This video was taken from the “Vigia das Baleias” at Ponta dos Rosais in São Jorge. On a clear day like this one, you can see all the 5 island of the Central Group of the Azores: Graciosa, Terceira, São Jorge, Pico and Faial (wondering which island is best to visit?).

The five islands of the central group of the Azores—Faial, Pico, São Jorge, Terceira, and Graciosa—are well connected by a comprehensive ferry network operated by Atlânticoline, making island-hopping a convenient and scenic option for travelers.

The Triangle Islands: Year-Round Connections

The three closest islands—Faial, Pico, and São Jorge—form what’s known as the “Triangle” and enjoy the most frequent ferry service. The Blue Line operates multiple times daily between Horta (Faial) and Madalena (Pico), with the journey taking just 30 minutes. This route is so convenient that many residents actually commute between the two islands for work.

The Green Line and Orange Line also connect these triangle islands throughout the year, with the Green Line weaving between them and offering spectacular views, particularly of São Jorge’s dramatic cliffs. Journey times range from 30 minutes to about 2.5 hours depending on your route and destination.

Connecting to Terceira and Graciosa

The two more distant islands of the central group, Terceira and Graciosa, are linked through seasonal ferry services. The Purple Line operates only on Tuesdays and Saturdays from June through September, connecting the triangle islands to Praia da Vitória in Terceira.

The White Line is the most comprehensive option, running twice weekly (typically Mondays and Fridays) from June to September and connecting all five central group islands: Faial, Pico, São Jorge, Graciosa, and Terceira. This makes it particularly popular with tourists seeking to explore the entire central archipelago, though journey times can range from 20 minutes to 5 hours depending on your specific route.

Practical Considerations

Ferry travel between these islands offers an affordable and scenic alternative to flying, with opportunities to spot whales and dolphins along the way. However, services operate in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean where currents and waves can occasionally be rough, which may lead to delays or cancellations, particularly outside summer months. The triangle islands enjoy the most reliable service due to their proximity, while connections to Terceira and Graciosa are more limited to the summer season.

Questo video è stato girato dalla “Vigia das Baleias” a Ponta dos Rosais a São Jorge. In una giornata limpida come questa, puoi vedere tutte e cinque le isole del Gruppo Centrale delle Azzorre: Graciosa, Terceira, São Jorge, Pico e Faial (ti stai chiedendo quale isola sia meglio visitare?).

Le cinque isole del gruppo centrale delle Azzorre – Faial, Pico, São Jorge, Terceira e Graciosa – sono ben collegate da un’ampia rete di traghetti gestiti da Atlânticoline, il che rende il giro delle isole un’opzione comoda e panoramica per i viaggiatori.

Le Isole del Triangolo: Collegamenti tutto l’anno

Le tre isole più vicine – Faial, Pico e São Jorge – formano il cosiddetto “Triangolo” e godono del servizio di traghetti più frequente. La Linea Blu opera più volte al giorno tra Horta (Faial) e Madalena (Pico), con un viaggio di soli 30 minuti. Questo percorso è così comodo che molti residenti si spostano tra le due isole per lavoro.

Anche la Linea Verde e la Linea Arancione collegano queste isole triangolari durante tutto l’anno, con la Linea Verde che si snoda tra di esse e offre viste spettacolari, in particolare sulle drammatiche scogliere di São Jorge. I tempi di percorrenza variano da 30 minuti a circa 2,5 ore a seconda del percorso e della destinazione.

Collegamenti con Terceira e Graciosa

Le due isole più lontane del gruppo centrale, Terceira e Graciosa, sono collegate da servizi di traghetto stagionali. La linea viola opera solo il martedì e il sabato da giugno a settembre e collega le isole del triangolo a Praia da Vitória a Terceira.

La Linea Bianca è l’opzione più completa, con corse bisettimanali (in genere il lunedì e il venerdì) da giugno a settembre e collega tutte e cinque le isole del gruppo centrale: Faial, Pico, São Jorge, Graciosa e Terceira. Questo lo rende particolarmente popolare tra i turisti che desiderano esplorare l’intero arcipelago centrale, anche se i tempi di percorrenza possono variare da 20 minuti a 5 ore a seconda dell’itinerario specifico.

Considerazioni pratiche

I viaggi in traghetto tra queste isole offrono un’alternativa economica e panoramica all’aereo, con la possibilità di avvistare balene e delfini lungo il percorso. Tuttavia, i servizi operano in mezzo all’Oceano Atlantico, dove le correnti e le onde possono essere occasionalmente agitate, il che può portare a ritardi o cancellazioni, soprattutto nei mesi estivi. Le isole del triangolo godono del servizio più affidabile grazie alla loro vicinanza, mentre i collegamenti con Terceira e Graciosa sono più limitati alla stagione estiva.

The Azores are a great surf destination, with several surf spots well known to the surfers community, often likened to Hawaii, with its nine volcanic islands feature pristine beach breaks, world-class reef breaks, and dreamy, long point breaks. Praia do Norte in Faial is one of them.

By Paolo Ghibaudo @ GTTA

Picture taken with drone this summer on pico Island, Azores (discover more about Pico Mountain, the highest peak in Portugal)

A picture taken on our first trip to the Azores, in 2012 (see our Angra do Heroismo travel guide). This hill captured my attention as it looks like it has big eyebrows and/or it is wearing a mask 🙂 

Horta is the municipality and the major city of the island of Faial, Azores with around 7000 inhabitants (data from 2011). Founded in 1467 by Josse van Huerter, it is now a major stop for yachts and vessels sailing across the Atlantic Oceans due to its naturally sheltered harbour and its Marina, which is one of the main attractions for tourists too.

Although small, Horta has a surprising cosmopolitan feel, and plenty of attractions for the visitor (see our one-day guide for first-time visitors):

1 – The Seafront

Horta sits on a natural bay enclosed between the Monte da Guia and the Espalamaca promontory, thus creating a stretch of about 3 km of seafront that originally was a long stretch of black sand and rocks. Over the years it has been transformed in a big waterfront with a pedestrian lane, and an avenue for vehicles with cafes and restaurants, shops and old buildings that are being restored or renovating. There are still some of them in an abandoned state, but in the last few years the pace of the reconstruction has ramped up impressively, giving the seafront a mix of colonial and modern architecture which is becoming an attraction it itself.

2- Horta Marina

The Horta Marina is a major stop for yachts and vessels sailing in the Atlantic. The Marina, located in the southeast on the island of Faial, very close to the centre of Horta, is the main marina in the Azores and also the fourth most visited in the world. Its location offers great shelter from the winds and makes it an almost unavoidable port of call for sailing boats travelling the Atlantic Ocean. It is also a meeting point for many international regattas such as Atlantique Pogo, Route des Hortensias, Ceuta-Horta, OCC Azores Pursuit Race, among others. The Marina has held the European Blue Flag since 1987.

3 – Peter Cafè Sport

“If you sail to Horta and don’t visit Peter’s, you’ve never been to Horta.” This is, especially among yachtsmen, a common phrase repeated over and over again and expresses a reality built around a bar opened as far back as 1918 (a hundred years ago!) that has achieved global popularity, first among international yachtsmen to whom Peter’s has always offered welcome, support and the right atmosphere for socialising.

Later, “regular” tourists also began to frequent Peter’s, attracted by the reputation of its special atmosphere to enjoy a gin and tonic or a snack. The fame of Horta and its marina (the fourth most visited in the world) also lies in the privileged strategic position that the Azores occupy between America and Europe, making it an unavoidable port of call when crossing the Atlantic.

4- Porto Pim

Made famous (at least among Italians) by a book by Antonio Tabucchi – (The Woman of Porto Pim) , this small agglomerate of little houses lies on the southside of Horta harbour, partly clinging to the volcanic promontory of Monte Queimado, and partly across Porto Pim bay, which holds the only white sand beach of Faial, if not of all Azores Islands. The intricate patch of alleys and colorful houses, most of them very little as they were once homes for fishermen’s families when times were harder and the only source of income for them was fishing and/or whaling.

There are a couple of good restaurants, and the famous Porto Pim Bar on the bayfront, which is also visited by tourists but not by many as Peter’s, thus becoming a sort of a hideaway for locals and expats, who prefer the less formal atmosphere that the place has.

Porto PIm bay has also a lovely white sand beach, one of the few in the entire Azorean archipelago. It is possible to swim also for non expert swimmers as it is protected by the open ocean and so the waves are usually small, and in peak season it is also guarded, with caution signals in case of wind or adverse conditions.

5 – Monte da Guia

The Monte da Guia promontory is in fact a  little volcano with its collapsed cone (Caldeira) facing the open ocean. To reach it just head south from the Marina, and turn left just after  Hotel do Canal, then follow the sign to Monte da Guia”. Driving up this little hill (it’s a 10 min drive) you will have a spectacular view of Porto Pim bay and Horta city on one side, and on the other the impressive almost perfect circle of the collapsed cone of the volcano itself, creating a secluded bay with steep cliffs, only reachable by sea. Sitting on the top there is a small but fascinating church.

6 -Antiga Fábrica da Baleia (Now Whale’s Museum)

The Fábrica da Baleia do Porto Pim is located in Monte da Guia, in the parish of Angústias, city and municipality of Horta, on the island of Faial, in the Azores. It is an old industrial facility linked to whaling in the archipelago. Its management is the responsibility of the Observatório do Mar dos Açores.

The oldest and the first of its kind on the island was founded at the end of the 19th century and operated until the beginning of the 20th century, when a unit better adapted to new industrial requirements was built.

The new factory was built in 1941 and operated until 1975. It was a unit that already worked by steam using autoclaves, a technique that allowed not only a faster processing of the whale carcass, but also a full use of it.

Currently inactive, since Portugal adhered to the international legislation prohibiting whale hunting, it was restored and transformed into a museum dedicated to the demonstration, not only of the subject: “Whale Hunting”, but also of other subjects related to the sea, thus transforming one of its valences into a “Science Centre”.

7 – Santa Cruz Fort

The Santa Cruz da Horta Fort, also referred to as Santa Cruz Castle and Santo António Castle, is located in the parish of Angústias, city and municipality of Horta, on the island of Faial, in the Azores.

Built next to the old landing pier, in the current historical centre of the city, it was the main fortification of the island, cross-firing with the Bom Jesus Fort – to its left, on the beach, near the Conceição stream -, and with the Nossa Senhora da Guia Fort (Greta’s Fort), on the hillside of Nossa Senhora da Guia hill, currently in ruins, which defended the access to the bay from the south side.

8- Botanical Garden

The Botanical Garden in Faial has been opened to the public in 1986. With a central part in Flamengos parish and another part at higher altitude in Pedro Miguel, has its mission in the conservation and study of the natural flora of the Azores, scientific studies and environmental education.

Its Azores Seed Bank program was selected in 2015 by the Botanic Garden Conservation International (BGCI) as one of the best case studies on rare seed conservation.

It received in 2011 by Turismo de Portugal the honourable mention for the “Requalification of a public project” award.

In  2019, the Botanical Garden was extended, and now includes the Azores Orchidarium, where it is possible to see a fantastic orchid collection and an interpretative exhibition, holding a multitude of facts and curiosities about this extraordinary plants.

9 – São Salvador Church

The primitive Church Matriz de São Salvador was completed and inaugurated on June 28, 1514; it complements the Flemish church of the same name in Bruges and the Sé of Angra do Heroísmo. It was successively sacked in 1589, then 1597, by English privateers.

10 – Praça da Républica and the alleys around city centre

The square of Praça da Républica, is the lively centre of Horta, with a new market inaugurated two years ago, bars and small snack restaurants “Tascas” and some magnificent big trees (mainly Auracarias and Ginkgos). It is the perfect spot to rest while strolling the alleys in the surrounding area, discovering old buildings, ancient stairs and secluded gardens often hidden at first sight.

Just a test video to check functionality. 🙂

Thanks to its particular climatic characteristics, organic farming in the Azores is possible not only for “traditional” fruits and vegetables but also for products we westerners consider tropical such as bananas, pineapple, papaya, tea and coffee.

With its volcanic lands and a climate generally mild without peaks of extreme heat in the summer and without frost during winter, Azores are a really special place for cultivation, both in terms of variety and quantity of possible harvests.

Unfortunately however, despite these precious characteristics, cultivation has been largely abandoned over the years in favor of breeding of cows for dairy products (and related fodder fields), an activity which has been greatly pushed by European incentives. This has led to the absurd supply of industrially produced fruits and vegetables from the Continent, mainly from Spain.

Although the family habit of the small self-sufficient vegetable garden and orchard has never been lost, in recent years small family farms for the production and trade of local fruits and vegetables are growing again.

THE NEW TREND IN THE AZORES: ORGANIC PERMACULTURE

This new beginning was born under the dictates, now finally considered vital, of 0 miles products , organic permaculture way of growing fruits and vegetables.

Having chosen when we were living in our Italy years ago to turn to the purchase of local and organic fruit and vegetables, using one of the first activities with these characteristics – Agrispesa – born in 2003, being finally able of finding here the same opportunity to buy healthy food from small local producers made us feel at home.

Each island has a growing network of producers from whom you can buy directly, in the days of market or who are activating home delivery services.

Many initiatives are appearing every day, thanks to the good side of socials and new technologies, to inform, update, disseminate, protect and help develop the growth of this activity.

WHERE TO FIND ORGANIC FARMING PRODUCTS IN THE AZORES

One of these realities that is very active in cataloging and organizing organic farming in the Azores and all the efforts made by small farmers is Trybio, which also organizes seminars and events aimed both at informing locals and expats that there is an alternative to buying cheap and non-organic products in supermarkets, and to provide technical information (real collective lessons) on improving permaculture techniques by the members of the consortium.

Back to the land, then, with a healthier, more sustainable and ethical approach.

We already get supplies whenever possible from these small producers, you can do the same, we will all gain in health, including the earth!

At this link, you will find a list of certified organic farmers from which you can acquire products grown using organic farming techniques.

On a total of 2,000 m2 of surface, the project involves the construction of a modern building inspired by the old convents existing on the island, with the cloister and in the form of the old cisterns of the vineyards, designed by a team of Portuguese and English architects, awarded for the design of numerous skyscrapers around the world, explains the press release.

The new space will have a covered area of approximately 1,650 m2, of which approximately 1,000 m2 will be used for the production, wine-making, bottling, labeling and storage areas.

The project, estimated at 2.9 million euros, also includes an area dedicated to wine tourism, with five apartments and a conference room. The overall investment was considered of significant regional interest by the Azores government council.

“This investment will promote and give great visibility to Pico wines in Portugal and abroad, improving our viticulture and making wine tourism grow,” said Jose Antonio Soares, president of Magdalen Hall, cited in the note and ceremony, adding that “projects like the one we are launching today strengthen our potential in these structural areas and push us forward, increasing our entrepreneurial fabric, creating jobs and wealth in our county and our island”.

Founded in April 2014, the Azores Wine Company Azores Wine Company has developed a coherent project for the production of quality regional wines, largely destined for export both to the Portuguese mainland and abroad, with an eye to the local market, positioning the Azores as a wine region of excellence and with a strong identity.

In turn, the President of the Government highlighted the potential that the Azores natural heritage presents as a resource for the development of the region in various fields, indicating for example the new impetus that took place in the wine sector on the island of Pico.

“I am one of those who believe that we are able to monetize a large part of the heritage we have at various levels, transforming it into the active development of our region,” said Vasco Cordeiro, in an official statement.

The President of the Regional Council also stressed that the government has put in place measures to develop the potential of the wine industry in the region, encouraging the private initiative that exists in this sector, not only for the recovery of the environment and the landscape but also as an economic activity capable of generating wealth and employment.

“In the area declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, that is, the vineyards at the foot of the Pico volcano, 10 years ago there were only 100 hectares in active production. Nowadays, if we count what is in production, and the projects under construction for the recovery of abandoned vineyards, we are talking about over 800 hectares of vineyards, “said Vasco Cordeiro.