Introduction
Azores is a picturesque Portuguese
archipelago of nine volcanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean, situated about 1500
km from the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, and as many as 3900 km from the eastern
coast of North America. In fact, from
amongst these islands, the Flores Island, and more specifically, the Monchique
Islet on it is regarded as Europe’s westernmost point. Together with the
relative isolation that marks these islands, thanks to the distant location
from any of the major land masses, coupled with the scenic beauty of the area
as well as its development as an exotic yet vibrant tourist destination, Azores
has rapidly evolved into a premier and much sought after location for those
bitten by the wanderlust bug, from all around the world. If you are on the
lookout for a tranquil holiday, away from all the hustle and bustle of everyday
life in major cities or even in other tourist hotspots, there are few places in
the world that can even come anywhere close to Azores.
Getting to Azores
By Air
Thanks to the relative isolation of
the islands, coupled with the fact that there is enormous distance separating
them from virtually any other location, air travel to Azores is seen to be the
most viable. That said you will find flights coming in to Azores from virtually
any global destination. Needless to say, flying in from Lisbon would be the
most feasible as Lisbon in turn has flights coming in from all the major
destinations of the world. In case you are in North America or continental
Europe and fancy visiting Azores, then the most feasible and suitable option
for you would be to first fly to Lisbon and then take a connecting flight to
Azores. Getting to any of the Azores islands by flight from Lisbon or other
destinations should not be a problem since all the 9 islands have their own
individual airfields.
By Ship
Getting to Azores by ship is another
feasible option, provided time is not a constraint for you, not to forget the
cost factor! After all, most of the ships coming in to Azores with tourists are
cruise ships, in fact luxury cruise ships. Much of the traffic comes in from
Lisbon so you should actively check out the cruise liner options along with
dates and timings for these ships to set sail for Azores.
Travel within Azores
With the Portuguese administration
leaving no stone upturned in developing Azores as a primary tourist
destination, transport within Azores, once you are actually there, should be
the least of your concerns. There are varied options on offer, whereby whether
you are travelling on the same island or getting from one island to another,
you should not face any difficulty. In fact, if you are coming on a cruise
ship, most of the trips are scheduled in such a manner that they make spaced
out halts at each of the islands, whereby you can take in the exotic offerings
on every island and then move to the next one, on the same cruise ship that
brought you to Azores in the first place.
That said there are many other travel
options available as well. Remember that a lot of tourists prefer to come to
the Azores on an unscheduled vacation whereby they are not looking at things
planned out at every stage. In fact, a lot of such trips are more fun when you
discover things by yourself – perhaps with a guide book or an informed local
inhabitant there for guidance when really needed!
At the same time, if you are part of
a tour group visiting the Azores, you can choose from a wide range of jeep
safari tours, car tours, as well as regular coach tours. Additionally, when you
come as a tourist who is part of a package tour, it is quite likely that the
package would already include a veritable range of travel options such that you
would not have to be concerned about the same.
Things to see and do in Azores
Rest assured, thanks to the exotic
appeal of the overall setting, there are destinations galore that you would
like to see, once you are in Azores.
That said it would be useful to first
understand the islands themselves which will in turn allow you to plan your
trip suitably (in case you are not part of a package tour). Even if you are, it
would give you a better sense of where you are headed.
As we mentioned earlier, the Azores
are an archipelago of 9 different islands. These 9 islands are in turn divided
into three groups:
- The Western group
comprises of the islands of Corvo and Flores.
- The Central group
consists of the islands of Graciosa, Terceira, Sao Jorge, Pico and Faial.
- The Eastern group
comprises of the islands of Sao Miguel and Santa Maria.
Within these islands, it would be a
fallacy to state that there is one particular island that has more places to
see or has more picturesque locales than another. That is the reason we do not
recommend any one particular island over another. Instead, we vehemently
recommend that you plan your trip to Azores in such a manner that you are able
to suitably cover all the islands and see all that each one of them has to
offer.
That said another thing that you need
to keep in mind is that the tourist potential of Azores has been recognized
relatively recently and as a result the locales and types of places that would
be recommended to you would also be more contemporary in nature.
That is the reason if you are out for
a vacation to Azores; keep your mind open to the possibility of a modern
vacation that involves indulging in activities that are more contemporary in
nature than otherwise.
Thus your Azores vacation should
ideally comprise of numerous golf sessions, stay at some of the most beautiful
hotels in the world as well as indulge yourself on probably the finest, most
reclusive and yet completely picturesque beaches that you will find in
practically any part of the world.
As far as activities are concerned,
let us look at them island by island. This is one more reason why it makes
sense to have a good idea of the islands themselves that comprise the Azores.
If golf is what you are after, we
would actively recommend the Batalha Golf Course on Sao Miguel Island that
offers a pristine golf course amidst a simply breathtaking view of the ocean as
well as the surrounding hills. Other golf courses of immense significance on
the Azores would include the Furnas Golf Course, also on Sao Miguel Island as
well as the Terceira Golf Club on Terceira Island.
If birds of the feathered kind are
what you would like to watch, head straight to Sao Miguel Island which offers
views of some truly exotic birds, many of which you are unlikely to see in any
part of the world as they are endemic to this region. Pico Island also offers vibrant
bird watching avenues, thanks to the equally exotic species of birds that you
will find on the island.
Another activity that you simply must indulge yourself in, while
at the Azores, is fishing. Remember that when it comes to fishing for a wide
variety of game, there is simply no locale in the world as exciting as Azores.
Within the Azores Islands, you could particularly concentrate on fishing either
on Sao Miguel Island or on Faial Island. On Sao Miguel Island, you could easily
expect to catch game such as bluefish, bonito, mackerel, tuna, barracuda and
even shark! Imagine a day spent in catching this game and then the ensuing
evening amidst a barbecue of the same game that you caught, amidst your friends
and family – did anyone say Nirvana? This just has to be it! On Sao Miguel
Island, you could go on board the specialized Shanghai Hatteras boat which is
renowned for various deep sea fishing records that it has established in the
Azores. On the Faial Island, you could indulge yourself in coastline as well as
big game fishing, including trolling for coastal fish as well as the
traditional approach of hook and line fishing. Imagine the excitement when you
are able to get hold of a truly exotic fish on your hook!!
For a geographical tour of the
islands and its exotic composition, a tour of the Sao Miguel Island would
perhaps be the best bet. On the other hand, if you are game for some hiking,
then consider the Pico Island that offers both walking programs as well as
climbing the Pico Mountain which is in fact Portugal’s highest point. Of
course, being a volcano, you would not want to be anywhere near the peak when
it is in a state of eruption!
As for Jeep Safaris, again you would
probably like to go in for the same on Sao Miguel Island which offers jeep safaris
on both the eastern as well as the western side of the island.
With an abundant ocean surrounding
the Azores on all sides, it is no wonder that activities pertaining to the seas
take on centre stage on Azores. Thus, while you are there, you should
definitely indulge yourself in sailing which again takes place in a big way on
Sao Miguel Island. Other than sailing, you would definitely also like to take a
look at the whales that come by the Azores island seas; practically all the
islands, in particular Sao Miguel, Faial, and Pico islands offer tours of the
sea on fibreglass boats whereby you can easily steal furtive glances of whales
in the high seas. For a less threatening and in fact immensely thrilling
experience, you must also consider the option of swimming with dolphins on the
Sao Miguel Island.
Having described most of the diverse
things that you can do while at the Azores, it would probably be amply clear to
you that from amongst all the various islands, the Sao Miguel Island definitely
holds centre stage; therefore, if you are planning a trip to the Azores, you
must ensure that a trip to the Sao Miguel Island is definitely on the itinerary
else your trip will most definitely be rendered incomplete!
Food and Stay
With a variety of tourists coming in
to the Azores, the local administration has made sure that cuisine from around
the world is available here. At the same time, given the profile of tourists
which tends to be European in nature predominantly, coupled with the fact that
these are Portuguese islands, there is no surprise that Portuguese and
Mediterranean cuisine forms an integral part of the food on offer. Further,
given the relative isolation of the islands from other land masses, coupled
with the fact that these are islands surrounded by the seas, it is but natural
that sea food is a staple offering here. Thus you can easily expect a wide
variety of sea food here, be it different types of fish, crabs, lobsters of
unimaginably big dimensions and so on.
Talking about stay, you can be assured
that you will in fact be spoilt for choice, with a plethora of hotels on offer.
Not only that, there is a wide range, from 4 star to 2 star hotels across each
of the 9 islands such that you will not find anything too bothersome on the
pocket, while not compromising in any way in terms of the service quality as
well as the amenities offered. On Sao Miguel Island, Antillia Apart-hotel, Hotel
Bahia Palace, as well as Hotel Avenida are just some of the more renowned 4
star properties. You will find similar hotels of varying costs across all the 9
islands, with no compromise on the service and amenities.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a truly exotic
holiday, virtually in the midst of nowhere else but the high seas, then do
consider the Azores for your vacation. Remember that everyday life in urban
hotspots does take a toll on our overall wellbeing, even if we do not always
realize the same; a holiday to places such as the Azores, ensures that we have
ample opportunity to retune our mental and physical frequencies!
No comments:
Post a Comment