Bird watching full day tour

Bird watching full day tour

Bird Watching Tours

Sao Miguel Island, Azores

The Azores has the largest colony of Cory’s Shearwater and you will find two of Europe’s rarest birds the Azores Bullfinch and the Mosteiro’s storm-petrel . There are nearly 400 species currently including a number that are extremely rare and newly sighted.

Please contact the following guide directly if you would like to book a bird watching tour. There is also a bird watching centre in Nordeste (1 hour drive from Ponta Delgada – see below):

Gerbrand Michielsen

Originally from the Netherlands and now living in the Azores, please visit his website below for his contact details (please email or call him directly to make a booking)

GerbyBirding – LOCAL!

 

Centro do Priolo Nordeste

 

Please visit the following website to find out more about tours at the Centro do Priolo in Nordeste (you will need to hire a car or book a taxi to get to/from the centre from Ponta Delgada).

O Centro | Centro Ambiental do Priolo (centropriolo.com)

Canyoning

Canyoning

Canyoning

Sao Miguel Island, Azores

£95 half day (adult/child) 

The sport of canyoning involves a number of outdoor skills, including walking, climbing, swimming, abseiling, sliding, stemming, chimneying and rappelling. Jump, slide and abseil in a totally natural environment, descending along Canyoning (2) small streams that flow from the mountain top, completely surrounded by endemic forest (Note: min age 8yrs. Guests need to be able to swim) If you wish to add it to your itinerary, just let us know at the time of booking. You can also add this tour to your holiday any time before departure and also at our boat base in the Azores (subject to availability. To avoid disappointment, we suggest booking additional tours by the balance due date 8 weeks before departure). 

For safety purposes, this tours operation will bank on the conditions of the weather and where the activity takes place. Equipment will be provided such as a wetsuit and socks, top canyoning harness, group safety equipment, top canyoning shoes and helmet. The tour duration is 4.5 hours.  

 

Walking Tours

Walking Tours

Walking Tours

Sao Miguel Island, Azores

Half day adult £45 child £25

Full day (includes picnic lunch) adult £55 child £35 *

*excluding Faial da Terra & van tour Nordeste £80 adult £45 child

We provide a range of walking tours of varied levels of difficulty and schedules to suit all abilities. Guests can visit the countryside and/or the seacoast. You will pass by lakes, waterfalls, hot water springs, mountains, forests, ancient volcano craters, ancient roads and wild beauty, enjoying the endemic fauna and flora. Trekking is also available in our programmes. We offer climbs on the more challenging mountainous terrain. The landscape of the island never fails to amaze! 

View our latest brochure below featuring some of the best walking trails that Sao Miguel Island has to offer. These will either be included in your chosen holiday or can be added to your holiday program.

Furnas day tour

Furnas day tour

Furnas Day Tour

Sao Miguel Island, Azores

Prices: Adult £90, Child £55

Suitable for all ages

NOTE: the geothermal pool is currently closed for essential maintenance until 07 April 2025 (the gardens will remain open). There will be an additional stop at Sra da Paz Belvedere in Vila Franca village during this time. 

Furnas is the epicentre of the geothermal activity of Sao Miguel with a volcano that has remained active since its last eruption in 1630. One hour drive from the centre of Ponta Delgada through lush countryside, will take you to this amazing geo-thermal village. Full of bubbling hot mud pools, hot springs, steaming fumaroles and thermal hot water falls. Dine on the local meat stew “Cozido das Furnas” buried underground and cooked using natural heat (see note below about veg option*). The tour will also include a swim in the stunning hot thermal pool set in an award winning incredible botanical garden.  On the way back to Ponta Delgada, you will be taken along the north coast of the island and will make a stop at the only commercial tea plantation in Europe to sample the tea and take in the wonderful views across the tea fields, the island and out to sea. 

*Vegan Cozido cooked without meat can be ordered (minimum 3 guests – if the minimum is not reached you will be offered a vegetarian/vegan option from the restaurant main menu)

If Furnas sounds like the place for you, then you can find this tour included in the following holidays: Ocean Giants Blue Whale Exclusive Group Tour Sao Miguel, Ocean Discovery, Blue Whale Discovery and Island Explorer. If this tour is not included in the holiday, you are booking and you wish to add it to your itinerary, just let us know at the time of booking. You can also add this tour to your holiday any time before departure and also at our boat base in the Azores (subject to availability. To avoid disappointment, we suggest booking additional tours by the balance due date 8 weeks before departure). The tour is 7.5 hours (only full day tour available for this) and they start at 9 am.

 

The tours to Furnas and Sete Cidades were really impressive and showed what a beautiful and unique place the island is. We really felt that we got to know the island really well and the local tour guides ensured that we saw as much as possible.

Authentic cuisine pleasant ambience. The Cozido meal at the Caldeira das Furnas was a simple but lovely experience. The ambience was accentuated by the diversity of people on the tour and the way our guide blended the atmosphere. – Ada Sam April 2022

“The trip to Furnas was spectacular, and so much more than we anticipated with the tea plantation, crater lakes, botanical gardens and bathing in the orange iron water. We also saw much more of the island than we expected that day as we travelled there on the south side and back on the north (or vice versa). Sao Miguel is a beautiful island all in all.” – Richard Rose-Casemore May 2022

On Friday we did the full day trip to Furnas, definitely the best geothermal site. As a family we were fascinated by the Victorian equipment still being used in the tea plantation we visited in the morning. Seeing the fumaroles and eating the food cooked in them was a real novelty. We swam in the pools in the afternoon, which was great again. These ones had much more iron in them than the ones at Lagoa do Fogo so it was important not to have our ‘best’ swimming costumes and towels on that day as they got a bit stained. – Sally Smart April 2022

Casa do Craveiro

Casa do Craveiro

Casa do Craveiro

Pico Island, Azores

Extend you stay with a trip to more remote Pico Island (one hour flight from Sao Miguel Island). You can explore this stunning island at your own pace (car hire recommended) with the option of adding whale and dolphin watching trips to sea and land tours to your itinerary.

Located in a quiet village and close to the harbour and our boat base, Casa do Craveiro is a beautifully restored Azorean house featuring a balcony with ocean views. The house has 1 double bedroom, 1 double sofa bed, a fully equipped kitchen, TV, bathroom and air conditioning.  Note: there is no WiFi at this property.