Things to do in Horta

Horta is the port town on Faial, about 30 minutes by ferry from Madalena on Pico with year-round Atlanticoline crossings, making it the usual base for splitting time between the two islands.

Its marina has been a mandatory stopover for transatlantic sailors since the age of transoceanic cable stations, and generations of crews have painted their boat names directly onto the quay before departing, a tradition still added to today.

Horta sits on Faial's east coast; the Capelinhos volcano, born from a 1957-1958 underwater eruption, is at the opposite end of the island, a good fifteen kilometres away, not a walk from town. The Caldeira crater sits inland at the island's centre. Expect a compact, walkable waterfront rather than a full day's worth of sights in the town itself.