Things to do on Sao Miguel

Sao Miguel is the largest of the nine Azorean islands and the one almost every visitor lands on first, since Ponta Delgada holds the archipelago's main international airport.

Its size gives it a spread of landmarks the smaller islands cannot match: the twin-lake crater of Sete Cidades in the west, the geothermal valley of Furnas in the east with its sulphur vents and cozido stew cooked in the ground, the dark-water Lagoa do Fogo in the central highlands, and the Gorreana tea estate, the only working tea plantation in Europe.

Distances are longer than they look on a small island map; crossing from Ponta Delgada to Furnas or Sete Cidades takes roughly an hour by road, more with stops, so a single day rarely covers more than one or two of these areas properly.