How to travel to the Azores

The first decision for anyone wanting to visit the Azores is to know how to travel to the Azores. In this article, we will detail the ways to reach the archipelago.

You probably already know that the Azores are an archipelago of 9 wonderful islands, according to National Geographic Traveler the Azores are the 2nd most beautiful archipelago in the WORLD.

The islands are located in the North Atlantic about 2 hours by plane from the capital Lisbon, and therefore you can only travel to the Azores by plane.

What are the ways to travel to the Azores?

The distance from the Azores to Lisbon of more than 1600 km makes maritime transport of passengers unfeasible.

The distance of almost 4,000 km to New York also makes the same route impossible but makes the plane trip for those coming from the United States or Canada to the Azores faster than to other European destinations, as the islands are closer to North America than all other European capitals.

The way to travel to the Azores is only by plane but there are several ways to do it, depending on whether you come from the European continent or the American continent.

It should also be noted that there are more flights and routes during the summer months (June to September) than in the winter months.

Understanding the islands:

The 9 islands are divided into 3 geographic groups, but we can also organize them into 3 groups in terms of tourism.

We have the 2 most developed islands with the most tourism, which are S. Miguel and Terceira.

These two islands are the ones with the most international air routes and the overwhelming majority of visitors, even if they intend to go to one of the other 7 islands, usually end up entering one of these two islands.

In the second group, we have the islands of Pico, Faial, and S. Jorge, which, being close to each other, turn out to be a very interesting destination (they are known for the triangle) as they allow tourists to visit at 3 am, and normally the trips between the 3 are made by boat, as they are close to each other, especially if you sleep in Pico.

When staying on the island of Pico, you can visit Faial (30 minutes by boat) and S. Jorge (90 minutes by boat), as trips are quick and cheap.

The other 4 islands, being further away and smaller, end up with less tourism, as the only way to visit them is by plane (although at certain times of the year, there may be sea routes, the distance between others makes this solution less sought after).

However, all islands are very different, so getting to know just one is the same as going to visit a country and getting to know just one city.

What many of those who visit the Azores end up doing is entering one of the main islands, for example, S. Miguel, then traveling to Pico by plane, making the 3 islands of the triangle, and then traveling again by plane to Terceira island and then returning home.

This solution makes it possible to get to know 5 islands that are very different and thus get a closer idea of what the Azores really are, even if you have not visited the other 4 islands.

We have prepared an article that will help you organize your trip to the Azores

Read the 5 steps to organize your holidays in the Azores

Flights and air routes to the Azores

We organized the article taking into account 3 points of origin for traveling to the Azores. Leaving Lisbon or Porto, leaving another European country and leaving North America (United States of America or Canada).

While viewing the various options, you can search for all available flights to the Azores on all airlines.

This tool does a search to find the cheapest and best options to travel to the Azores, whatever your origin and you can still receive a cashback.

The frequency of flights has been increasing from year to year, especially in summer. Even so, it is advisable to book trips as early as possible.

Traveling from Lisbon or Porto to the Azores

From Lisbon or Porto you can fly directly to 5 islands: S. Miguel, Terceira, Pico, Faial, and Santa Maria if you use SATA Azores Airlines or TAP.

If you come by Ryanair, you can land on Terceira Island (Lajes airport) or on S. Miguel island (Ponta Delgada airport).

Flights from Lisbon or Porto last around 2 hours and it is the most used solution, especially since Ryanair is a Low-cost competitor, which means cheaper flights.

Sometimes, especially in summer, it can make sense to take Ryanair or even SATA or TAP to one of the two main islands and then take an inter-island flight to your destination island.

Always compare prices between Lisbon and Porto. If you are coming from a European country or a country on the American continent, making a stopover in Lisbon or Porto will be indifferent, and you can get lower prices by comparing both Portuguese cities.

If the final destination is not S. Miguel or Terceira, you should consider the two existing options:

1 – Travel to Ponta Delgada (S. Miguel) or Lajes (Terceira) and there take an internal connecting flight to your final destination island.

2 – Catch a direct flight from Porto or Lisbon to one of the 5 islands that receive direct flights.

If your destination is Graciosa, S. Jorge, Flores, or Corvo, you will always have to take an inter-island flight, so you should expect an increase in the price of the trip to the Azores since none of these islands receives flights from outside of the Azores.

Summing up:

• S. Miguel: Ponta Delgada airport is served by SATA Azores Airlines, TAP, and Ryanair.
• Terceira: Lajes airport is served by SATA Azores Airlines, TAP, and Ryanair.
• Pico: Pico airport is served by SATA Azores Airlines and TAP.
• Faial: Horta airport is served by SATA Azores Airlines and TAP.
• Santa Maria: Santa Maria airport is served by SATA Azores Airlines and TAP.
• S. Jorge: S. Jorge airport only receives inter-island flights operated by SATA, so you have to travel first to one of the islands that have direct flights.
• Graciosa: Graciosa airport only receives inter-island flights operated by SATA, so you have to travel first to one of the islands that have direct flights.
• Flores: Flores airport only receives inter-island flights operated by SATA, so you have to travel first to one of the islands that have direct flights.
• Corvo: Corvo airport only receives inter-island flights operated by SATA, so you have to travel first to one of the islands that have direct flights.

Traveling from Europe to the Azores

If you come from any European country other than Portugal, you have three solutions:

A) Find a direct flight from a route that exists in your country

There are routes, for example, from Paris, Frankfurt, and Barcelona, and in the summer they sometimes open new routes, so you should look for flights from the various airports that serve your country.

In the examples above, two of the airports that offer direct flights to the Azores are not the main airports in the country, so don’t just search from the airport in your city, but from the various airports in your country.

If your destination island is not the one that connects your country to the Azores, you will have to make a second connection between the islands. In this case, the solution below may be even cheaper.

If you make a tour of several islands, then ideally you should start with the one you arrive at.

B) Fly to Portugal and stopover in Lisbon or Porto

It’s another solution if you don’t have a direct flight. Here the advantage is that you can come from anywhere in the world to one of these two airports.

Then you have to take a flight to the destination island.

If the destination island is not S. Miguel or Terceira, this option is better than option A, because in the first option you will always have to take a second flight from S. Miguel or Terceira to the destination island, and probably the domestic journey may even be more expensive than Lisbon/Porto to the Azores.

When you take trips where you have to stop to change planes and probably also airlines, which will be normal with this solution, bear in mind that you must leave a safety margin between the flight to Lisbon/Porto and the connection to the Azores, to prevent you from missing your flight because of a delay on the first flight.

c) Fly to another country that has cheap and direct travel to the Azores

If you come for example from Belgium or Switzerland it might make sense to travel to Paris or Frankfurt and take a direct flight from there.

That’s why it’s essential to know the active routes to see the solutions, as prices sometimes differ by several hundred euros between one solution and another.

So always do a search for flights from your country, but also airports in countries close to yours that are cheap and that may already have an active route to travel to the Azores with a direct flight from this country.

If you’ve had a canceled or delayed flight, know that you can get compensation of up to €600. Learn more in the banner below:

Traveling from the American Continent to the Azores

As with trips from Europe, also leaving the American continent to travel to the Azores, there are different solutions.

A) Find a direct flight from a route that exists in your country

If you are coming from the United States or Canada, there are direct routes from some cities directly to S. Miguel or Terceira.

Examples are the cities of New York, Boston, Oakland, Toronto, and Montreal. So if you’re coming from North America, it’s likely that traveling to one of these cities directly to the Azores is the cheapest, most comfortable, and fastest way.

In summer there are new routes in addition to the usual routes.

Do not forget that if your destination island is other than S. Miguel or Terceira, you must take a connecting flight.

B) Fly to Portugal and stopover in Lisbon or Porto

This solution will probably be valid if you come from a South American country, like Brazil.

Especially because if you come from the United States or Canada, it involves more hours of travel, as Lisbon or Porto are further away than the Azores, and therefore it is very likely that the trip to the Azores with this solution will be more expensive than the solution of the previous point.

Traveling to the Azores: Conclusion

Like many archipelagos around the world, travel to the Azores is dependent on air connections.

Not being a mass tourist destination, there is still some insufficiency in terms of the variety of international routes to the Azores.

This problem has been reduced in particular by the opening of new routes by SATA Azores Airlines, which has contributed fundamentally to the growth of tourism in the Azores.

It is expected that in the coming years there will be an increase in flights and the opening of new routes.

Even so, currently, there are already several ways to travel to the Azores, whether for those coming from the American continent or for those coming from the European continent.

If you are looking to travel to the Azores at the height of summer, it is advisable to book your trip well in advance, ideally until March to find a greater variety of trips at the best price.

If you liked the article on how to travel to the Azores, be sure to share it and if you have any questions, leave your comments below and we will respond shortly.