the perfect way to relax. In Furnas they serve a meal which is cooked underground for ~6hrs in a steaming hot spring. This meal was incredible, no water is used so all of the meats, potatoes, and vegetables are very tender.

Faial: Unfortunately we were hit with rainy weather most of our stay on Faial and they did have damage to some of the trails from the Hurricane missing the Caldera due to the low clouds. Despite this we visited the site of the last Volcanic eruption which occurred from 1957-1958. Up the street from our hotel was a restaurant named Peters which during the summer months is the hangout for sailors crossing the Atlantic. Flags are hung throughout the small restaurant which also features a scrimshaw museum. Food and good drinks seemed to steer much of our honeymoon (beyond the amazing views) - we sampled Peters famous Gin & Tonic. For the steak lovers reading this - check out Atletico for their Tomahawk Steak.. incredibly delicious and friendly to your wallet.

Pico: We took the ferry over from Faial just for the day, but wish we had stayed. For those who are VERY adventurous you can hike Mount Pico ~7700 ft above sea level. Pico best known for their wine and is actually designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The vineyards themselves are made of volcano rocks that hundreds of years ago were stacked to create intricate fences to protect the vines from the saltwater and wind. We visited the wine cooperative and a family owned vineyard on the island.

We absolutely loved the Azores - but don't tell your friends - the best part is that although tourism is a large part of their economy the islands are relatively 'untouched' and we felt incredibly safe the entire time we were there.

Although we selected the destination on our own, for anyone else planning a honeymoon or long vacation, it was an enormous relief to just share a vision and budget of what we wanted then let Trina and the team run with it. We were not left out of the process entirely, but among a new job/home reno/planning a wedding we did not have to worry about the details of our honeymoon. Even when an error with the dates I booked our flights To/From the Azores - Trina caught it and booked us another night at the hotel. This was our first experience working with a travel agency and we were very happy with the support from Trina!

Thank you so much Lauren and David for sharing some of your honeymoon with us!

Are you ready for you’re own adventure to the Azores Islands? Let’s get started!

Trina Weischedel
CFO & Travel Planner
trina@bluepineappletravel.com