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The Charm of the Azores
Walking the Azores Beyond the Pillars of Hercules.
OverviewAn island world, where you become part of the community rather than just a visitor, experiencing leisurely walks, exploring villages, visiting churches and wandering through the attractive land and seascapes.
The Azores, nine green and varied volcanic islands in the mid-Atlantic, offer unspoiled landscapes, mountains, lakes, flowers, volcanic springs, picturesque villages and historic harbour towns. Our tour visits four of these islands, those that offer the best walking, and stays in four contrasting centres.
Ponta Delgada is our base for the western end of São Miguel, where we have a superb walk above the famous crater lakes, the green and the blue, and visit the pretty seaside village of Mosteiros. We also have time to explore the charming Portuguese colonial style capital of Ponta Delgada itself, with its many gardens, narrow streets and harbourside esplanade.
We fly to São Jorge, for some fabulous walks to enjoy fine views from the island’s mountainous spine, to descend to secret “fajas”, coastal farmland hidden below the island’s rugged cliffs, and maybe stroll through the gardens of Rosais.
We sail to Pico for delightful walks on the slopes of Pico mountain, the highest in Portugal (the summit is an above-grade optional excursion for fit walkers), and also by the coast, through the island’s unique volcanic vineyards. One day is spent exploring the nearby island of Faial, a short ferry crossing away. Whale-watching is another option from Pico or Faial.
Flying back to São Miguel, this time we stay in the unique volcanic spa town of Furnas, a superb base in the unspoiled eastern end of the island. Our hotel is located in exotic sub-tropical gardens, where after a walk we can relax in the hot volcanic springs.
This most enjoyable and leisurely tour allows time to walk and savour these beautiful and peaceful islands.
Holiday Information SheetAll Holiday Information sheets are in PDF format. You will need Acrobat Reader or a similar program to view these. To download Acrobat Reader visit get.adobe.com/reader.
We thoroughly enjoyed our holiday to The Azores, our group "gelled" very well and generally banter and humour excelled. ...
This was a very enjoyable and interesting holiday. Charm of the Azores.
Hello – I am Misty the Westie and I work for Ramblers Countrywide Holidays in the Leader’s Department. It’s my job to sniff out new hotels and walks and report back to HQ. It’s a dog’s life, I know, but someone’s got to do it! 
